Broadly, I am interested in benthic community and species-specific responses to multiple climate change stressors. At Scripps, I investigated the phenotypic changes in deep echinoid sea urchins along their current depth distributions. This understanding of natural variation throughout a species depth range may provide insight into how species may respond to expanding hypoxia and hypercapnia. Characteristics of interest included biomineral compositions of calcified hardparts, morphology and biomechanical properties.

The valuable experiences I gained at Scripps in the fields of climate change biology and marine policy have led to my involvement with the UC Revelle Program on Climate Science and Policy and the student-led group, Ocean Scientists for Informed Policy. These opportunities have allowed me to witness the multilateral climate policy process at COP21 in Paris, France, and COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Searching for native Olympia oysters and invasive whelks in Tomales Bay, CA

In July 2012, I had the privilege of collecting samples and analyzing video footage from submarine dives in the Bering Sea. I served as the only scientific support aboard a cruise to Pribilof Canyon in collaboration with Greenpeace and the Scripps Collections museum. Click here to read my blogs from this experience.

I have participated in ROV and HOV surveys in the deep sea and have been a member of many student-led research cruises, including the San Diego Coastal Expedition, studying continental shelf ecosystems in coastal San Diego.

Aft deck of the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza, exploring Pribilof Canyon, Bering Sea (July 2012)

Ph.D. in Oceanography, 2017. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.

M.S. in Marine Biology, 2014. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.

B.S. in Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity, 2008. University of California, Davis.

Peer Reviewed Publications:

Google Scholar
Research Gate

KN Sato, J Powell, D Rudie, and LA Levin. 2018. Evaluating the promise and pitfalls of a potential climate change-tolerant sea urchin fishery in southern California. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Available at https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx225.

KN Sato, LA Levin, and K Schiff. 2017. Habitat compression and expansion of sea urchins in response to changing climate conditions on the California continental shelf and slope (1994-2013). Deep Sea Research II. 137: 377-389. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.08.012.

Levin, LA, K Mengerink, KM Gjerde, AA Rowden, CL Van Dover, MR Clark, E Ramirez-Llodra, B Currie, CR Smith, KN Sato, and N Gallo. 2016. Defining "serious harm" to the marine environment in the context of deep-seabed mining. Marine Policy. 74: 245-259. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.09.032.

Frank, MB, SE Naleway, J-Y Jung, TS Wirth, CL Cheung, FB Loera, S Medina, KN Sato, JRA Taylor, and J McKittrick. 2016. A Protocol for Bioinspired Design: A Ground Sampler Based on Sea Urchin Jaws. Journal of Visualized Experiments. 110: e53554. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/53554.

Hettinger, A, E Sanford, TM Hill, AD Russell, KN Sato, J Huey, M Forsch, H Page and B Gaylord. 2012. Persistent carry-over effects of planktonic exposure to ocean acidification in the Olympia oyster. Ecology. 93: 2758-2768. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/12-0567.1.

Bagulayan, A, JN Bartlett, AC Carter, B Inman, E Keen, EC Orenstein, N Patin, KN Sato, A Simonis, EC Sibert, A Van Cise, and P Franks. 2012. Journey to the Center of the Gyre: A Lagrangian perspective on the fate of the Tohoku tsunami debris field. Oceanography 25: 200-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.55.

Gaylord, B, TM Hill, E Sanford, EA Lenz, LA Jacobs, KN Sato, AD Russell, A Hettinger. 2011. Functional impacts of ocean acidification in an ecologically critical foundation species. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 2586-2594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.055939.

Gray Literature:

Le, JT, and KN Sato. 2016. Ecosystem services of the deep ocean. In: Ocean and Climate - Scientific Notes. 2nd Edition. pp. 49-54. Available at http://www.ocean-climate.org. Link to PDF.

Levin, LA, N Le Bris, E Cordes, Y Eddebbar, RM Jeffreys, KN Sato, C-L Wei, and the climate change work group of DOSI Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative. 2016. A case for the deep ocean. In: Ocean and Climate - Scientific Notes. 2nd Edition. pp. 45-48. Available at http://www.ocean-climate.org. Link to PDF.