Brian N. Tissot, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Regional Planning

14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98686-9600
Office: ELS 230Q, 360-546-9611
Research lab: ELS 208, 360-546-9454
Fax: 360-546-9064
Science Office: 360-546-9630
E-mail: tissot@vancouver.wsu.edu

Research focus: human impact assessment on marine ecosystems; evolutionary ecology of marine invertebrates; fishery biology; statistical design and analysis.

Philosophy of teaching: to challenge students to think creatively and critically about the natural world and their role in it.

Education | Courses | Administration | Research | Awards | Reviews | Talks | Grants | Publications | Web Sites

My education:

• B.S. with honors, Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California.1980. Advisor: Dave Montgomery.
      Thesis: Diet and Growth in Juvenile Black Abalone.
• M.S., Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 1985. Advisor: Dr. Gayle Brenchley.
      Thesis: Mechanisms and Selective Factors Associated with Morphological Variation and Diversity in Two Families of Marine Gastropods.
• Ph.D., Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.1990. Advisor: Dr. Mark Hixon.
      Thesis: Geographic Variation and Mass Mortality in the Black Abalone: the Roles of Development and Ecology.

Courses I have taught:

Washington State University Vancouver (1998-present):

• ES/RP 444: Environmental Assessment
• ES/RP 491: Senior Seminar
• Stat 412: Biometry
• Stat 555: Statistical Ecology

Clark College (Winter 2000):

• Biology 144: Marine Biology

University of Hawai'i at Hilo (1992-1998):

• Biol 101 General Biology
• Mare 171 Marine Biology
• Mare 171L Marine Biology Laboratory
• Mare 190 Hawaiian Marine Field Experience
• Mare 250 Statistical Applications in Marine Science
• Mare 264/364 Quantitative Underwater Ecological Survey Techniques
• Biol 281 General Ecology
• Mare 282 Global Change
• Mare 350 Marine Monitoring
• Geol 350 Paleontology
• Mare 366 Tropical Marine Research Investigations
• Mare 371/371L Biology of Marine Invertebrates
• Mare 382 Marine Ecology
• Mare 470 Senior Thesis Research
• Mare 471 Senior Thesis Report
• Mare 499 Advanced Statistical Analysis

Oregon State University (1987-1990):

• Marine Biology
• Marine Ecology

University of California Irvine (1985):

• General Ecology

Administrative experience:

• Director, Science Programs. Washington State University, Vancouver.
• Director, Kalakaua Marine Education Center. University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
• Chair, Marine Science Department. University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
• Strategic Planning. University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

My past and present major research projects:

• Diet and growth in juvenile black abalone (1978-1980)
• Geographic variation in snakehead cowries (1980-1985)
• Impacts of thermal discharges from a power plant on marine organisms (1980-1982)
• Population dynamics of intertidal black abalone (1983-present)
• Fish and invertebrate assemblages on the Oregon continental shelf (1988-1992)
• Potential effects of global warming on marine organisms (1990-1992)
• Spatial and temporal variation in coral reef communities (1992-present)
• Human impact assessment on coral reef ecosystems (1994-present)
• Current major research projects

Awards I have won:

• 1996. Board of Regents' Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Hawaii at Hilo.
• 1994. Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Hawaii at Hilo.
• 1989. Outstanding Graduate Student Publication, Oregon State University.
• 1989. Atlantic-Richfield Environmental Award for Best Paper, Southern California Academy of Sciences.
• 1984. Edward Steinhaus Outstanding Teaching Assistant, University of California, Irvine.
• 1982. Delmar C. Seawright Outstanding Paper, Annual Meeting of the Western Society of Naturalists.

Professional journals, grant agencies and publishers I review for:

• American Naturalist
• Biological Invasions
• California Sea Grant
• Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Center for Field Studies/Earthwatch
• Ecology
• Evolution
• Fishery Bulletin
• Journal of General and Comparative Endocrinology
• Marine Aquarium Ciuncil
• National Undersea Research Program
• National Science Foundation
• Paleobiology
• Prentice-Hall
• University of California California Space Institute
• Veliger

Talks I have given at professional meetings:

• 1980 American Society of Zoologists, Seattle, WA.
• 1981 Western Society of Malacologists, San Diego, CA.
• 1981 Western Society of Naturalists, Santa Barbara, CA.
• 1982 Western Society of Naturalists, Long Beach, CA.
• 1984 American Society of Zoologists, Denver, CO.
• 1985 Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA.
• 1986 American Malacological Union, Monterey, CA.
• 1986 Geological Society of America, San Antonio, TX.
• 1987 Pacific Ecology Conference, Friday Harbor, WA.
• 1988 American Society of Zoologists, San Francisco, CA.
• 1989 Pacific Ecology Conference, Charleston, OR.
• 1989 First International Abalone Symposium, La Paz, Mexico.
• 1989 Southern California Academy of Sciences, Thousand Oaks, CA.
• 1990 Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA.
• 1990 National Science Foundation Morphometrics Workshop, Stony Brook, NY.
• 1990 America Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists, San Clemente, CA.
• 1991 Ecological Society of America, San Antonio, TX.
• 1991 Western Society of Naturalists, Santa Barbara, CA.
• 1991 Black Abalone Mortality Workshop, California Sea Grant Cooperative Extension Program, Santa Barbara, CA.
• 1992 Second International Temperate Reef Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand.
• 1994 Coral Reef Workshop, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Honolulu, HI.
• 1994 Fourth California Islands Symposium, Santa Barbara, CA.
• 1994 NSF/Sea Grant Global Change Workshop, Honolulu, HI.
• 1994 Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA.
• 1995 American Malacological Union, Hilo, HI.
• 1995 Hawai'i Environmental Educator's Association, Honolulu, HI.
• 1996 Clean Oceans Conference, Hanalei, HI.
• 1997 Western Society of Naturalists, La Paz, Mexico
• 1997 Clean Oceans Conference, Hanalei, HI.
• 1997 Pacific Island Coastal Zone Management Meeting, Wailea, HI.
• 1999 U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, Wailea, HI.
• 1999 International Symposium on Scientific Aspects of Assessment, Monitoring and Restoration. National Coral Reef Institute, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
• 1999 Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA.
• 2000  International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali, Indonesia.
• 2000 Western Society of Naturalists, Portland, OR.
• 2001 Promoting experiential education through integrated research: examples from marine biology,, Northwest Association of Biology Teachers, Vancouver, WA.Examples
• 2001 Western Society of Naturalists, Ventura, CA.

Talks I have given to the community:

• 1992 Judge, Marine Options Student Symposium, University of Hawai’i Hilo.
• 1992 Living in the greenhouse: predicting the effects of global climate change on marine life, UH-Hilo Campus Center.
• 1993 Coral Reef Ecology, Reef Keeper’s Workshop, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1993 Judge, Hawai’i County Science Fair.
• 1993 Careers in marine science, Waiakea High School, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1993 Judge, Marine Options Student Symposium, Windward Community College.
• 1993 Coordinator, High School Marine Biology talks.
• 1994 Tidepooling, Na Pua No Ea Au, Super Science Saturday, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Future of coral reefs in Hawai’i, Unitarian Church, Hilo.
• 1994 Careers in Marine Science, Na Pua No Ea Au, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Careers in Marine Science, Hawai’i State Teachers Association, Hilo High School, Hilo, Hawaii, HI
• 1994 Fish are fun, Keaukaha Elementary School, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Careers in Marine Science, Hilo High School Career Day, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Future of coral reefs in Hawai’i, Hawai’i Island Senior Institute, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Overview of Global Change and Effects of global change on marine ecosystems. Teacher Training Workshop "Global Environmental Change" sponsored by the National Science Foundation and The University of Hawai’i Sea Grant Extension Service. University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Oahu, Honolulu.
• 1994 Coral reef ecology, National Wildlife Federation, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Field trip leader, Coral reef ecology field trip, National Wildlife Federation, Kona, Hawaii, HI.
• 1994 Facilitator, Monitoring and Research needs for Coral Reefs, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Honolulu, Oahu, HI.
• 1994 Reviewer, Marine Affairs Symposium.
• 1995 Tidepooling, Na Pua No Ea Au, Super Science Saturday, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Judge, Hawai’i County Science Fair, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Fish are fun, YWCA Pre-school, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Presentations on Hawaiian Coral Reef Biology, Jason Project VI: Island Earth, Sarasota, Florida.
• 1995 Judge, Marine Options Student Symposium, Maui Community College.
• 1995 Coral Reef Ecology and Monitoring Research, Sierra Club, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Lecturer, Global Environmental Change, Critical Scientific Thinking, Coral Reef Ecology, SPEBE (Special Programs to Enhance Basic Education), UH-Hilo.
• 1995 Fun with marine creatures, YWCA Pre-school, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Field Trip Leader, Na Pua No Ea Au, Native American Educators Workshop.
• 1995 Coral reef ecology and conservation, National Wildlife Federation.
• 1995 Coral Reef Ecology community meeting, UH-Hilo.
• 1995 Coral Reef Ecology community meeting, Richardson’s, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Coral Reef Ecology, UH-Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1995 Integrated Watershed Management, Hawaii Environmental Educators Association, Honolulu, Oahu, HI.
• 1996 Coral Reef Ecology, community talk, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Tidepooling, Na Pua No Ea Au, Super Science Saturday, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Judge, Hawai’i County Science Fair, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Coral Reef Ecology, community talk, Kapoho, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Volcanoes in the sea: the birth of islands and reefs in Hawai’i. Marine Affairs Symposium keynote address, Hilo, Hawaii, HI .
• 1996 The Hawai’I Coral Reef Network, State of Hawai’i Coastal Zone Management Committee, Honolulu, Oahu, HI.
• 1996 Creating a Coral Reef Database, Clean Oceans Conference, Hanalei, Kauai, HI.
• 1996 Impacts to Coral Reef Ecosystems, Ecotourism Society, Kehena, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Ecology of Coral Reefs, Kaua’i Community College, Lihue, Kauai, HI.
• 1996 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Save Our Seas, Anini Beach, Kauai, HI.
• 1996 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Save Our Seas, Haena, Kauai, HI.
• 1996 Careers in Marine Biology, Hawai’i Exploratory Academy, National Energy Laboratory, Hawaii, HI.
• 1996 Marine Science at UH-Hilo, About UH-Hilo Television Show, Hilo, HI with Walter Dudley
• 1996 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Save Our Seas, Kapa’a, Kauai, HI.
• 1996 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Save Our Seas, Koloa Landing, Kauai, HI.
• 1997 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Sea Grant & Kona Reefers, Keauhou, Hawaii, HI.
• 1997 Tidepooling, Na Pua No Ea Au, Super Science Saturday, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1997 Marine Biology as a Career, Na Pua No Eau, Hawai’i Interactive Television, Hilo, HI.
• 1997 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Sea Grant & Kona Reefers, Honokohau, Hawaii, HI.
• 1997 Coral Reef Studies at Kapoho, Kapoho Community Association, Kapoho, Hawaii, HI.
• 1997 Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Clean Oceans Conference, Hanalei, Kauai, HI.
• 1998 Integrating Science into Secondary Education, Teacher Education Workshop, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, HI.
• 1998 Ecological Impacts of El Nino, Focus on UH-Hilo Television Show (broadcast state-wide).
• 1999 Fun with shells, South Ridge Elementary, Ridgefield, WA
• 1999 Marine Biology as a Career, Chinook Elementary, Vancouver, WA.
• 2000 Century of the Ocean: Careers in Marine Biology. Academy of Science & Engineering, Forest Grove, OR.
• 2001 Marine Biology, South Ridge Elementary, Ridgefield, WAm Marine Biology
• 2001 Thoughts on Teaching Science, Frontier Middle School, Vancouver, WA

Recent Grants

2001-2002     Impacts of Aquarium Fish Collecting and the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Hawai’i. Hawai’i Coral Reef Initiative Research Program (PI: $83,000).

2001-2002    Ocean Exploration off the West Coast of the U.S.: A Voyage of Discovery to Unexplored Marine Habitats in the Northeast Pacific - Completing the Lewis and Clark Legacy. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration  (Co-PI: $13,956).

2000-2001. Impacts of Aquarium Collectors and the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Hawai'i. Hawai'i Coral Reef Initiative Research Program (PI: $90,000).

2000-2001. Planning for Reform in Secondary Science and Math. National Science Foundation. (Co-PI: $52,215)

1999-2001    Combining historical data, high resolution seafloor imagery, and new survey and analysis techniques in fisheries habitat studies off Oregon. National
                   Undersea Research Program (Co-PI: $90,972).

1999-2000. Impacts of Aquarium Collectors and the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Hawai'i. Hawai'i Coral Reef Initiative Research Program (PI: $63,000)

1999-2000. Hawai'i Coral Reef Monitoring and Assessment Program. Hawai'i Coral Reef Initiative Research Program (Co-PI: $220,000).

1998-99 Hawai'i Coral Reef Monitoring and Assessment Program (Co-PI: $197,000).

1998-99 Restocking of black abalone on Santa Cruz Island: a model for restoring the abalone fishery in California. Pacific Gas & Electric Company ($10,000).

1997-98 Monitoring reef fish collecting impacts in Kona, Hawai’i. Department of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawai’i ($8643).

1997-98 Establishing the Hawai’i Coral Reef Network on the Internet: providing a forum for education and research. National Coral Reef Initiative, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ($6000).

1996-98 Coral reef monitoring of Hawai’i and Maui. Department of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawai’i ($3600).

1995-97 Assessment of change in the marine biota and habitat of Pelekane Bay Hawai’i, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($3994).

Publications (reprints available upon request):

Tissot, B. N. and J. R. Steinbeck. 1983. Microgeographic variation in Collisella digitalis: the use of shell morphometrics as a possible indicator of thermal impact. Chapter 9 In: Environmental Investigations at Diablo Canyon, 1982. D. W. Behrens, ed. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Department of Engineering Research, San Ramon, CA.

Tissot, B. N. 1984. Multivariate analysis of geographic variation in Cypraea caputserpentis (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae). Veliger 27(2): 106-119.

Tissot, B. N. 1988. Geographic variation and heterochrony in two species of cowries (genus Cypraea). Evolution 42(1): 103-117.

Tissot, B. N. 1988. Morphological variation along intertidal gradients in a population of black abalone Haliotis cracherodii Leach 1814. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 117: 71-90.

Tissot, B. N. 1988. Multivariate Analysis. Chapter 3 In: M. McKinney, ed. Heterochrony In Evolution: A Multi-disciplinary Approach. Plenum Press, New York.

Tissot, B. N. 1990. El Niño responsible for decline of black abalone off southern California. Hawaiian Shell News 38(6): 3-4.

Hixon, M. A., B. N. Tissot, W. G. Percy. 1991. Fish Assemblages of Rocky Banks of the Pacific Northwest. Final Report, OCS Study 91-0052, U.S. Minerals Management Service, Camarillo, CA. 410 pp.

Hixon, M. A. and B. N. Tissot 1992. Fish Assemblages of Rocky Banks of the Pacific Northwest. Final Report Supplement, OCS Study 91-0025, U.S. Minerals Management Service, Camarillo, CA. 128 pp.

Tissot, B. N. 1992. The effects of water movement on the ecology and evolution of the Haliotidae. Chapter 4 In: S. Shepherd and M. Tegner, eds. Proceedings of the First International Abalone Symposium: Biology, Fisheries, and Culture. La Paz, Mexico. Blackwells Sci. Publ. Ltd., Sydney.

Stein, D. L., B. N. Tissot, M. A. Hixon and W. A. Barss. 1992. Fish-habitat associations on a deep reef at the edge of the Oregon continental shelf. Fisheries Bulletin 90: 540-551.

Arnold, J. E. and B. N. Tissot. 1993. Measurement of significant marine paleotemperature variation using black abalone shells from prehistoric middens. Quaternary Research 39: 390-394.

Lubchenco, J. L., S. A. Navarette, B. N. Tissot, and J. C. Castilla. 1993. Possible ecological responses to global climate change: nearshore benthic biota of northeastern Pacific coastal ecosystems. Chapter 12 In: H. A. Mooney, E. R. Fuentes, and B. I. Kronberg. eds. Earth System Responses to Global Change: Contrasts between North and South America. Academic Press, San Diego.

Walls, S. C., J. J. Beatty, B. N. Tissot, D. G. Hokit and A. R. Blaustein. 1993. Morphological variation and cannibalism in a larval salamander. Can. J. Zool. 17: 1543-1551.

McDermid, K., Tissot, B. N., L. Hallacher, W. Dudley, M. Childers and J. Coney. 1995. Marine flora and fauna assessment for the Hawai’i undersea geo-observatory project at Honu’apo, Hawai’i County. State of Hawaii Environmental Assessment

Tissot, B. N. 1995. Recruitment, growth, and survivorship of black abalone on Santa Cruz Island following mass mortality. Southern California Academy of Sciences 94(3): 32-47.

Starr, R. M., D. S. Fox, M. A. Hixon, B. N. Tissot, G. Johnson and W. H. Barss. 1996 Comparison of submersible-survey and hydroacoustic-survey estimates of fish density on a rocky bank. Fishery Bulletin 94: 113-123.

Tissot, B. N. 1996. Volcanoes in the sea: the birth of islands and reefs in Hawai'i. Hawai'i State Teachers Association Newsletter. Copy posted on the Big Island Coral Reef Conservation Group.

Tissot, B. N. 1997. Community-based management of coral reefs in Hawai'i. Reefnet Issue 4.

Tissot, B. N., K. McDermid, Mike Gawel and A. Edward. 1998. Impacts of nearshore dredging activities on marine biological communities on Pohnpei, Micronesia. Sea Grant Technical Report.

Tissot, Brian N. 1998. Changes in the marine habitat and biota of Pelekane Bay, Hawai'i, over a 20-year period. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Office, Honolulu, HI.  Technical Report. [html] [PDF]

Hallacher, L. E. and Tissot, B. N. 1999. QUEST: Quantitative Underwater Ecological Survey techniques, a coral reef monitoring workshop. Proceedings of the Hawai'i Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Honolulu, HI.[PDF]

Tissot, Brian N. and L. E. Hallacher. 1999. Impacts of aquarium collectors on reef fishes in Kona, Hawai'i. Division of Aquatic Resources, Honolulu, HI. Technical Report. [html] [PDF]

Tissot, B. N. 1999. Adaptive Management of Aquarium Fish Collecting in Hawaii. Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin 6: 16-19.  [html] [PDF]

Tissot, B. N. In Press. Hawaiian Reef Ecosystems. Chapter 7 in: Feick, Charles (Ed). Fisherman’s Guide to the Hawaiian Islands. Mutual Publishing Co., Honolulu, HI.

Tissot, B. N. In Press. Statistical Analysis. Appendix B in: Gulko, David (Ed), Coral Reef Monitoring Manual for Hawai’i. Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu, HI.

Tissot, B. N. and L. E. Hallacher. in revision .The impacts of aquarium collectors on coral reef fishes in Hawaii. Conservation Biology.

Tissot, B. N., M. A. Hixon and D. L. Stein, D. L.  in revision .Before the fall: habitat-based submersible assessment of groundfish assemblages at Hecta Bank, Oregon from 1988 to 1990. Fisheries Bulletin

Nasby, N. Embley, R., Tissot, B., Hixon. M., Wright, Wright, Merle, S. and W. Wakefield. Submitted.  Integration of Historical Groundfish Habitat Data with New High Resolution Remotely Sensed Data on Heceta Bank, Oregon. Fisheries Bulletin

Web Sites

• Marine Life of Hawai'i
• Kalakaua Marine Education Center
• Pacific Tsunami Museum
• Hawai'i Coral Reef Network
• WSU Vancouver Science Program
• Global Ecology Network