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
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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
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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