Cameron H. Ainsworth
Assistant Professor
Fisheries Oceanography
Ph.D. University of British Columbia, 2006
Office Phone: (727) 553-3373
Email: ainsworth@usf.edu
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Research Interests
My research is focused on understanding how human activities influence the structure and functioning of marine communities. Within this framework, I concentrate on three key areas: examining anthropogenic drivers of ecosystem change, examining ecosystem services and the bioeconomic rationales for conservation, and developing new methods and materials for ecosystem-based management of marine systems. I use a variety of deterministic and stochastic modeling tools, including trophodynamic and end-to-end modeling approaches, as well as species-level models of oceanography and ecology. Some of my recent work has focused on assessing marine use policies using a management strategy evaluation (MSE) approach – a type of closed-loop policy analysis, in which we simulate each part of Holling's adaptive management cycle (stock assessment, implementation of harvest rules, and policy evaluation). Key to this approach is recognizing feedbacks from the ecosystem that occur in response to management actions (e.g., harvest rules, marine protected areas, catch shares), and evaluating tradeoffs with respect to socioeconomic and ecological policy objectives. There is increasingly a need to be cognizant of potential complications to resource management caused by climate change, but new modeling tools allow us to assess risk and uncertainty. My work contributes to NOAA's integrated ecosystem assessments (IEAs).
Selected Publications
Ainsworth, C.H. (In press) Quantifying Species Abundance Trends in the Northern Gulf of California Using Local Ecological Knowledge. Marine and Coastal Fisheries.
Ainsworth, C.H., Kaplan, I.C., Levin, P.S. and Mangel, M., (2010). A statistical approach for estimating fish diet compositions from multiple data sources: Gulf of California case study. Ecological Applications, 20(8): 2188-2202.
Ainsworth, C.H., and Pitcher, T.J. (2010). A bioeconomic optimization approach to marine ecosystem restoration: British Columbia case study. Environmental Conservation, 36(4): 301-311.
Samhouri, J., Levin, P.S. and Ainsworth, C.H. (2010). Identifying thresholds for ecosystem-based management. PLoS One 5(1): e8907. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.008907
Pitcher, T.J. and Ainsworth, C.H. (2010). Resilience to Change in Two Coastal Communities: Using the Maximum Dexterity Fleet. Marine Policy, 34: 810-814.
Varkey, D. Ainsworth, C.H., Pitcher, T.J., Goram, Y. and Sumaila, R., (2010). Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries Catch in Raja Ampat Regency, Eastern Indonesia. Marine Policy, 34(2): 228-236.
Ainsworth, C.H., Pitcher, T.J., Heymans, J.J., Vasconcellos, M. (2008). Reconstructing historical marine ecosystems using food web models: Northern British Columbia from Pre-European Contact to Present. Ecological Modelling, 216: 354-368.
Ainsworth, C.H., Varkey, D.A. and Pitcher, T.J. (2008) Ecosystem simulations supporting Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management in the Coral Triangle, Indonesia. Ecological Modelling, 214: 361-374.
Ainsworth, C.H., Pitcher, T.J. and Rotinsulu, C. (2008) Evidence of fishery depletions and shifting cognitive baselines in Eastern Indonesia. Biological Conservation, 141(3): 848-859. (Featured article in Current Conservation)
Grober-Dunsmore, R., Wooninck, L., Field, J., Ainsworth, C.H., Beets, J.P., Berkeley, S., Bohnsack, J.A., Boulon, R., Brodeur, R. D., Brodziak, J., Crowder, L. Gleason, D. F., Hixon, M. A., Kaufman, L., Lindberg, B.L., Miller, M. L., Morgan, L and Wahle, C. (2007). Vertical Zoning in Marine Protected Areas: Ecological Considerations for Balancing Pelagic Fishing with Conservation of Benthic Communities. Fisheries, 33(12): 598-610.
Ainsworth, C.H. and Pitcher, T.J. (2006) Modifying Kempton's Species Diversity Index for use with Ecosystem Simulation Models. Ecological Indicators, 6(3):623-630.
Ainsworth, C.H. and Pitcher, T.J. (2005) Estimating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated catch in British Columbia's Marine Fisheries. Fisheries Research, 75: 40-55.
Ainsworth, C.H. and Sumaila, U.R. (2005) Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 62: 1104-1110.
