Mark Albins
Mark Albins is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Zoology at Oregon State University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a minor in Marine Science in 2003 from the University of Hawai'i at Hilo where he graduated with Highest Honors. Since 1999, Albins has dedicated his life to exploring, investigating, and understanding the ecology of coral-reef fishes. Over the last 12 years, he has had the privilege to dive on some of the most remote and pristine coral reefs in the world. He is currently a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and recent recipient of the Oregon State University Lottery Scholarship and the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Ecology of Marine Nekton Award. Mark’s dissertation research, advised by Dr. Mark Hixon, focuses on investigating the effects of an invasive predator, the Pacific red lionfish, on Atlantic coral-reef fish communities. This research has comprised several controlled field experiments, implemented across a range of temporal and spatial scales, and resulted in the first published experimental evidence that lionfish have a significant negative effect on native coral-reef fishes. Albins is dedicated to producing exceptional research that will inform management and provide the tools necessary to conserve our invaluable living marine resources for generations to come, and is committed to education, both within academia and across traditional boundaries, and believes that knowledge empowers us all to live with intention and a sense of responsibility.