ABOUT

Our lab’s primary research interests are in applied ecology, invasion biology, and fisheries management. The majority of our publications focus on these topics. 

PDFs of available papers are found below. More recent papers will be posted as they become available.

​PUBLICATIONS

• Wilson, K, Willette DA. (2022) Valuation of ecoystem services of a nascent urban park in east Los Angeles. Urban Ecosystems
• Kuzmenko T, Raetz-Vigon J*, Willette DA. (2022) At home yogurt-making to investigate microbiology concepts: A remote biology laboratory. American Biology Teacher, 84, 290-296.
• Winters G, Teicheberg M, Reuter H, Viana IG, Willette DA. (2022) Seagrasses under times of change – Editorial. Frontiers in Marine Science
• Gleadall I, Sauer WHH, Moustahfid H, Ames CL, Willette DA. (2022) Sustainable seafood using octopus as a model. Ocean Monthly.
• Willette DA, Navarrete-Forero G, Gold Z, Lizano AMD, Gonzalez-Smith L*, Sotil G. (2021) Characterizing industrial and artisanal fishing vessel catch composition using environmental DNA and satellite-based tracking data. Foods, 10, 1425. 
• Willette DA, Esteves S*, Fitzpatrick B, Smith ML*, Wilson K*, & Yuan X (2021). The last mile challenge: Certified seafood and federal labeling laws out of sync at the end of the supply chain in Los Angeles, California. Marine Policy, 125, 104380.
• Smulders FO, Chiquillo KL*, Willette DA, Barber PH, & Christianen MJ (2020). Inconclusive evidence of sexual reproduction of invasive Halophila stipulacea: a new field guide to encourage investigation of flower and fruit production throughout its invasive range. Botanica Marina, 63: 537-540.
• Muthukrishnan R, Chiquillo KL*, Cross C*, Fong P, Kelley T, Toline CA, Zweng R & Willette DA (2020). Little giants: a rapidly invading seagrass alters ecosystem functioning relative to native foundation species. Marine Biology, 167(81), 81.
• Winters G, Beer S, Willette DA, Viana IG, Chiquillo KL*, Beca-Carretero P, Villamayor B, Azcarate-Garcia T, Shem-Tov R, Mwabvu B, Miglore L, & Rilov G (2020). The tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea: reviewing what we know from its native and invasive habitats, alongside identifying knowledge gaps. Frontiers in Marine Science7:300 doi:10.3389/fmars/2020.00300
• Gamliel I*, Guy-Haim T, Garval T, Buba Y, Willette DA, Rilov G, Belmaker J. (2020) Incorporating physiology into species distribution models moderates the projected impact of warming on Mediterranean marine species. Ecography, DOI: 10.1111/ecog.04423
• Willette DA, Chiquillo KL*, Cross C*, Fong P, Kelley T, Toline CA, Zweng R*, Muthukrishnan. (2020) Growth and recovery after small-scale disturbance of a rapidly-expanding invasive seagrass in St. John, U.S., Virgin Islands. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 523: 151265.
• Deen SH*, Kuzmenko T, Asghari H, Willette DA. (2020) Investigating Los Angeles’ urban roadway network from a biologically-formed perspective. PeerJ, 8: e8238.
• Griffiths SP, Leadbitter D, Willette D, Kaymaram F, Moazzam M. (2020) Longtail tuna, Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851): A global review of population dynamics ecology, fisheries, and consideration for future conservation and management. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 30: 25-66. doi.org/10.1007/s11160-019-09589-5. 
• Chan AFO*, Luczon AU, Fontanilla IKC, Ong PS, Santos MD, Willette DA, Quiland JP. (2019) DNA barcoding cannot discriminate between Sardinella tawilis and S. hualiensis. Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 4: 2499-2503. 
• Viana IG, Siriwardane-de Zoysa R, Willette DA, Gilles LG. (2019) Exploring how non-native seagrass species could provide essential ecosystems services: a perspective on the highly invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the Caribbean Sea. Biological Invasions. 
• Willette DA, Cheng SH, Greenberg J, Barber PH (2018) Rethinking solutions to seafood fraud. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 16: 499-500.
• Chiquillo KL*, Barber PH, Willette DA (2019) Fruits and flowers of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the Caribbean Sea. Botanica Marina 62: 109-112.
• Willette DA, Navarrete-Forego G, Lizano AM*, Sotil G (2018) RE: eDNA to identify rare species in fisheries by-catch. eLetters Science 9 July 2018 sciencemag.com.
• ​Willette DA, Cheng SH. (2018) Delivering on seafood traceability under the new U.S. import monitoring program.  Ambio. 47: 25-30. 
• Willette DA, Simmonds SE, Cheng SH, Esteves S*, Kane TL, Nuetzel H, Pilaud N*, Rachmawati R, Barber PH. (2017) Using DNA barcoding to track seafood mislabeling in Los Angeles restaurants. Conservation Biology, DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12888.
• Ith S*, Bumrungersri S, Thomas NM, Bates PJJ, Willette DA, Khan FAA, Wonglapsuwan M, Soisook P, Maryanto I, Huang JCC, Furey NM. (2016)  Geographic variation of Rhinolophus affinis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) in the Sundaic Subregion of Southeast Asia, including the Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra. Acta Chiropterologica, 18: 141-161.
• Willette DA, Santos MD, Leadbitter D. (2015) Longtail tuna Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851) shows an atypical partitioning into multiple stocks across the Indo-Pacific based on mitochondrial DNA.  Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 32: 318-323.
• Willette DA, Iniguez AR*, Kupriyanova EK, Starger C, Varman T, Toda AH, Maralit BA, Barber PH. (2015) Christmas tree worms of Indo-Pacific coral reefs: untangling the Spirobranchus corniculatus complex.  Coral Reefs, 34: 899-904.
• Steiner SCC and Willette DA. (2015) Dimming sand halos on coral reefs in Dominica: new expansion corridors for the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea. Reef Encounters, 41:43-45. 
• Steiner SCC and Willette DA. (2015) Halophila stipulacea (Hydrochoritaceae,      Angiospermae) is changing the seagrass landscape in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Lesser Antilles. Caribbean Naturalist, 22:1-19.
• Rogers C, Willette DA, Miller J. (2014) Rapidly spreading seagrass invades the Caribbean with unknown ecological consequences. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12:546-547.
• Sienes PM*, Willette DA, Romena L, Alvior C*, and Estacion J. (2014) Biodiversity and the discovery of a cryptic species within a valued crab fishery in the Philippines. Philippine Science Letters, 7 (2): 317-323.
• Willette DA and Padin JIM*. (2014) Identifying the biodiversity of marine jacks (Carangidae) in the freshwater Taal Lake, Philippines using phenotypic features and mitochondrial DNA.  Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 30: 490-495.
• Willette DA, Chaifour J, Debrot AO, Engel S, Miller J, Oxenford HA, Short FT, Steiner SCC, and Vedie F. (2014)  Continued expansion of the trans-Atlantic invasive marine angiosperm Halophila stipulacea in the Eastern Caribbean. Aquatic Botany, 112: 98-102.
• Willette DA, Allendorf FW, Barber PH, Barshis DJ, Carpenter KE, Cresko WA, Fernandez-Silva I, Matz MV, Meyer M, Santos MD, Seeb LW and Seeb JE. (2014) So, you want to use next generation sequencing in marine systems? Bulletin of Marine Science, 90: 79-122.
• Willette DA, Carpenter KE, and Santos MD. (2014) Evolution of the freshwater sardinella, Sardinella tawilis (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae), in Lake Taal, Philippines and phylogeography of its sister-species, Sardinella hualiensis. Bulletin of Marine Science, 90: 455-470.
• Thomas RC Jr*, Willette DA, Carpenter KE, and Santos MD. (2014)  Hidden diversity in sardines: Genetic and morphological evidence for cryptic species in the Goldstripe sardinella, Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker 1849).  PLoS One, 9(1): e84719.
• Barber PH, Ablan M, Ambariyanto, Berlinck R, Cahyani D, Crandall E, Gotanco R, Junio Menez A, Mahardika N, Shankar K, Starger C, Toha H, Wahyu A, and Willette DA. (2014) Advancing biodiversity research in developing countries: the need for a new paradigm.  Bulletin of Marine Science, 90: 187-210.
• Maralit BA*, Aguila RD*, Ventolero MFH*, Perez SKL, Willette DA, and Santos MD. (2013)  Detection of mislabeled commercial fishery products in the Philippines using DNA barcodes and its implication to food traceability and safety.  Journal of Food Control, 33: 119-125.
• Willette DA and Santos MD. (2013)  Correcting the widespread misidentifications of a highly abundant and commercially important sardine species Sardinella lemuru in the Philippines.  Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 29: 881-885.
• Willette DA. (2013) Increasing the conservation yield from molecular fisheries research in the Philippines. Current Conservation, 7(2): 7-15.
• Willette DA and Ambrose RF. (2012) Effects of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea on the native seagrass and fish community in the Eastern Caribbean. Aquatic Botany, 103: 74-82.
• Willette DA, Bognot EDC, Mutia TM, and Santos MD. (2011) Biology and Ecology of sardines in the Philippines: A review. NFRDI Technical Paper Series, Vol 13 (1), August 2011.
• Willette DA, Santos MD, and Aragon MA. (2011) First report of the Taiwan sardinella Sardinella hualiensis (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae) in the Philippines. Journal of Fish Biology, 79: 2087-2094.
• Steiner SCC and Willette DA (2010) The distribution and size of benthic marine habitats in Dominica, Lesser Antilles.  Revista de Biologia Tropical, 58 (2): 589-602.
• Steiner SCC, MacFarlane KJ*, Price LM*, and Willette DA (2010) The distribution of seagrasses in Dominica, Lesser Antilles. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 58 (3) 89-98.
• Willette DA and Ambrose RF (2009) The distribution and expansion of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in Dominica, West Indies, with a preliminary report from St. Lucia.  Aquatic Botany, 91: 137-142.
• Willette DA, Janzen FJ, and Tucker JK (2005) Linking climate and physiology at the population level for a key life-history stage of turtles. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 83: 845-850.

* Indicates student/mentee author

​JOURNAL REVIEWER

• Biodiversity and Conservation, Biological Conservation, Botanica Marina, Environmental Biology of Fish, Global Ecology and Conservation, Journal of Applied Ichthyology, Journal of Coastal Research, Journal of BioSciences, Journal of Natural History, Journal of Sea Research, Marine Biodiversity Records, Marine Biology Research, Philippine Journal of Fisheries, PLoS ONE, Scientific Reports

​MEDIA

LISTEN

July 2022
BBC
‘Science Café – The Octopus’

WATCH

​June 2022
‘Seafood Tracer’

READ

January 2022
Seafood Source
‘Ocean traceability project’

WATCH

December 2021
BBC News
‘Octopus database plan to stop overfishing’

READ

September 2021
Perishable News
‘LMU-Led Team Wins NSF Award’

READ

March 2019
CNN
'What’s on the Menu?'

READ

March 2019
Spectrum News One
'The truth about where your fish come from'

WATCH

February 2019
SeafoodSource
'Seafood mislabeling common across North America​'

READ

January 2019
Quality and Assurance Magazine
'The Los Angeles Seafood Monitoring Project'

READ

June 2018
News Deeply
'New Technology is lighting up dark fishing fleets’

READ

June 2018
Food and Wine Magazine
'Why the fish formerly known as ‘snapper’ will now be called ‘sea bream’ at Sugarfish’

READ

June 2018
Los Angeles Times
'Local, sustainably caught fish? Seafood distributor’s murky supply chain is exposed.’

WATCH

March 2018​
'​National Geographic Proposal on eDNA Barcoding Project'

LISTEN

February 2018
​LMU Off-Press
'Podcast Episode 5, on​ Seafood Fraud and Illegal Fishing Research​'

READ

January 2018
News Deeply
​'Can new tracking rules stop illegal seafood from entering the U.S.?’

READ

January 2017
Eater
​'Almost half of the sushi in LA may be mislabeled’

READ

January 2017
​Fox News
'Los Angeles diners being duped by widespread sushi scam, UCLA study claims’

READ

January 2017
Huffington Post
'Study finds 47 percent of fish served at Los Angeles sushi spots is mislabeled’

READ

January 2017
KPCC
​'Something’s fishy in LA’s sushi supply, study says’

READ

January 2017
CBS 2/KCAL 9
​'Study: Nearly half of sushi served at LA restaurants mislabeled’

READ

January 2017
International Business Times
​'Fake fish in sushi? Beware: Los Angeles restaurants are serving mislabeled rolls.’

WATCH

September 2016​
​'Collaboration
through ​3D Printing'