Our Team

We study the recovery and resilience of ocean ecosystems using field experiments, modeling, and synthesis — and we try to have fun doing it.

Current Members

Adrian Stier portrait Adrian Stier fieldwork PI

Adrian Stier

Principal Investigator • Ecology, Conservation & Management

Focus: recovery & resilience of ocean ecosystems; linking assembly rules to restoration.

Coral resilience Predator–prey Restoration
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Raine Detmer portrait Raine Detmer fieldwork Postdoc

Raine Detmer

Postdoctoral Researcher • Theoretical ecology & restoration modeling

Theoretician modeling kelp and coral reef ecosystems; building a restoration strategy evaluation tool to guide effective coral recovery.

Theory Kelp Coral reefs Restoration modeling
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Adnan Alalawi portrait Adnan Alalawi fieldwork PhD

Adnan Alalawi

PhD Student • Coral reef restoration & bioacoustics

Designs artificial reefs and uses soundscapes to accelerate recovery on degraded reefs.

Restoration Bioacoustics Artificial reefs
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Molly Brzezinski portrait Molly Brzezinski in the field Lab Manager

Molly Brzezinski

Lab Manager • Coral resilience & climate stress

Marine molecular biologist integrating genomic and field approaches to understand coral wound healing and resilience under climate stress; building workflows that inform restoration and management.

Molecular ecology Coral resilience Wound healing Climate stress Genomics
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Hayden Vega portrait Hayden Vega in the field Undergraduate

Hayden Vega

Undergraduate Researcher • Algae traits, coral regeneration, bio art

Works on algal functional traits and coral regeneration experiments; currently creating bio-art in collaboration with the Coal Oil Point Reserve.

Algae traits Coral regeneration Bio art Coal Oil Point
Jaden Orli portrait Jaden Orli in the field Undergraduate

Jaden Orli

Undergraduate Researcher • Fisheries modeling & MPAs

Exploring alternative fisheries strategies that integrate marine protected areas to optimize the California spiny lobster fishery.

Fisheries modeling MPAs Lobster fishery

Alumni

See our alumni and where they are now
Jada Alexander
Jada Alexander • Undergraduate Researcher 2021–2023
Studied Trapezia–coral mutualism, combining field surveys and lab work to quantify benefits to coral resilience. LinkedIn
Alexis Sitt Park
Alexis Sitt Park • Undergraduate Researcher (UCSB)
Contributed to field and lab projects during her undergraduate at UCSB; now an ORL alum. LinkedIn
Emily Donham
Emily Donham • Postdoc 2024–2025
Kelp eco-physiology & global change biology; integrated sensors, diver surveys, and lab experiments. Now ORL alum.
Samantha Csik
Samantha Csik • MS 2020
Thesis on temperature effects on lobster physiology & feeding. Now Data Analyst at NCEAS.
Joseph Curtis
Joseph Curtis • Lab manager 2019–2022
Led coral, lobster & kelp work in Moorea and Santa Barbara. Now PhD student in New Zealand.
Kai Kopecky
Dr. Kai Kopecky • PhD 2024
Worked on coral reef resilience. Now postdoc at CU Boulder.
Kurt Ingeman
Dr. Kurt Ingeman • Postdoc 2018–2020
Synthesized moving targets in recoveries; later Smith Conservation Biology fellow. Now analyst at SOEST, UH Mānoa.
Bart Difiore
Dr. Bart Difiore • PhD 2023
Studied fishing impacts on kelp forest ecology. Now postdoc at Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Megsie Siple
Dr. Megsie Siple • Postdoc 2019–2020
Linked ecosystem monitoring to EBM. Now fisheries scientist at NOAA AFSC (Seattle).

Meet the Lab

Ocean Recoveries Lab group photo

We’re a collaborative, field-forward team based at UCSB. We value kindness, curiosity, and rigorous, open science.

Join Us Research

How we work

Mentorship, safety, and growth — with lots of time in the water. Alumni go on to PhDs, postdocs, agencies, and NGOs.

  • Weekly lab meetings + code/data clubs
  • Fieldwork in California & Moorea
  • Reproducible workflows & open data
📧 Contact Adrian 📚 Publications