Welcome
Research in the Baum Lab is motivated by a fundamental desire to understand how human activities are changing marine ecosystems, and what the consequences of these changes are for nature and for people. Our current research centres around the following questions: 
  • How are marine ecosystems structured and how do they function in the absence of human disturbance?  How do diversity, structure, function and resilience vary across natural environmental gradients?  
  • How are climate change, overexploitation, and pollution changing marine ecosystems? How do multiple stressors, such as these, interact and alter marine ecosystems? 

​We investigate these questions primarily on tropical coral reefs, on organisms ranging from apex predators to microscopic dinoflagellates. We do so using a suite of approaches including statistical models of large observational data sets - which allow us to empirically test predictions from related theory and small-scale experiments at the ecosystem and global scale - as well as field observations and experiments, molecular analyses and bioinformatics, stable isotope analyses, interviews, historical ecology, and meta-analyses. Our research spans across broad temporal and spatial scales, incorporates principles from population, community and ecosystem ecology, conservation science, and fisheries science and is highly collaborative. Our current foci are tropical coral reefs and temperate eelgrass beds.

We are committed to open science and data sharing, and to outreach aimed at enhancing public understanding of our research, ocean conservation, and science in general. Our overarching goal is to make scientific discoveries that advance understanding of oceanic ecosystems, and inform and inspire effective solutions for their conservation. 
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News - Spring 2020

​Former MSc student, Jennifer Magel and Julia published a news article about their recent paper on the effects of heat stress on reef fish in  The Conversation., May  

Welcome summer NSERC USRA student Brittnie Spriel!, April

A collaborative paper discussing the status and progress of Canada's effort to conserve and sustain marine biodiversity is out!, April  

​Check out our new paper about the effects of heat stress on reef fish and a news article covering the work led by former MSc student Jennifer Magel!, April 

​Congratulations to Lia for being awarded the C. Jeff Cederholm Scholarship from the Washington/BC American Fisheries Society chapter!, April








​NEW: Watch Reef Rescue to learn more about Julia and her team's research on Christmas Island! ​Learn more about the film here.
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University of Victoria, Department of Biology, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada