Wayne Sousa UC Berkeley

Sousa Lab: Community Ecology at UC Berkeley

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Sousa Lab Research
Mangrove Zonation
Wayne's current research examines the role of disturbance-generated light gaps in the regeneration of canopy trees in a mangrove forest on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The roles of interspecific competition, herbivory by insects and crabs, propagule dispersal and various edaphic factors in gap regeneration are being investigated. He employs a blend of detailed sampling to document spatial and temporal variation and controlled field experiments to test alternative hypotheses for the observed patterns of variation.

Host-Parasite Interactions
For about 10 years, Wayne studied the interactions between the salt marsh snail Cerithidea californica and a diverse assemblage of larval trematodes that exploit it as first intermediate host in their life cycles. Most of the work was conducted in Bolinas Lagoon, just north of San Francisco. The two major questions this research addressed were (1) do parasites compete for snail hosts?, and (2) do parasites regulate host population size?

Rocky Seashore Communities
Wayne's dissertation research and initial research at Berkeley focused on the role of disturbance in structuring rocky intertidal communities. The dissertation demonstrated that intermediate levels of disturbance could maintain the diversity of algal assemblages, and tested several alternative models of successional species replacement. Shortly after joining the Berkeley faculty, he conducted a study of the interaction between the effects of disturbance patch size and herbivory on successional dynamics within intertidal mussel beds and also investigated the influence of propagule availability on successional patterns.

	Mangrove Zonation Wayne's current research examines the role of disturbance-generated light gaps in the regeneration of canopy trees in a mangrove forest on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The roles of interspecific competition, herbivory by insects and crabs, propagule dispersal and various edaphic factors in gap regeneration are being investigated. He employs a blend of detailed sampling to document spatial and temporal variation and controlled field experiments to test alternative hypotheses for the observed patterns of variation.
	Host-Parasite Interactions For about 10 years, Wayne studied the interactions between the salt marsh snail Cerithidea californica and a diverse assemblage of larval trematodes that exploit it as first intermediate host in their life cycles. Most of the work was conducted in Bolinas Lagoon, just north of San Francisco. The two major questions this research addressed were (1) do parasites compete for snail hosts?, and (2) do parasites regulate host population size?
	Rocky Seashore Communities Wayne's dissertation research and initial research at Berkeley focused on the role of disturbance in structuring rocky intertidal communities. The dissertation demonstrated that intermediate levels of disturbance could maintain the diversity of algal assemblages, and tested several alternative models of successional species replacement. Shortly after joining the Berkeley faculty, he conducted a study of the interaction between the effects of disturbance patch size and herbivory on successional dynamics within intertidal mussel beds and also investigated the influence of propagule availability on successional patterns.