Brandon Hopper Joins the Lab to Study Kelp Forest Recovery and Trophic Ecology

I am delighted to welcome Brandon Hopper to my lab and to the broader marine science communities at California State University, Monterey Bay and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

Photo by Reuven Bank

Brandon is beginning his M.S. in Marine Science through CSUMB and MLML. I will serve as his primary advisor, with Dr. Scott Hamilton serving as co-advisor. This collaborative advising arrangement will allow Brandon to draw upon the complementary strengths of my lab at CSUMB and Scott’s Ichthyology Lab at MLML as he develops his graduate research.

Brandon brings extensive experience in marine and freshwater ecology, scientific diving, environmental monitoring, and public engagement. He earned his B.A. in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara, where he contributed to kelp forest and coral reef research and conducted offshore fieldwork in the central Pacific with Sea Education Association. Since graduating, he has monitored kelp forests at Channel Islands National Park, surveyed endangered fishes and prairie streams with state and federal agencies, and supported aquatic monitoring in the Santa Clara River watershed.

His graduate interests focus on trophic interactions in kelp forest ecosystems, including the roles of sea urchin predators, urchin–kelp grazing dynamics, and the restoration of the sunflower sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides. Brandon is especially interested in research that connects fundamental ecology with practical strategies for kelp forest recovery and ecosystem-based management along the U.S. West Coast.

Brandon is also an experienced PADI and SSI Divemaster, an underwater photographer and filmmaker, and a volunteer with Channel Islands Live, where he helps connect the public with kelp forest ecosystems through underwater broadcasts. Outside the lab, he enjoys surfing, freediving, hiking, and backpacking. He even completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2023!

I am excited to have Brandon joining the lab and look forward to supporting his development as a scientist, collaborator, and marine ecologist.