Brent is a marine ecologist and conservation biologist with Sonoma State University. Research in his lab seeks to determine the processes that affect the stability of coastal ecosystems. Brent’s research centers around coastal habitats like seagrass, salt marsh, and kelp (aka foundation species), which provide valuable ecosystem services that we depend on and are threatened by human activities. Currently, his research focuses on four themes: 1) the consequences of predator recovery on the functioning and stability of ecosystems, 2) the relative influence of climatic change and anthropogenic threats of coastal ecosystems, 3) the role of habitat-forming species in structuring nearshore diversity and functioning, in turn, as the drivers maintaining foundation species stability, and 4) informing management and restoration of the processes that drive ecosystem resilience. Brent received a B.A. in biology from Truman State University, a M.S. in marine sciences from Moss Landing Marine Labs/CSU East Bay, and a Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz. Prior to arriving at Sonoma State, he was a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow at Duke University, and the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Lab Postdoctoral Fellow.
