We are primarily field ecologists with a research program focused on the fundamental principles that underpin the structure and function of food webs.  We use this context to explore how organisms mediate energy flow in ecosystems through both top-down (e.g., predation) and bottom-up (e.g., nutrient cycling) processes.  In particular, we employ two of the most pervasive human impacts in coastal ecosystems - over-exploitation of top predators and ecosystem fragmentation - as core hypothesis testing frameworks.  Although many projects fall within the bounds of community ecology, our research program spans population, ecosystem and evolutionary questions.  This integrated, interdisciplinary, research program provides for a multi-faceted understanding of how humans are driving ecological change across multiple ecosystem types.