Vincent S. Saba
Research Fishery Biologist
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Ecosystem Assessment Program
c/o NOAA GFDL
email: Vincent.Saba@noaa.gov
phone: +1-609-452-6535
Research
My broad, interdisciplinary research interests are in the fields of marine ecosystems
and climate variability, fisheries oceanography, climate change impacts on living
marine resources, sea turtle biology, ecosystem modeling, and ocean color derived
phytoplankton variability. I'm particularly interested in the trophic cascading
dynamics within marine ecosystems between lower trophic primary producers and higher
trophic organisms through both large- and small-scale climate variability. This
includes both bottom-up factors such as resource availability and top-down factors
including climate change and fisheries. Since joining the NMFS Northeast Fisheries
Science Center's Ecosystem Assessment Program, my current research has mainly focused
on the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. I'm investigating
the implications of climate forced changes in phytoplankton abundance and size-class
structure on upper trophic fishery resources and protected species. Additionally,
I'm considering climate-forced changes in the critical habitats of various species
in terms of physiological constraints (i.e. temperature and oxygen) and larval settlement
(circulation changes). Understanding contemporary relationships between climate,
oceanography, and lower/upper trophic levels is a critical step towards assessing
potential impacts of climate change on living marine resources. My research is geared
to aid in the process of moving forward towards Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management.
The complex biophysical interactions within marine food webs, coupled with the complicated
business of assessing the impacts of fisheries on marine ecosystems (and vice versa)
requires interdisciplinary research to elucidate the primary mechanistic underpinnings
driving historical, contemporary, and future variability/trends of living marine
resources. To accomplish this, I collaborate with a wide range of fellow scientists
at NMFS and GFDL, along with those in academia and other national/international
organizations.
Publications
Saba, V.S., Stock, C.A., Spotila, J.R., Paladino, F.P., Santidrián-Tomillo, P. 2012. Projected response of an endangered marine turtle population to climate change. Nature Climate Change, 2, 814-820. Link to pdf.
Saba, V.S. 2012. Sea Turtles in the Tropical High Seas: Climate
Variability, Oceanography, and Ecosystem Responses. In: Sea Turtles
of the Eastern Pacific: Advances in Research and Conservation
(eds J.A. Seminoff and B.P. Wallace), University of Arizona Press, 368 p. Link to publisher.
Santidrián-Tomillo, P., Saba, V.S., Blanco, G.S., Stock, C.A.,
Paladino, F.V., Spotila, J.R. 2012. Climate driven egg and hatchling mortality threaten
survival of eastern Pacific leatherback turtles. PLoS One, 7(5), e37602. Link to pdf.
Saba, V.S., Friedrichs, M.A.M., Carr, M-E., Antoine, D., Armstrong, R.A., Asanuma, I., Aumont, O., Bates, N.R., Behrenfeld, M.J., Bennington, V., Bopp, L., Bruggeman, J., Buitenhuis, E.T., Church, M.J., Ciotti, A.M., Doney, S.C., Dowell, M., Dunne, J., Dutkiewicz, S., Gregg, W., Hoepffner, N., Hyde, K.J.W., Ishizaka, J., Kameda, T., Karl, D.M., Lima, I., Lomas, M.W., Marra, J., McKinley, G.A., Mélin, F., Moore, J.K., Morel, A., O’Reilly, J., Salihoglu, B., Scardi, M., Smyth, T.J., Tang, S., Tjiputra, J., Uitz, J., Vichi, M., Waters, K., Westberry, T.K., Yool, A. 2010. Challenges of modeling depth-integrated marine primary productivity over multiple decades: A case study at BATS and HOT. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 24, GB3020, doi:10.1029/2009GB003655. Link to pdf.
Mansfield, K.L., Saba, V.S., Keinath, J.A., Musick, J.A. 2009. Satellite tracking reveals a dichotomy in migration strategies among juvenile loggerhead turtles in the Northwest Atlantic. Marine Biology, 156, 2555-2570. Link to pdf.
Suryan, R.M., Saba, V.S., Wallace, B.P., Hatch, S.A., Frederiksen, M., Wanless, S. 2009. Environmental forcing on life history strategies: Evidence for multi-trophic level responses at ocean basin scales. Progress in Oceanography, 81 (1-4), 214-222. Link to pdf.
Wallace, B.P., Saba, V.S. 2009. Environmental and anthropogenic impacts on intra-specific variation in life history traits and population trends of leatherback turtles: Opportunities for targeted research and conservation. Endangered Species Research, 7 (1), 11-21. Link to pdf.
Friedrichs, M. A. M., Carr, M-E., Barber, R.T., Scardi, M., Antoine, D., Armstrong, R.A., Asanuma, I., Behrenfeld, M.J., Buitenhuis, E.T., Chai, F., Christian, J.R., Ciotti, A.M., Doney, S.C., Dowell, M., Dunne, J., Gentili, B., Gregg, W., Hoepffner, N., Ishizaka, J., Kameda, T., Lima, I., Marra, J., Mélin, F., Moore, J.K., Morel, A., O’Malley, R.T., O’Reilly, J., Saba, V.S., Schmeltz, M., Smyth, T.J., Tjiputra, J., Waters, K., Westberry, T.K., Winguth, A. 2009. Assessing the uncertainties of model estimates of primary productivity in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Journal of Marine Systems, 76 (1-2), 113-133. Link to pdf.
Saba, V.S., Spotila, J.R., Chavez, F.P., Musick, J.A. 2008. Bottom-up and climatic forcing on the worldwide population of leatherback turtles. Ecology 89 (5), 1414-1427. Link to pdf. Editor's Choice in the journal Science.
Saba, V.S., Shillinger, G.L., Swithenbank, A.M., Block, B.A., Spotila, J.R., Musick, J.A., Paladino, F.V. 2008. An oceanographic context for the foraging ecology of eastern Pacific leatherback turtles: Consequences of ENSO. Deep-Sea Research I 55 (5), 646-660. Link to pdf.
Santidrián-Tomillo, P., Saba, V.S., Piedra, R., Paladino, F.V., Spotila, J.R. 2008. Effects of illegal harvest of eggs on the population decline of leatherback turtles in Marino Las Baulas National Park, Costa Rica. Conservation Biology 22 (5), 1216-1224. Link to pdf.
Saba, V.S., Santidrián-Tomillo, P., Reina, R.D., Spotila, J.R., Musick, J.A., Evans, D.A., Paladino, F.V. 2007. The effect of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on the reproductive frequency of eastern Pacific leatherback turtles. Journal of Applied Ecology 44 (2), 395-404. Link to pdf.
Saba, V.S. and Spotila, J.R. 2003. Survival and behavior of freshwater turtles after rehabilitation from an oil spill. Environmental Pollution 126 (2), 213-223. Link to pdf.
Submitted
Saba, V.S. Oceanic habits and habitats - Dermochelys. In: The Biology of Sea Turtles Volume III (eds J. Wyneken, J. Musick, and K. Lohmann), in review.
Friedland, K., Saba, V.S. et al. Climate effects on the U.S. Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. In: Ecology of the U.S. Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (eds M.J. Fogarty et al.), in review.
Polovina, J.J., Saba, V.S. et al. Open Ocean Systems. In: The Sea Volume 16: Marine Ecosystem-Based Management (eds M.J. Fogarty and J.J. McCarthy), in review.
Professional Service
Review Editor – Endangered Species Research
Editorial Board Member – Nature: Scientific Reports
