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Contact the coordinating team if you want to get involved!

Andrew Want is a lecturer in the Energy and Environment Institute at the University of Hull. Andrew’s research explores the ecology of extreme wave-exposed macroalgae, such as Fucus distichus anceps and Alaria esculenta. Much of his fieldwork takes place on the high energy seas surrounding the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. For the ‘Canopy Traits’ project, Andrew will be working with Claire Lambden, a PhD candidate with Heriot Watt University, based in Orkney.

At the University of Tartu, Estonian Marine Institute, our Canopy Traits team brings together Jonne Kotta, Georg Martin, Francisco Barboza and Jack Royd Hall. We combine long-term Baltic Sea field ecology, experimental ecophysiology, benthic habitat mapping, spatial modelling and decision-support tool development. Our work focuses on canopy-forming macroalgae, including Fucus vesiculosus, linking traits, ecosystem functioning, restoration, climate change and sustainable blue economy applications to support conservation and marine management.

We are members of the Marine Forest team, based at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) and the University of Girona (UdG), Spain. Emma Cebrian is a senior researcher at CEAB-CSIC; Jana Verdura is an associate professor at the UdG; Toni Vivó is a postdoctoral researcher at CEAB-CSIC; Uxue Moreda is a PhD student at CEAB-CSIC; and Su Güzel is a master's student at CEAB-CSIC. The Marine Forest team focuses on the ecology of Mediterranean macroalgal forests, as well as the impacts of human activities and climate change on the structure and functions of these ecosystems and their associated biodiversity.

Lauren works at the intersection of climate change, industry, conservation, and seaweed. Her work focuses on understanding ecological strategies and promoting resilience across seaweed communities and aquaculture. 

The Subtidal Ecology Lab (SUBELAB) led by Alejandro Pérez Matus at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile studies the ecology, conservation, and restoration of temperate reef ecosystems along the Chilean coast. Our team conducts long-term monitoring of kelp forests from Iquique (~20°S) to Concepción (~37°S), examining how environmental variability, kelp harvesting, and management influence canopy-forming kelps and associated communities. Through a combination of field surveys, experimental ecology, restoration initiatives, and emerging technologies, we aim to understand the functional role of kelp forests and their resilience to global change. Our contribution to the Canopy Traits network focuses on trait variation and ecological performance of dominant canopy-forming kelps across broad environmental gradients in the Humboldt Current System.

Sammi Smith and Dr. Shane Farrell, members of the University of Maine Seaweed Lab, will collect canopy trait data as part of a wild kelp forest surveying project this August. They will sample Alaria esculenta, Saccharina latissima, Agarum clathratum and Laminaria digitata across four subtidal sites along the coast of Maine.

The Baum Lab (led by Prof. Julia K. Baum) are a group of scientists based in Victoria, BC, Canada working to advance understanding of the impacts of climate change in the ocean and to inform and catalyze effective ocean conservation solutions. Within this group, Julia Baum and PhD candidate Brian Timmer are participating in the Canopy Traits network. Julia is a Professor of Ocean Ecology and Global Change at the University of Victoria. Brian’s thesis with Julia is focused on documenting historical changes in British Columbia’s kelp forest communities.

Shoals Marine Lab is located in the Isle of Shoals, about 20 miles off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. Dedicated to undergraduate training in marine science, the lab hosts hundreds of students each summer through immersive courses and the Shoals Undergraduate Research Group (SURG). SURG Ethan Hsieh, a double major in Environmental Science and Data Science from Emory University, will conduct the Canopy Traits work as part of the 2026 summer program. He will be mentored by Rebecca Atkins (NOAA), Carrie Keogh (Emory University), and Kylla Benes (University of Montana).

Members of the Marine Biodiversity Lab, based at the University of California, Irvine, are evaluating the role of rockweeds - Silvetia compressa and Fucus distichus - as climate-buffering foundation species at sites along the U.S. West Coast and have permits to collect and screen species – including both rockweed species in Northern California and Fucus in Southeast Alaska – as part of that work. We’ve added a few kelp species (e.g., Costaria costata, Alaria marginata) to our Alaska permit and will screen those if the tides and waves cooperate. This work is led by PI Matt Bracken with assistance from PhD student Miriam Kleit. 

Elle Overs is a PhD student advised by Dr. Nick Shears and Dr. Caitlin Blain of the NZ Reefs lab group at the University of Auckland Leigh Marine Laboratory. Their research is broadly focused on the ecology of Aotearoa New Zealand's rocky reefs and kelp forests. The goal of Elle's PhD is to use a trait based approach to investigate the relationship between large brown seaweeds and increasing ocean temperatures due to climate change. She will be contributing trait data to the canopy traits global network with data collection assistance by her advisors and fellow students.

Our laboratory focuses on the ecology, physiology, and taxonomy of macroalgae. Our current research includes the restoration of Saccharina beds, population genetic studies of commercially important macroalgae to better understand their reproductive strategies, and the taxonomic reassessment of brown algae in Japan.