Brian N. Tissot, Ph.D.Professor of Earth & Environmental Science
Research focus: ecology and conservation of marine invertebrates and fishes; conservation science, management, and policy; human impact assessment on marine ecosystems; evolutionary ecology of marine invertebrates; 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:
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:
My past and present major research projects:
Awards I have won:
Professional journals, grant agencies and publishers I review for:
Professional meetings (as presenter or co-author):
2002 Western Groundfish Conference, Ocean Shores, WA
2002 Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA.
2003 Western Groundfish Conference, Victoria, BC.
2004 Western Society of Naturalists, Long Beach, CA
2004 Western Society of Naturalists, Ventura, CA.
2004 Western Society of Naturalists, Sonoma, CA.
2005 GeoHab (Marine Geological & Biological Mapping), Sidney, BC.
2005 International Symposium on deep-sea corals, Miami, FL.
2005 Lowell Wakefield Symposium, American Fisheries Society, Anchorage, AK.
2005 North America Marine Protected Area Network Symposium, Loreto, Mexico.
2005 Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA.
2006 Western Groundfish Conference, Newport, OR.
2006 Western Society of Naturalists, Redmond, CA.
2007 Society for Conservation Biology, San Jose, CA.
2007 Western Society of Naturalists, Ventura, CA.
2008 Western Groundfish Conference, Santa Cruz, CA.
Talks I have given to the community:
Recent Grants
2001-2002 Impacts of Aquarium Fish
Collecting and the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii.
Hawaii 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, Hawaii. Department of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawaii ($8643).
1997-98 Establishing the Hawaii 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 Hawaii and Maui. Department of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawaii ($3600).
1995-97 Assessment of change in the marine biota and habitat of Pelekane Bay Hawaii, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($3994).
Major Publications
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. PDF
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. PDF
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. PDF
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 Hawaii undersea geo-observatory project at Honuapo, Hawaii 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. and D. M. Brosnan. 2001. Long Term Coral Reef Monitoring Programs: Working Towards a Synthesis of Science, Management and Policy. In: Best, B. and R. Pomeroy, Relevant Findings from the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium: Implications for Coral Reef Management and Policy. USAID. PDF
Nasby, N. Embley, R., Tissot, B. N, Hixon. M., Wright, Wright, Merle, S. and W. Wakefield. 2002. Integration of Historical Groundfish Habitat Data with New High Resolution Remotely Sensed Data on Heceta Bank, Oregon. Fisheries Bulletin 100(4):739-751. PDF
Tissot, B. N. and L. E. Hallacher. 2003. The effects of aquarium collectors on coral reef fishes in Hawaii. Conservation Biology 17(6): 1759-1768 PDF
Tissot, B.N. , Walsh, W. and L. E. Hallacher. 2004. Evaluating the effectiveness of a marine reserve network in Hawaii to increase the productivity of an aquarium fishery. Pacific Science 58(2): 175-188.PDF
Tissot, B. N., W. Waldo Wakefield, N. P.F. Puniwai, J. Pirtle, K.York and J. E.R. Clemons. 2004. Abundance and distribution of structure-forming megafaunal invertebrates, including cold-water corals, on Heceta Bank, Oregon, 2000-2002. NOAA Technical Report, 48pp. PDF
Aaby, A., D. J. Wright, B. N. Tissot. 2004. Case Study of the ArcGIS Marine Data Model: Examining Habitat Utilization Patterns of Reef Fish along the West Coast of Hawaii. Proc. 24th Annual ESRI User Conference, San Diego, CA, Paper 1458. PDF Also
Capitini, C., B. N. Tissot, M. Carroll, W. Walsh and S. Peck. 2004. Aquarium fisheries management in west Hawaii: a dynamic conflict. Soc. Nat. Res. 17: 763-778. PDF
Tissot, B. N. 2004. Long-term population trends in the black abalone, Haliotis cracheroidii, along the eastern pacific coast. NOAA Technical Report for ESA Status Review. 41 pp.
Walsh, W. J., B. N. Tissot and L. E. Hallacher. 2004. A report on the findings and recommendations of effectiveness of the West Hawai`i regional fishery management area. Report to the 23rd Hawaii Legislature. 38 pp. PDF
Tissot, B. N. 2005. Integral marine ecology: community-based fishery management in Hawaii. World Futures 61: 79-95. PDF
Wakefield, W.W., C.E. Whitmire, J.E.R. Clemons, B.N. Tissot. 2005. Fish habitat studies: Combining high-resolution geological and biological data. In P. W. Barnes and J. P. Thomas, editors. Benthic habitats and the effects of fishing. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 41; 199-138. Bethesda, Maryland.
Tissot, B. N., M. M. Yoklavich, M. S. Love, K. York and M. Amend. 2006. Benthic invertebrates that form habitat structures on deep banks off southern California, with special reference to deep sea coral. Fisheries Bulletin 104: 167-181. PDF
Williams, I. D., W.J. Walsh, B.N. Tissot, L.E. Hallacher. 2006. Impact of observers’ experience level on counts of fishes in underwater visual surveys. Marine Ecology Progress Series 310: 185-191. PDF
Hixon, M. A. and B. N. Tissot. 2007. Comparison of trawled vs. untrawled mud seafloor assemblages of fishes and macroinvertebrates at Coquille Bank, Oregon. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 344: 23-34. PDF
Tissot, B. N., M. A. Hixon and D. L. Stein, D. L. 2007. Habitat-based submersible assessment of groundfish assemblages at Heceta Bank, Oregon from 1988 to 1990. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 352: 50-64. PDF
Tissot, B. N. 2008. Video analysis, experimental design, and database management of submersible-based habitat studies. pp. 157-167 In J.R. Reynolds and H.G. Greene (eds). Marine Habitat Mapping Technology for Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Fairbanks, AK. CD-ROM. doi:10.4027/mhmta.2008.11 PDF
Ortiz, D. M and B. N. Tissot. 2008. Ontogenetic patterns of habitat use by a coral reef fish in an MPA network: A multi-scaled remote sensing and in-situ approach. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 365: 217-232. PDF
Tissot, B. N., W. W. Wakefield, M. A. Hixon and J. E. R. Clemons. 2008. Twenty years of fish-habitat studies on Heceta Bank, Oregon. pp. 203-217 In J.R. Reynolds and H.G. Greene (eds). Marine Habitat Mapping Technology for Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Fairbanks, AK. CD-ROM.doi:10.4027/mhmta.2008.15 PDF
Starr, R., M. Yoklavich and B. Tissot. 2008. Monitoring MPAs in deep water off central California: 2007 IMPACT submersible baseline survey. California Sea Grant College Program Publication No. T-067. 21pp. PDF