Month: June 2018

MLML Shark Expert Dr. Dave Ebert makes numerous news appearances talking about shark sightings in the Monterey Bay!

Kimberly Elson

MLML's Dr. Dave Ebert of the Pacific Shark Research Center has been featured on a number of news stories related to sharks in the Monterey Bay.

Read and watch the stories below:

Stay tuned for next month's Shark Week, which will feature more Dr. Ebert plus MLML graduate students!

MLML’s Dr. Colleen Durkin is co-PI for upcoming NASA Earth EXPORTS project

Kimberly Elson

For the upcoming NASA Earth EXPORTS field program, MLML's Dr. Colleen Durkin, will serve as one of the co-PIs on a project that aims to link sinking particle chemistry and biology with changes in the magnitude and efficiency of carbon export into the deep ocean. The group will use sediment traps to collect samples at varied depths of descent up to 500m.

You can read more about the project here and here.

Ichthyology Lab member June Shrestha starts internship at the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Monterey Bay, CA!

Kimberly Elson

MLML congratulates Ichthyology Lab student June Shrestha! June was selected as a 2018 CSU ​COAST summer intern with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Monterey Bay. June will be working side-by-side with sanctuary regional managers on a new project, "Connections between National Forests and National Marine Sanctuaries". The purpose of this project is to explore and describe the connections between national forests and national marine sanctuaries of California to advance land-sea conservation by better understanding the interconnectedness between terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

About the Host:  Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), a branch of NOAA, is responsible for managing 14 special marine protected areas designated by the federal government. The West Coast Region (WCR) manages 15,333 mi2 of marine protected areas around Channel Islands, Cordell Bank, Greater Farallones, Monterey Bay and Olympic Coast. The WCR coordinates programs and initiatives that affect resources within and beyond the boundaries of the five west coast national marine sanctuaries to ensure natural and cultural resources are protected while allowing uses that are sustainable.

Thesis Defense by Tyler Barnes – June 21st, 2018

Kimberly Elson

Assessing beach variability & shoreline change in Monterey Bay, CA

A Thesis Defense by Tyler Barnes

Geological Oceanography Lab

Thursday, June 21st, 2018 at 12pm

MLML Seminar Room

Tyler Barnes is a graduate student in the Geological Oceanography Lab at MLML. His curiosity in in coastal processes was sparked as an undergraduate at the University of San Diego where he joined a research lab investigating sedimentation in bays with coral reefs in St. John, USVI. Soon after, Tyler began his master’s degree in which his research assesses geomorphologic change on beaches in Monterey Bay using a terrestrial laser scanner (ground-based LiDAR that creates 3-D models of surveyed surfaces). Simultaneously, Tyler has worked as a researcher for Central Coast Wetlands Group where he has assisted on projects monitoring bar-built estuary hydrology/ecology throughout California and completed topographic surveys for restoration projects.

Watch Tyler Barnes’s Thesis Defense below:

Thesis Defense by Catarina Pien – June 29th, 2018

Kimberly Elson

Changes in the elasmobranch assemblage in a California estuary

A Thesis Defense by Catarina Pien

Pacific Shark Research Center

Friday, June 29th, 2018 at 12pm

MLML Seminar Room

Catarina Pien is a Master's student under Dr. David Ebert in the Pacific Shark Research Lab. She received her B.A. in Biological Sciences from Wellesley College, where she spent some time abroad in the Caribbean studying mangroves and their associated species assemblages. After coming to the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Catarina continued to work in estuarine systems, focusing her work on the life history and ecology of shark and ray species in Elkhorn Slough. While at MLML, Catarina worked as museum curator for several years, getting to know the many interesting organisms collected and donated over the years, as well as for Tenera Environmental, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. She recently started as a Sea Grant State Fellow for the Delta Stewardship Council in Sacramento, where she is helping review science and adaptive management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 

 

Thesis Abstract:

Elkhorn Slough is an estuarine system that provides habitat for several elasmobranch species. During the past century, the hydrography and habitat of Elkhorn Slough have dramatically changed. Previous studies suggest shifts in the species composition and habitat usage patterns of elasmobranchs. This study characterizes the elasmobranch species composition, and examines the environmental conditions associated with differences in distribution by sex and life stage. Elasmobranchs were sampled from 2015 –2016 by longline and gillnet. Bat rays (Myliobatis californicus), leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata), and thornback rays (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) were most commonly observed, and were generally more abundant during the dry seasons and in the mid-slough, where environmental conditions were more similar to those in Monterey Bay. Differences in distribution by sex and life stage were associated with season, zone, and associated environmental variables including temperature and salinity. Historical analyses indicate that changes in the assemblage occurred over decadal time scales, associated with increases in mudflat habitat and large-scale climatic shifts (i.e., Pacific Decadal Oscillation), indicating that both habitat and climatic changes may continue to influence the estuarine assemblage in the future.

Watch Catarina Pien’s Thesis Defense below: