Rykaczewski Lab - Ecosystem Oceanography and Climate Change

Ryan Rykaczewski

Supervisory Marine Scientist

Ecosystem Sciences Division
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
(808) 725-5372

Department of Oceanography
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

B.S., 2002, University of Miami
Ph.D., 2009, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD

Address mail to:

Ryan Rykaczewski
Ecosystem Sciences Division
NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
1845 Wasp Blvd, Bldg. 176
Honolulu, HI 96818-5007 USA

I am a fisheries oceanographer investigating ecosystem responses to climate variability and change. This research involves consideration of theory, observations (time series and process studies), and models.

My research group works to understand the impact of climate processes--both natural and anthropogenic--on fisheries and ecosystem productivity. By investigating the influence of physical processes on nutrient composition, the carbonate system, oxygen content, and the structure of planktonic assemblages, we hope to better understand the implications of long-term climate changes for the productivity of living marine resources.

We seek to understand the responses of marine ecosystems and fisheries to climate variability while sharing our passion for oceanography and exploration.

News:

Relocation to the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center:
In fall of 2019, the lab migrated from South Carolina to the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, allowing increased focus on the dynamics of ecosystems of the North Pacific and their interactions with climate processes.

Current opportunities:

Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher:
Join the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAR) at NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 'Omics Network as a Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher. Contribute to improving the analytical workflows needed to operationalize environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding surveys to enhance biodiversity exploration and monitoring across marine ecosystems from coral reefs to the deep-sea. Together with other new hires at NOAA Science Centers across the nation, be a part of the newly established NMFS 'Omics Network designed to collaboratively develop powerful, reproducible, and streamlined end-to-end operational workflows that automate the analysis of eDNA metabarcoding data. We are seeking a Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher (Postdoc/early Career Researcher) to co-lead the improvement of analytical workflows for eDNA metabarcoding in our marine ecosystem surveys. This is a 3-year, full-time position supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, located at NOAA's Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Annual Salary range $67,200-$75,600, commensurate with experience. You'll work closely with a collaborative team of researchers to improve data analysis techniques, refine existing resources and/or develop novel tools to build reproducible, flexible, and automated workflows for multi-marker, multi-trophic level eDNA metabarcoding data streams using rich existing datasets. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in Bioinformatics and a PhD in Bioinformatics, Molecular Ecology, Data Science, Biology or related field. You should ideally be knowledgeable of current metabarcoding pipelines, have strong programming skills in one or more languages, and be proficient in R. Ideally you will have a background in genomics, community ecology, biodiversity analyses, and data visualization. Knowledge of marine ecology is preferred, but not required. Skillsets and expertise in other systems could be easily applied. Interested candidates should apply directly to RCUH Human Resources by the closing date, 03/29/2024. Applicants must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident Alien. See the annoucement linked here.

Graduate Student Positions:
Although the lab is not currently accepting new students, opportunities may be available in the future through the graduate program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Undergraduate student positions:
If you have an interest in opportunities for undergraduates at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center or at the University of Hawaiʻi, please contact me for more information.