Staff Profile
Photo for Greg Ruiz

Biography

Greg is a marine ecologist with active research interests in invasion biology, biogeography, and ecology in coastal marine ecosystems.  He heads a research group of ~ 40 full-time biologists, based at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) laboratories, located on Chesapeake Bay and San Francisco Bay. Most of his research explores the patterns, mechanisms, and consequences of marine invasions at a multiple spatial and temporal scales. He conducts extensive comparative measurements and experiments among estuaries along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts for North America.  A Senior Scientist at SERC for over 25 years, Greg also is a Research Professor and founding co-director of the Aquatic BioInvasion Research and Policy Institute at Portland State University.  Greg has published over 140 scientific articles as author or coauthor, focusing primarily on marine invasion ecology and management. He began his career in California and has broad interests in marine biology and dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Greg holds a Ph.D. in zoology from University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in aquatic biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  For additional information visit SERC’s Marine Invasion Research Laboratory website at http://invasions.si.edu/.
 
Selected Publications (of 140)
 

Ruiz, GM, Fofonoff PW, Steves BP, Carlton JT. 2015. Invasion history and vector dynamics in coastal marine ecosystems: a North American perspective.  Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management (in press).

Miller AW, Ruiz GM. 2014. Artic shipping and marine invaders. Nature Climate Change 4:413-416.

Freestone AL, GM, Ruiz, & ME Torchin. 2013. Stronger biotic resistance in tropics: Effects of predation on invasion dynamics across latitude. Ecology 94:1370–1377.

Ruiz GM, Fofonoff PW, Ashton G, Minton MS, Miller AW. 2013. Geographic variation in marine invasions among large estuaries: Effects of ships and time. Ecological Applications 23:311-320.

deRivera CE, Grosholz ED, Ruiz GM. 2011. Multiple and long-term impacts of an introduced marine predator. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 429:145-155 doi:10.3354/meps09101

Ruiz GM, Fofonoff PW, Steves B, Foss SF, Shiba SN. 2011. Marine invasion history and vector analysis of California: A hotspot for western North America. Diversity and Distributions 17:362-373.

Blakeslee AMH, Altman I, Miller AW, Byers JE, Hamer CE, Ruiz GM. 2012. Parasites and invasions: a biogeographic examination of parasites and hosts in native and introduced ranges. J. Biogeography 39:609-622.

deRivera CE, Ruiz GM, Hines AJ, Jivoff P. 2005. Biotic resistance to invasion: native crab predation limits the abundance and geographic distribution of an introduced crab. Ecology 86:3364-3376.

Ruiz GM, Rawlings TK, Dobbs FC, Drake LA, Mullady T, Huq A, Colwell RR.  2000.  Worldwide transfer of microorganisms by ships. Nature 408: 49-50.

Ruiz GM, Fofonoff PW, Carlton JT, Wonham MJ, Hines AH. 2000. Invasions of Coastal Marine Communities in North America: Apparent Patterns, Processes, and Biases. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31: 481-531.

Ruiz GM, P Fofonoff, AH Hines, & ED Grosholz.  1999.  Nonindigenous species as stressors in estuarine and marine communities:  Assessing impacts and interactions.  Limnol. Oceanogr. 44:950-972.

Publications

  • Georgiades, Eugene ; Scianni, Chris ; Davidson, Ian ; Tamburri, Mario N. ; First, Matthew R. ; Ruiz, Gregory ; Ellard, Kevin ; Deveney, Marty ; Kluza, Daniel. (2021). The Role of Vessel Biofouling in the Translocation of Marine Pathogens: Management Considerations and Challenges. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.660125
  • Ricciardi, Anthony ; Iacarella, Josephine C. ; Aldridge, David C. ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Carlton, James T. ; Catford, Jane A. ; Dick, Jaimie T. A. ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Lockwood, Julie L. ; MacIsaac, Hugh J. ; Meyerson, Laura A. ; Pyšek, Petr ; Richardson, David M. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Simberloff, Daniel ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Wardle, David A. (2021). Four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid environmental change . Environmental Reviews, 29 (2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/er-2020-0088
  • Roura-Pascual, Nuria ; Leung, Brian ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Rutting, Lucas ; Vervoort, Joost ; Bacher, Sven ; Dullinger, Stefan ; Erb, Karl-Heinz ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Katsanevakis, Stelios ; Kuehn, Ingolf ; Lenzner, Bernd ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Obersteiner, Michael ; Pauchard, Anibal ; Peterson, Garry D. ; Roy, Helen E. ; Seebens, Hanno ; Winter, Marten ; Burgman, Mark A. ; Genovesi, Piero ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Keller, Reuben P. ; Latombe, Guillaume ; McGeoch, Melodie A. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Scalera, Riccardo ; Springborn, Michael R. ; von Holle, Betsy ; Essl, Franz. (2021). Alternative futures for global biological invasions. Sustainability Science, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00963-6
  • Tamburri, Mario N. ; Georgiades, Eugene T. ; Scianni, Christopher ; First, Matthew R. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Junemann, Carolyn E. (2021). Technical Considerations for Development of Policy and Approvals for In-Water Cleaning of Ship Biofouling. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.804766
  • Aylagas, Eva ; Borja, Angel ; Pochon, Xavier ; Zaiko, Anastasija ; Keeley, Nigel ; Bruce, Kat ; Hong, Peiying ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Stein, Eric D. ; Theroux, Susanna ; Geraldi, Nathan ; Ortega, Alejandra ; Gajdzik, Laura ; Coker, Darren J. ; Katan, Yasser ; Hikmawan, Tyas ; Saleem, Ammar ; Alamer, Sultan ; Jones, Burton H. ; Duarte, Carlos M. ; Pearman, John ; Carvalho, Susana. (2020). Translational Molecular Ecology in practice: Linking DNA-based methods to actionable marine environmental management . Science of The Total Environment, 744 , Article 140780. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140780
  • Essl, Franz ; Lenzner, Bernd ; Bacher, Sven ; Bailey, Sarah ; Capinha, Cesar ; Daehler, Curtis ; Dullinger, Stefan ; Genovesi, Piero ; Hui, Cang ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Katsanevakis, Stelios ; Kuehn, Ingolf ; Leung, Brian ; Liebhold, Andrew ; Liu, Chunlong ; MacIsaac, Hugh J. ; Meyerson, Laura A. ; Nunez, Martin A. ; Pauchard, Anibal ; Pysek, Petr ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Richardson, David M. ; Roy, Helen E. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Russell, James C. ; Sanders, Nathan J. ; Sax, Dov F. ; Scalera, Riccardo ; Seebens, Hanno ; Springborn, Michael ; Turbelin, Anna ; van Kleunen, Mark ; von Holle, Betsy ; Winter, Marten ; Zenni, Rafael D. ; Mattsson, Brady J. ; Roura-Pascual, Nuria. (2020). Drivers of future alien species impacts: An expert-based assessment . Global Change Biology, 26 (9) , 4880-4893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15199
  • Calder, Dale R. ; Carlton, James T. ; Larson, Kristen ; Mallinson, Jenny J. ; Choong, Henry H. C. ; Keith, Inti ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2019). Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from marine fouling assemblages in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador . Aquatic Invasions, 14 (1) , 21-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2019.14.1
  • Carlton, James T. ; Keith, Inti ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2019). Assessing marine bioinvasions in the Galapagos Islands: implications for conservation biology and marine protected areas. Aquatic Invasions, 14 (1) , 1-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2019.14.1.01
  • Davidson, Ian C., Scianni, Christopher, Minton, Mark S. and Ruiz, Gregory M. (2018). A history of ship specialization and consequences for marine invasions, management and policy. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55 (4) , 1799-1811. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13114
  • Heller, Philip ; Casaletto, James ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Geller, Jonathan. (2018). A database of metazoan cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences derived from GenBank with CO-ARBitrator . Scientific Data, 5 (180156) http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.156
  • Miller, Jessica A. ; Carlton, James T. ; Chapman, John W. ; Geller, Jonathan B. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2018). Transoceanic dispersal of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis on Japanese tsunami marine debris: An approach for evaluating rafting of a coastal species at sea. Marine pollution bulletin, 132 , 60-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.10.040
  • Miller, Jessica A. ; Gillman, Reva ; Carlton, James T. ; Murray, Cathryn Clarke ; Nelson, Jocelyn C. ; Otani, Michio ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2018). Trait-based characterization of species transported on Japanese tsunami marine debris: Effect of prior invasion history on trait distribution. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 132 , 90-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.064
  • Therriault, Thomas W. ; Nelson, Jocelyn C. ; Carlton, James T. ; Liggan, Lauran ; Otani, Michio ; Kawai, Hiroshi ; Scriven, Danielle ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Clarke Murray, Cathryn. (2018). The invasion risk of species associated with Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris in Pacific North America and Hawaii. Marine pollution bulletin, 132 , 82-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.063
  • Ricciardi, Anthony ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Carlton, James T. ; Dick, Jaimie T. A. ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Iacarella, Josephine C. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Lockwood, Julie L. ; MacIsaac, Hugh J. ; Pyšek, Petr ; Richardson, David M. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Simberloff, Daniel ; Sutherland, William J. ; Wardle, David A. ; Aldridge, David C. (2017). Invasion Science: A Horizon Scan of Emerging Challenges and Opportunities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 32 (6) , 464-474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2017.03.007
  • Ricciardi, Anthony ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Carlton, James T. ; Dick, Jaimie T. A. ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Iacarella, Josephine C. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Lockwood, Julie L. ; MacIsaac, Hugh J. ; Pyšek, Petr ; Richardson, David M. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Simberloff, Daniel ; Sutherland, William J. ; Wardle, David A. ; Aldridge, David C. (2017). Invasion Science: Looking Forward Rather Than Revisiting Old Ground - A Reply to Zenni et al.. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 32 (11) , 809-810. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2017.08.007

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