Dr. Sarah Dudas

Canada Research Chair, Shellfish Ecosystems Interactions Research Program, Centre for Shellfish Research

Contact Information

Research Interest

• Ecosystem interactions
• Shellfish population dynamics
• Invertebrate larval dispersal
• Marine non-indigenous species
• Conservation

Current Research

My research focuses on investigating the interactions between shellfish aquaculture activities and the ecosystem in which they occur. This research will utilize the alteration of the ecosystem through shellfish aquaculture activities as an ‘experiment-of-opportunity’ to advance our understanding of top-down and bottom-up interactions in nearshore coastal ecosystems. 

My short-term goals are to examine the specific interactions between aquaculture activities and coastal ecosystem components.  Longer-term goals are to integrate ecosystem interaction data into a functional ecosystem model, and also, to facilitate monitoring programs that address industry needs and enable the observation of unexpected changes (e.g. sporadic shellfish die-offs). 

Education

• PhD, University of Victoria 2000-2005
  • Thesis: Invasion dynamics of the varnish clam,  Nuttallia obscurata in coastal British Columbia
• BSc, University of Guelph 1993-1997
  • Thesis:  Power spectral analysis of phytoplankton, zooplankton and environmental variables

Grants and Awards

• Canada Research Chair, 2010-2015
• Canadian Foundation for Innovation 2010-2015
• Western Canadian Universities Marine Sciences Scholarship 2005
• Aquaculture Association of Canada Scholarship 2005
• National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) PGS A, B Scholarships 2000-2004

Select Publications

• Dudas, S.E., Rilov, G. Tyburczy, J.A. and Menge, B.A. (2009) Linking larval abundance, onshore supply and settlement: an assessment of instantaneous and integrated methods. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 387, 81-95.
• Menge, B.A., Chan, F., Dudas, S.E., Dafne Eerkes-Medrano, Grorud-Colvert, K., Heiman, K., Hessing-Lewis, M., Iles, A., Milston-Clements, R., Noble, M., Page-Albins, K., Rilov, G., Rose, J., Tyburczy, J.A., Vinueza, L. and P. Zarnetske (2009) Asymmetry in citation breadth in terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecological publications: implications for generality and progress in ecology. Front. Ecol. Env. 7(4), 182-183.
• Rilov, Gil, Dudas, S.E., Menge, B.A., Grantham, B.A., and J. Lubchenco. 2008. The surf zone: A semi-permeable barrier to onshore recruitment of invertebrate larvae? J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 361, 59-74
• Dudas, Sarah E., Grantham, B. A., Kirincich, A.R., Menge, B.A, Lubchenco, J. and J.A. Barth. 2008. Current reversals as determinants of intertidal recruitment on the central Oregon coast. In print, ICES Journal of Marine Science.
• Dudas, S.E., Dower, J.F. and B.A. Anholt. 2006.  Invasion dynamics of the varnish clam (Nuttallia obscurata): A matrix demographic modeling approach. Ecology, 88(8), 2084-2093
• Dudas S.E. and J.F. Dower. 2006. Reproductive ecology and dispersal potential of the varnish clam Nuttallia obscurata, a recent invader in the Northeast Pacific. Mar. Ecol. Prog.  Ser., 320, 195-205
• Dudas, S.E., McGaw, I.J. and J.F. Dower. 2005. Selective crab predation on native and introduced bivalves in British Columbia. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 325(1), 8-17
• Levings, C.D., Kieser, D., Jamieson, G.S., and S. Dudas. 2002. Marine and Estuarine Alien Species in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia.  In: Alien invaders in Canada’s waters, wetlands and forests. Edited by R. Claudi, P. Nantel and E. Muckle-Jeffs. Natural Resources Canada

Select Presentations

• Dudas, S.E., Rilov, G., Tyburczy, J.A. and B.A. Menge. 2009. Linking Larval Supply and Intertidal Settlement Patterns.  Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 20th Biennial Conference, Portland, OR, USA
• Dudas, S.E. (2009) Shellfish aquaculture in an ecosystem context: bottom-up and top-down ecosystem approaches and tools. Aquaculture Canada 2009, Nanaimo, BC
• Dudas, S.E., Rilov, G., Tyburczy, J.A., Kirincich, A.R., Menge, B.A., Lubchenco, J. and J.A. Barth. 2008. Exploring linkages between nearshore oceanography, onshore larval supply and settlement. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Ocean Sciences Meeting, Orlando, FL, USA.
• Dudas, S.E., Grantham, B. A., Kirincich, A.R., Menge, B.A, Lubchenco, J. and J.A. Barth. 2007. The influence of nearshore current reversals on intertidal recruitment along the central Oregon coast. ICES/PICES Conference for Early Career Scientists: New Frontiers in Marine Science, Baltimore, MD, USA
• Dudas, S.E., Grantham, B. A., Kirincich, A.R., Menge, B.A, Lubchenco, J. and J.A. Barth. 2007. Current reversals as determinants of intertidal recruitment on the central Oregon coast: differential effects on barnacles and mussels. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Sante Fe, NM, USA
• Dudas, S.E. 2006. Marine ecosystem monitoring:  a step towards ecosystem-based management. Namgis First Nation marine environmental monitoring design workshop.  Alert Bay, BC, CAN
• Dudas, S.E., Rilov, G., Tyburczy, J.A., Menge, B.A. and Lubchenco, J. 2006. Quantifying larval supply to exposed rocky intertidal shores. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography 2006 Summer Meeting, Victoria, BC, CAN
• Dudas, S.E. and J.F. Dower. 2005. Modeling the growth and survival of an introduced bivalve, the varnish clam (Nuttallia obscurata), in the Northeast Pacific.  Western Society of Naturalists Meeting 2005, Monterey, CA, USA
• Dudas, S.E. and J.F. Dower. 2004. Factors contributing to the invasion success of the varnish clam, Nuttallia obscurata, in British Columbia – Aquaculture 2004, Honolulu, HI, USA
• Dudas, S.E., McGaw, I.J. and J. F. Dower. 2003. Foraging behavior of two crab species on native and non-indigenous bivalves in coastal British Columbia - Third International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions,  Scripps Institution of Oceanography,La Jolla, CA, USA