Land Acknowledgement
My research takes me up and down the coast of California and onto the homelands of numerous indigenous tribes and peoples whose cultures and relationships with the sea and coast were disrupted or erased through colonialism.
I primarily work at the Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay, CA, located on the land of the original villages Helapattai, Hime-takala, Ho-takala, Suwutenne, Tiwut-huya, and Tokau, and home to the Geluatamal tribe (Coastal Miwok and Southern Pomo).
Sources: Coast Miwok of Southern Marin Project, “The Names Before the Names” - Rebecca Solnit, Native Land Net
Current Research
Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) responses to warming temperatures and ocean acidification
June 2015 - present
Collaborators: Dr. Jordan Hollarsmith and Tallulah Winquist
I am currently collaborating with other UC Davis graduate students to assess the effects of temperature and pH on bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) gametophyte growth and development. I am leading image analysis using ImageJ to quantify how many males, females, eggs, and spores were produced and the relative growth rates of propagules exposed to different conditions. Results have been presented at JASM 2022 and ESA 2022, and the manuscript is currently in prep.
SCUBA Surveys of Tomales Bay’s Algae Communities
January 2022 - present
Funding: Tomales Bay Watershed Council
Tomales Bay, located at the northern edge of Point Reyes in Northern California, has a distinctly long, narrow shape that provides a unique linear estuarine gradient. Within Tomales Bay, there are a host of seaweed species and kelp communities that have not been documented in Western scientific literature. In order to better understand how the unique abiotic gradient of Tomales Bay impacts seaweed abundance and community composition, I am leading surveys of 6 sites along Tomales Bay’s west shore. Using 15m transects and .25m^2 quadrats, we are documenting invertebrate presence and algae abundance every 3 months in Tomales Bay.
Macrocystis pyrifera responses to competition and an estuarine gradient
June 2020 - present
Collaborator: Suellen Dias
Funding: UC Davis Jastro-Shields Research Fellowship
Both giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and the invasive wireweed (Sargassum muticum) are rarely found in estuaries, but both do occur in Tomales Bay at the northern end of the Point Reyes National Seashore. I am interested in assessing the effects of changing salinity and temperature conditions on giant kelp and wireweed reproduction and development. To do this, I am collecting giant kelp and wireweed propagules from several locations in Tomales Bay and culturing them in petri dishes where I can track their growth and survival. This research will help begin to answer questions regarding what factors specifically limit the distance of giant kelp and wireweed intrusion into bays and how giant kelp may be able to respond to multiple extreme stressors.
The Impacts of Salinity and Temperature on Gametophyte Growth and Reproduction in Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)
June 2021-present
Collaborator: Suellen Dias
Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) is an invasive kelp from Japan that became established in LA Harbor in 2001. Since then, it has spread from harbor to harbor, and can now be found in ports from Ensenada, MX to San Francisco, CA. In 2018 and 2019, during the large amounts of rainfall California received that year, there were verbal reports that the amount of Wakame present in northern California was decreasing. Undergraduate Suellen Dias an I collected Wakame from San Francisco Harbor and brought it back to Bodega Marine Lab, where we cultured it under 5 different salinities and 2 temperatures to simulate the impacts of rising temperatures and fresher water on kelp development.
The role of Community and Citizen Science (CCS) programs in California’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
March 2021 - January 2022
Collaborators: Dr. Ryan Meyer, Dr. Todd Harwell, Nicholas Peterson, and Dr. Heidi Ballard
Over the past ten years, CCS projects have been a valuable component of monitoring efforts in California’s MPA system. I am currently working with the UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science to gather existing data about CCS projects operating along the California coast. These efforts involve extensive conversations with program organizers and state managers, design of social science questions and surveys, and data management and synthesis. In early 2022, we contributed a report to the statewide decadal review of MPAs.
The Historical Record of Algae in Tomales Bay
June 2020 - December 2020
Collaborator: Allie Vann
Through the BML-SRJC internship program, Allie Vann and I created a historical record of macroalgae in Tomales Bay to investigate how these communities have changed over the 20th century. Using the UC Berkeley Jepson Herbarium online database, we collected information on 1017 seaweed individuals collected since 1898. We analyzed the data to see which phylum of seaweed in Tomales Bay is more prevalent, if the number of nonnative species has increased over the years, and which areas did these seaweeds tend to thrive. Reconstructing the historical macroalgal community composition of Tomales Bay will allow us to understand how these communities have changed over time and predict the future of these communities under climate change. Allie presented this poster at the WSN 2020 Online Meeting.
Past Research
“Undaria pinnatifida Gametophyte Responses To Salinity”
August - October 2019
In 2019, California experienced above normal levels of rainfall, which coincided with verbal reports of decreased U. pinnatifida presence in Monterey Harbor and San Francisco Bay. To determine whether decreased salinities (a result of increased rainfall) impacted the presence of U. pinnatifida, I conducted an experiment culturing U. pinnatifida gametophytes under 5 different salinity levels over a two-month period. Diatom contamination prevented robust data analysis, but preliminary results show that Undaria gametophytes can survive at low salinities, albeit at reduced levels. I presented preliminary results as a poster at the WSN conference in Ensenada, MX in October 2019.
“Hot Sticky Mess: The Effects of Nuclear Radiation on Spider Cognition and Web Architecture”
September 2013 – May 2017
Funding: University of South Carolina Honors College Senior Thesis Grant
Collaborator: Dr. Timothy Mousseau
Using Image J, I analyzed photographs of spider webs taken at sites of varying radioactivity at Chernobyl and Fukushima for architectural consistency, including radii angles, interspiral units, and 10 specific architectural aberrations. We analyzed the data to determine whether there were any significant relationships between radioactivity level and web parameters. Overall, our data suggests that there are effects of radiation on both interradial angles and interspiral distances, but that these effects differ among populations. I presented and submitted this work as my University of South Carolina Honors Thesis.
“Undoing the Undaria: Better Management Practices for the Invasive Kelp Undaria pinnatifida in Monterey Harbor”
June 2016 – August 2016
Funding: NOAA Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship
Collaborator: Dr. Steve Lonhart
I conducted an experiment on the meristem-dependent growth rates of the invasive brown algae species Undaria pinnatifida to determine whether cutting below or above the meristem was equally important at different life stages in determining maturation to reproduction. Ultimately, we found that full removal of the meristem is necessary to prevent Undaria reproduction. Additionally, I statistically assessed previous trends of Undaria densities in Monterey Harbor based on previous years’ removal records. I presented these results at the NOAA Hollings Student Symposium in 2016, WSN 2016, and the Benthic Ecology Meeting 2017.
“Mud Puddling Habits in Native Lepidoptera of Columbia, SC”
September 2014 – October 2016
Collaborator: Dr. Carol Boggs
In order to gain nutrients necessary for reproduction that are not usually found in nectar, butterflies engage in a feeding behavior known as puddling. I collected butterflies from various places around Columbia, SC and brought them back to the lab, where four solutions were used to test feeding preferences: 0.01 M NaCl, 0.1 M NaCl, 10-4 M albumin, and 0.01 M casein. Our results found that butterflies generally do not vary among species or family in their acceptance of nutrients, but sex and family may be a factor in acceptance of amino acids and sodium, respectively. I presented these results at USC’s Discovery Day in Spring 2016 and was awarded Second Place.