Miller Lab

Curriculum vitae

I label myself as a marine ecophysiologist, biomechanic, intertidal ecologist, or just gadget guy, all depending on the day and my mood. I am primarily interested in how marine organisms deal with the physical environment including the weather and waves, as well as how organisms deal with each other via competition and predation. Much of my research has focused on northeastern Pacific rocky intertidal habitats from California to Alaska, but I have also worked on New England rocky shore communities, on Antarctic scallops, and in kelp forests and estuary habitats. I am interested in how individual organisms and communities might cope with the effects of climate change, but also how they cope with day-to-day variation in their environment. I employ a variety of methods and approaches that draw from the fields of biomechanics and physiology, and do work both in the field and lab.

Monica Klopp, M.Sc.

Monica completed her Masters degree at San Diego State University in Fall of 2025, where she studied the impacts of water quality changes in Southern California estuaries on the behavior and physiology of Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels.

Klopp, M.J. (2025) Cardiac and valve-gaping activity of mussels in response to common stressors in San Diego estuaries. Masters thesis, San Diego State University. (PDF)

Lauren Strope, M.Sc.

Lauren Strope earned her Masters degree at San Diego State University in 2023. She studied the growth and survival of the native oyster Ostrea lurida and interactions with eelgress in a restored oyster bed and eelgrass system in Newport Bay, southern California.

Strope, L.Y. (2023) Effects of eelgrass presence and estuarine abiotic factors on oyster physiology. Masters thesis, San Diego State University (PDF)