Natural History Wanderings

David Kushner, Marine Biologist at Channel Islands National Park. David oversees long-term marine monitoring programs at Channel Islands National Park that were established in 1982. David began working for Channel Islands National Park as a seasonal Biological Technician in 1990 and has conducted annual underwater monitoring ever since on the parks long-term Kelp Forest Monitoring. This Program is designed to collect long-term population data on fish, invertebrates and algae that inhabit the kelp forests at the Channel Islands. The information is used to assess the health of the kelp forest ecosystem and has been actively used for science and management locally and around the world.

David was born in Los Angeles, California and began diving in Southern California at the age of 16 in 1982. Since, he has been diving on projects from Glacier Bay, Alaska to the Antarctic Peninsula logging over 4,000 dives. He received a BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989.