Cameron H. Ainsworth

Associate Professor

Personal profile

About

Dr. Ainsworth’s research is focused on understanding how human activities and climate influence the structure and functioning of marine communities and developing new tools and methodologies to support ecosystem-based management. As part of this research, Dr. Ainsworth and his students employ a variety of statistical and numerical simulation models to characterize trophic linkages in marine ecosystems, habitat use by fish and invertebrates, and the influence of physical oceanography on the distribution of marine life. His ongoing studies include a management strategy evaluation (MSE) of Gulf of Mexico marine protected area design. The MSE approach is a type of closed-loop policy analysis that simulates each part of Holling’s adaptive management cycle (stock assessment, implementation of harvest rules, and policy evaluation). Key to this approach is recognizing feedbacks from the ecosystem that occur in response to management actions and evaluating tradeoffs with respect to socioeconomic and ecological policy objectives. This work is being done in collaboration with NOAA as part of their Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for the Gulf of Mexico, and other Gulf-area agencies. Another major project ongoing in the Ainsworth lab is the evaluation of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This study focuses on the short and long-term impacts of oil toxicity in the ecosystem, as well as the impacts of mediation actions like the use of dispersants and fishery closures.

Related documents

Education/Academic qualification

Ph.D., University of British Columbia

… → 2006

B.S., University of British Columbia

… → 1997

Disciplines

  • Life Sciences
  • Marine Biology
  • Environmental Sciences