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Spencer Fire

Associate Professor | College of Engineering and Science: Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences

Contact Information

Expertise

Marine mammals, harmful algal blooms (HABs)

Personal Overview

My research program combines an interest in the very smallest and the very largest organisms in the sea (and occasionally a few in between).   From single-celled marine algae (phytoplankton) to shellfish, finfish, sea turtles, humans and marine mammals such as baleen whales, the interactions between these organism can tell us much about the status of our oceans' health.  My current research focuses on the impacts of harmful algal blooms and their toxins on marine food webs and the health of sentinel organisms such as marine mammals. To carry out this work, my students and I focus on 3 core areas:

  1. Developing and using molecular detection methods to investigate how natural contaminants move through marine food webs,

  2. Drawing on field experience with small cetaceans and pinnipeds, as well as knowledge of field survey methods, to study marine mammal health and behavior in the wild,

  3. Combining a knowledge of large-scale oceanographic processes with laboratory and field methods to study changing marine ecosystems and their links to wildlife and human health.

Visit the Fire Lab Website here