Sara Hamilton
Monitoring Stars
There are important stars in the kelp forest – urchin-eating Sunflower Sea Stars, that is. Dr Sara Hamilton tracked the recovery of Sea Star populations after the massive Sea Star Wasting epidemic, which had deep implications for kelp forests since they keep kelp-gobbling urchins in check.
Sara also uses satellites and drones to monitor how bull kelp forests change over time to understand which socio-ecological conditions allow kelp to flourish. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, and Chair of the Scientific and Technical Committee for the Oregon Kelp Alliance, a community-based kelp forest monitoring and restoration group. See more here.
