Research
I joined the Tinker-Estes Lab in November 2008 and I'm currently working as the on-site project manager for our Big Sur study region. I manage and operate our remote field station based out of the Big Creek Reserve located in the heart of the Big Sur coastline. The Big Sur study region allows us to collect important ecological, geo-spatial, and behavioral data from a relatively undisturbed population of Southern sea otters. Comparisons will be made between data obtained from Big Sur otters and data collected from other locations where otters are subject to a higher degree of anthropogenic stressors.
I am one of a team of rebreather divers for the Tinker-Estes lab that captures sea otters for tagging and instrumentation. I also participate in intertidal and sub-tidal (SCUBA) sampling for sea otter prey items. Occasionally I work as an observer on aerial surveys during our semi-annual sea otter census in California. While most of my fieldwork is conducted along the Central California coast, I also participate in the collection of sea otter foraging data, otter capture diving, and sub-tidal survey diving in Southeast Alaska.
Education
B.S. Marine Biology,
University of Miami, FL 2005
M.S. Marine Affairs and Policy/Marine Biology and Fisheries
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, FL 2007
Email:
jtomoleo@ucsc.edu
