Growing up in San Diego, I had a fond appreciation of the ocean and its critters, and I wanted to make sure that they would always be a part of my life.  What better way than to study marine ecology?

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology at the University of California, Davis (UCD) in 1998.  As part of my undergraduate studies, I conducted a research project at UCD’s Bodega Marine Laboratory studying site-specific dietary habits of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) in Tomales Bay.  After graduation, I worked for California Department of Fish and Game, studying the emigration patterns of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Butte Creek, north of Sacramento.

In 1999, I went back to school to earn a master's degree in Natural Resources (Fisheries) at Humboldt State University.  My thesis research was on the reproductive condition, dietary habits, and metazoan parasites of leopard sharks in Humboldt Bay.  After graduating,  I began work at UCD where I carried out research on the swimming performance and behavior of adult white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) around simulated fish ladder barriers (the photo above shows me with a sturgeon over 2 m in length).

Most recently, I entered the SDSU/UCD Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology.  My research in Dr. Anderson's lab will focus on the physiological trade-off between growth rate and swimming performance of larval and settlement-stage temperate marine fishes.  For example, do faster growing fish benefit from their larger size, or is there a cost incurred in terms of swimming abilities to avoid predators?

Aside from playing with fish, some of my hobbies include road and mountain cycling, bodysurfing, participating in the AIDS Lifecycle ride, working on my bikes (all six of them), cooking (Thai and Mexican are my favorites), and DJ’ing house/techno music.

Contact Jason:

Email:  jwebber@rohan.sdsu.edu