Dr. Andrew Leising is a research oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA-Fisheries), Southwest Fisheries Science Center, in La Jolla, CA, and is a co-lead of NOAA-Fishery’s Ecosystem Status Report for the California Current Ecosystem. His current research focuses on the responses of fish and zooplankton to climate variability, and the characterization of oceanic variability (particularly marine Heatwaves), through his work as part of NOAA’s California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA) team. Additionally, he conducts research concerning the ecology of marine crustaceans and their behavioral responses to environmental variation within the southern California region using underwater autonomous vehicles in conjunction with the CalCOFI program.