Meet Dr. Kyle Cavanaugh
Dr. Kyle Cavanaugh is a Professor and Vice Director of the Marine Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
He studies the drivers and consequences of changes in coastal foundation species such as giant kelp forests and mangroves. Cavanaugh is especially interested in what controls large-scale changes in the distribution and abundance of these species. Much of his research utilizes remote sensing (e.g. satellite, aerial and UAV imagery) to document ecological change over large space and time scales.
Currently, Cavanaugh is also the Vice Director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability's Marine Center. Their research investigates the sensitivity of marine environments to anthropogenic impacts. Additionally, Cavanaugh's work supports Kelpwatch.org, the world's largest dynamic map of canopy-forming kelp species. This collaborative effort empowers data-driven management and strategic restoration of kelp forest ecosystems.
Previously, Cavanaugh was a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, examining how mangrove forests respond to climate variability and change. He likes to observe coastal ecosystems from a variety of perspectives: under the sea, waist deep in a mangrove swamp or via a satellite orbiting 700 km above the earth!
Dr. Cavanaugh is a principal investigator (PI) for the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center's (SW CASC) Phase 3 Team.
Learn more about Dr. Cavanaugh's work:
Recent Publications
- High-resolution planet Dove data identify local drivers of kelp canopy persistence
- Marine Protected Areas enhance the resilience of kelp forests
- Drivers of kelp forest refugia during successive disturbance events
- Developing a Status and Trends Assessment for Floating Kelp Canopies across Large Geographic Areas
- New technologies for monitoring coastal ecosystem dynamics
Explore Further
Meet the people behind the science! This profile is part of the "Principal Investigator (PI) Profiles" series for the SW CASC's Phase 3 Team.
The Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SW CASC) is a federal-university partnership with the USGS and seven academic institutions across the southwest.