www.ecomar.org/aboutus

Dr . Rodríguez' research interests encompass Seafloor community ecology and oceanography of benthic systems, including recruitment, succession, bioturbation, and disturbance. Taxonomy and systematics of marine invertebrates, with emphasis on the Phylum Annelida: Polychaeta. Anthropogenic impact of environmental contamination in coastal zone regions and assessment by means of sediment analysis, macroinvertebrate community structure and use of bioindicators. Conservation of natural resources. Biodiversity.

She has spent the last two years working on gathering and electronically storing a comprehensive database of the biodiversity of benthic marine invertebrates for northern Baja California--as part of a research fellowship granted by CONABIO-- the aim being to establish a museum quality invertebrate wet collection for Baja California housed at the IIO-UABC.

At the same time, she continues to collaborate with San Jose State University, Moss Landing Marine Lab, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and California Fish and Game as part a of a large team of taxonomists and ecologists surveying benthic marine systems throughout California in an effort to describe and list non-indigenous species in benthic systems along the coast of California.

Additionally, she recently co-sponsored a binational study that focuses on a US-Mexico cooperative monitoring program for nearshore coastal marine ecosystems, in conjunction with SeaDoc, UCMexus, UC Davis, the US Department of the Interior National Park Service, and the Channel Islands National Park.

Previously, Dr. Rodriguez had completed a Southern California Bight Project (SCBP) contract for the identification of all Bight 98 Polychaete samples taken in México. She received her Doctoral degree in Coastal Oceanography in May 2005.

"Our scientific interests are centered on benthic ecology, benthic processes of estuarine and coastal environments, and Invertebrate Biodiversity of marine ecosystems (Click on topics to read about Why we study Biodiversity, why we study Invertebrates, and why we study polychaete worms). The research we conduct focuses on how natural and anthropogenic processes influence benthic communities. This kind of research relies on, and applies an interdisciplinary approach, that recognizes the value of in situ regional-scale natural system studies, such as our investigations of organism-sediment interactions and implications of these interactions for the transport, fate and effects of contaminants in benthic systems, particularly changes in benthic invertebrate diversity related to environmental stress"

For the last 12 years Mr. Martínez has been a staff biologist (specializing in polychaetes) for the City of San Diego's Ocean Monitoring Program, and since 1995 he has served as a consultant to the International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and México. Mr. Martínez has participated in all three (1994, 1998 and 2003) Southern California Bight Projects, a collaborative effort between the EPA (EMAP and EPA Region IX); California State Water Resources Control Board; the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Boards; the City of Los Angeles, Environmental Monitoring Division (CLA, EMD); County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (CSDLAC); County Sanitation Districts of Orange County (CSDOC); City of San Diego, Metropolitan Wastewater Department (CSD,MWWD); Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP), and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project (EPA National Estuary Program).

"EcoMar has desgned and carried out sampling programs to collect information on seabed biological communities, sediment contaminants, and Physical-Chemical characteristics throughout Baja California and vicinity.
Our projects include composition analysis of biological communities, assessment of statistical properties, and maintenance of computer databases of biological, physical and chemical data. Biological analysis, and Baseline Data Collection identifying biological communities for Environmental Monitoring to determine the impacts of of anthropogenic input to coastal areas and their component communities"

EcoMar is a Marine Ecology environmental lab with over 17 years experience in Community Ecology emphasizing the design of studies aimed at understanding sea-floor benthic community dynamics, and the taxonomic complexity of invertebrate community composition of populations from both coasts of North and Central America.
We specialize in management of studies within benthic communities in a variety of habitats, including bays, estuaries, wetlands, coastal and deep oceans, rocky and soft intertidal areas.
Our research program centers on the ecology, taxonomy and systematics of benthic systems in the binational regions of Southern California and Northern Baja California.
Our Philosophy is based on the fundamental principle of academic excellence, a commitment to scientific research and public education.

EcoMar es un laboratorio de Ecologia Marina ambiental con 17 años de experiencia en el estudio de la ecología de las comunidades de invertebrados benticos con énfasis en diseño de estudios que intentan entender la dinamica de sistemas benticos y la complejidad taxonomica de poblaciones componentes de invertebrados, para ambas costas de América del Norte y Central.
Nos especializamos en el manejo de estudios de las comunidades bénticas en fondos blandos y rocosos, en una variedad de habitats que van desde zonas costeras hasta profundas, incluyendo bahías, estuarios, etc.
Nuestro programa de investigación se centra en la ecología, la taxonomía y la sistemática de sistemas bénticos en la region binacional de California y Baja California.
Nuestra filosofía se basa en el principio fundamental de la excelencia académica, e investigación científica para la difusion y educación pública.

Polychaete Taxonomy and other Invertebrate Fauna
Taxonomia de Poliquetos y de otros Invertebrados
Marine Environmental Impact assesment studies
Estudios de Impacto Ambiental Marino
Marine Ecological Benthic Biodiversity field Surveys
Estudios Benticos Ecologicos Marinos de Biodiversidad
Ecotourism feasability studies
Estudios de viabilidad Ecológica de Turismo
Natural Resource Management and Damage Assessment
Manejo de Recursos Naturales
Marine Environmental effects auditing and monitoring
Auditoria Ecologica y Monitoreo Marino

EcoMar Lab's research focuses on / Las Líneas de investigación fundamentales de EcoMar son:

San Diego, CA. USA / Ensenada, Baja California. México
http://www.ecomar.org
Webcurator: ricardo [at] ecomar.org