Mia Jean Tegner

IN MEMORIAMCalCOFI Rep., Vol. 43, 2002IN MEMORIAMMIA JEAN TEGNER1947–2001On 7 January 2001 Mia Jean Tegner died in a scubadivingaccident while working in the kelp forests off SanDiego, California. She died at the height of her career,doing what she loved best. We lost not only a goodfriend and colleague but also a powerful champion formarine conservation.Mia had a genuine, abiding passion for marine ecology,so it may come as a surprise that she received herPh.D. in molecular biology. She traded a postdoc in molecularbiology for another one to study sea urchin ecologywith Paul Dayton. It was, like so much of what shedid, a gutsy move. Lucky for us she did change fieldsand was so very good at marine ecology. Her scientificexcellence was apparent early in her career when shepublished in such prestigious journals as Nature and Science.Mia Tegner, 1975.Mia’s research focused on abalone, sea urchins, andthe kelp forest communities off southern California. Sheexamined the role of environmental variability on fisheriesand kelp forest productivity. Through her creativityand scientific rigor, she was able to detect the impactsof interdecadal shifts in ocean climate. She helped toconvince us all of the importance of episodic El Niñoevents on the structure of kelp communities. Mia didnot distinguish between basic and applied research. Shestudied what she thought was important and made sureit met the most rigorous scientific standards. Her researchhighlighted the importance of the health ofnearshore kelp forests. During her 30 years at ScrippsInstitution of Oceanography, Mia developed a strong researchprogram, publishing more than 70 papers, symposiacontributions, and book chapters. Her work helpedus change our perspective on the marine environment;what we once thought of as a vast, boundless ocean hasnow become recognized as a fragile ecosystem in needof conservation.Mia’s work gave us a framework for restoring populationsand ecosystems. It is an exceptionally difficulttask to determine just how many lobsters the kelp forestonce harbored. Mia, in collaboration with Paul, producedseminal work in historical ecology, quantifyinghow baseline abundances have changed over time. Shethen took the first steps toward abalone restoration whenshe co-authored the federal status review of whiteabalone. As a result of these efforts, white abalone becamethe first marine invertebrate to be listed as an endangeredspecies. Her work earned her fellowships inthe American Association for the Advancement ofScience and the prestigious Pew Marine ConservationProgram. The fact that she was in the middle of her Pewresearch examining the impacts of ocean conditions onabalone productivity when she died is one of the manyreasons we have taken her death so hard.Mia was an academic, though no one considered hermeek or cloistered away in an ivory tower. She workedclosely with natural resource managers and policymakersto sustain California’s marine resources and was oftenquoted by the press. She had a grittiness to her core, anda fierce determination that served her well when dealingwith controversial issues such as San Diego wastewatertreatment, abalone conservation, and marinereserves. With over 4,000 hours of bottom time she was5

IN MEMORIAMCalCOFI Rep., Vol. 43, 2002Baja Wreck, 1976. Photo by Eric Hanauer.an exceptional diver, some might say (I would say) amacho diver. Perhaps as a consequence of her extensivefirst-hand experience underwater, her abilities as a scientist,and her love of people, she could converse withanyone interested in the ocean, whether scientist, politician,or fisher. Mia’s passion for her work was contagious,and often whatever Mia thought was importantbecame the central topic of the panel discussions sheparticipated in. Her work gained her worldwide attention,and her love of travel meant that she and her husbandEric were frequently invited to wonderful andexotic places. Such a blend of passion, courage, scientificexcellence, honesty, and integrity is extremely rareand will be sorely missed.Over the years Mia and I became friends. We firstmet in 1986 when I was a graduate student. I had readall her papers and we began to correspond about ouroverlapping interests in sea urchins, abalone, diving, andmarine conservation. Over the years I would stop in onher whenever I was in La Jolla, asking her advice, droppingoff copies of my latest papers, or inviting her togive seminars. I spent a week with Mia in South Africa,listening to abalone talks during the day and eating andtalking with friends in the evenings. What could be better?We visited the diverse intertidal zone where theIndian and Atlantic Oceans meet. We had a standing invitationto dive each others’ sites: hers in the Point Lomakelp beds and mine in the Bodega Marine Life Refuge.But in the end we never got the chance. I know thatwhen I do finally get to dive with her, she will have figuredout all the best dive spots and will reveal the secretsof the kelp beds. I only hope that in the meantime,we will be wise enough to take Mia’s advice and protectour ocean’s treasures.Laura Rogers-Bennett6

IN MEMORIAMCalCOFI Rep., Vol. 43, 2002The Abalone SongThe poet George Sterling and his wife, Carrie Sterling,wrote The Abalone Song in the early 1900s while theywere living in the artist colony of Carmel. The Sterlings,with the likes of Jack London and Jimmy Hopper, feastedon California’s prime delicacy around a roaring fire onthe beach at Point Lobos or at the Café Ernest at thefoot of Fisherman’s Wharf. Adding verses to the abalonesong, sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” hasbecome a tradition among the family of researchers whoply abalone symposia around the world. There are fewrules to the tradition save these two: verses may be composedonly when in high spirits and good company, andall verses must end in the word abalone.OH! Some folks boast of quail on toastBecause they think its tonyBut I’m content to owe my rentAnd live on abalone!OH! Mission point’s a friendly jointWhere every crab’s a cronyAnd true and kind you’ll ever findThe clinging abalone.He wanders free beneath the seaWhere ‘ere the coast is stonyHe flaps his wings and madly singsThe plaintive abalone.On Carmel Bay the people sayWe feed the LazzaroniOn Boston beans and fresh sardinesAnd tender abalone.Some live on hope and some on dopeAnd some on alimonyBut my tomcat, he lives on fatand tender abalone.OH! Some drink rain and some champagneOr brandy by the ponyBut I will try a little ryeWith a dash of abalone.OH! Some like ham and some like jamAnd some like macaroniBut bring me in a pail of ginAnd a tub of abalone.He hides in caves beneath the wavesHis ancient patrimonyAnd so ‘tis shown that faith aloneReveals the abalone.The more we take the more they makeIn deep sea matrimonyRace suicide cannot abideThe fertile abalone.I telegraph my better halfBy Morse or by MarconiBut if the need arises for speedI send an abalone.They came to hear from far and nearTo meat in CaliforneeScoresby, David, Martin, and KitTo save the abalone.We came to Canada to meetNanaimo was so homelyWhere DFO, First Nations triedTo save the abalone.To Africa in Capetown clearWhere Mia broke her bonyCame eighteen nations’ scientistsTo talk of abalone.Oh Sweijd and Peter were belayedBy calls from China to OmaniTo help their native perlemon [par-la-mon]another abalone.7