Principal Investigator, Senior Scientist
Research Labs
Staff Profile
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
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(2021). Invasion of the body snatchers: the role of parasite introduction in host distribution and response to salinity in invaded estuaries. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 288 (1953) https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0703
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(2021). Design and installation of ballast water sample ports: Current status and implications for assessing compliance with discharge standards. Marine pollution bulletin, 167 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112280
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(2021). Environmental factors drive the release of Perkinsus marinus from infected oysters. Parasitology, 148 (5) , 532-538. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182020002383
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(2021). Stage-specific overcompensation, the hydra effect, and the failure to eradicate an invasive predator. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (12) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2003955118
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(2021). Four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid environmental change . Environmental Reviews, 29 (2) https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2020-0088
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(2021). Alternative futures for global biological invasions. Sustainability Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00963-6
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(2021). Monitoring Non-indigenous Species in Port Habitats: First Application of a Standardized North American Protocol in the Mediterranean Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.700730
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(2021). Invasion history shapes host transcriptomic response to a body-snatching parasite. Molecular ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16038
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(2021). Trade Exports Predict Regional Ballast Water Discharge by Ships in San Francisco Bay. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.638955
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(2020). Translational Molecular Ecology in practice: Linking DNA-based methods to actionable marine environmental management . Science of The Total Environment, 744 , Article 140780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140780
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(2020). Trends in the detection of aquatic non-indigenous species across global marine, estuarine and freshwater ecosystems: A 50-year perspective. Diversity and Distributions, https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13167
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(2020). Founder effects and species introductions: A host versus parasite perspective . Evolutionary Applications, 13 (3) , 559-574. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12868
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(2020). Down the up staircase: Equatorward march of a cold-water ascidian and broader implications for invasion ecology . Diversity and Distributions, 26 (7) , 881-896. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13055
