Staff Profile
Dr. Greg Ruiz, Senior Scientist

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

  • Miller, A. Whitman ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Minton, Mark S. ; Ambrose, Richard F. (2007). Differentiating successful and failed molluscan invaders in estuarine ecosystems . Marine Ecology Progress Series, 332 , 41-51.
  • Rawlings, T. K. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Colwell, Rita R. (2007). Association of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor and O139 Bengal with the copepods Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora affinis . Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73 , 7926-7933.
  • Bullard, S. G. ; Lambert, G. ; Carman, M. R. ; Byrnes, J. ; Whitlatch, Robert B. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Miller, R. J. ; Harris, L. ; Valentine, P. C. ; Collie, J. S. ; Pederson, J. ; McNaught, D. C. ; Cohen, A. N. ; Asch, R. G. ; Dijkstra, Jennifer A. ; Heinonen, K. (2006). Colonial ascidian Didemnum sp A: Current distribution, basic biology and potential threat to marine communities of the northeast and west coasts of North America. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 342 , 99-108.
  • Herwig, R. P. ; Cordell, J. R. ; Perrins, J. C. ; Dinnel, P. A. ; Gensemer, R. W. ; Stubblefield, W. A. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Kopp, J. A. ; House, M. L. ; Cooper, W. J. (2006). Ozone treatment of ballast water on the oil tanker S/T Tonsina: chemistry, biologiy and toxicity . Marine Ecology Progress Series, 324 , 37-55.
  • McGee, Steven ; Piorkowski, R. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2006). Analysis of recent vessel arrivals and ballast water discharge in Alaska: Toward assessing ship-mediated invasion risk. Marine pollution bulletin, 52 , 1634-1645.
  • Murphy, I. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. ; Dunsmuir, W. T. M. ; Waite, T. D. (2006). Optimized parameters for fluorescence-based verification of ballast water exchange by ships. Environmental Science & Technology, 40 (7) , 2357-2362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es0519381
  • (2005). Biological study of container ships arriving to the Port of Oakland. Final Report. Port of Oakland .
  • Carlton, James T. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2005). Vector science and integrated vector management in bioinvasion cology: conceptual frameworks. Invasive alien species (36-58) Island Press .
  • Carlton, James T. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2005). Magnitude and consequences of bioinvasions in marine ecosystems: implications for conservation biology. Marine conservation biology: the science of maintaining the sea's biodiversity (123-148) Island Press .
  • Minton, Mark S. ; Verling, E. ; Miller, A. Whitman ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2005). Reducing propagule supply by ships to limit coastal invasions: effects of emerging strategies . Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6 , 304-308.
  • Ross, D. J. ; Johnson, C. R. ; Hewitt, C. L. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2005). Interaction and impacts of two introduced species on a soft-sediment marine assemblage in SE Tasmania . Marine Biology, 144 , 747-756.
  • Hines, Anson H., Ruiz, Gregory M., Hitchcock, Natasha Gray and deRivera, Catherine. . (2004). Projecting range expansion of invasive European green crabs (Carcinus maenas) to Alaska: Temperature and salinity tolerance of larvae . Smithsonian Environmental Research Center .
  • Hines, Anson H., Ruiz, Gregory M., Hitchcock, Natasha Gray and deRivera, Catherine. . (2004). Projecting range expansion of invasive European green crabs (Carcinus maenas) to Alaska: Tempurature and salinity tolerance of larvae. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center .
  • Murphy, Kathleen R. ; Boehme, Jennifer ; Cobel, Paula ; Cullen, Jay ; Field, Paul ; Moore, Willard ; Perry, Elgin ; Sherrell, Robert ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2004). Verification of mid-ocean ballast water exchange using naturally occurring coastal tracersi. Marine pollution bulletin, 48 , 711-730.
  • Smith, N. F. ; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2004). Phenotypic plasticity in the life history of the mangrove snail Cerithidea scalaiformis . Marine Ecology Progress Series, 284 , 195-209.

Pages