{"id":1546,"date":"2017-11-28T15:14:53","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T23:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/?page_id=1546"},"modified":"2023-09-15T14:02:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T21:02:49","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-1546\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-1546-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-1546-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-1546-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-headline panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-1546-0-0-0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-headline so-widget-sow-headline-default-178964d360cb-1546\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"sow-headline-container \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"sow-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>About Our Lab <\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"decoration\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"decoration-inside\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"sow-sub-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Under the guidance of <strong>Dr.\u00a0Birgitte (Gitte) I. McDonald<\/strong>, graduate\u00a0students in the Vertebrate Ecology Lab study the physiology, behavior and ecology of marine mammals, birds and turtles. Moss Landing Marine Labs' proximity to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve provides a wealth of pelagic, near-shore, and estuarine species and habitats for local study.\u00a0 Current and former Vertebrate Ecology Lab students have conducted their graduate research both locally and throughout the world, including Cape Crozier Antarctica, the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, the San Juan Islands of Washington, the Channel Islands of southern California, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Vertebrate Ecology Lab is also a member of the nationwide Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Network, sharing responsibility for strandings in Monterey County with The Marine Mammal Center. If you find a dead pinniped, cetacean, or sea turtle in Monterey county please call the MLML Stranding Hotline at 831-771-4422.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-1546-1\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-1546-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" >\t<style>\n\t\t.rpwe-block ul {\n\t\t\tlist-style: none !important;\n\t\t\tmargin-left: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 0 !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block li {\n\t\t\tborder-bottom: 1px solid #eee;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 10px;\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 10px;\n\t\t\tlist-style-type: none;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block a {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline !important;\n\t\t\ttext-decoration: none;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block h3 {\n\t\t\tbackground: none !important;\n\t\t\tclear: none;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tmargin-top: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tfont-weight: 400;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 12px !important;\n\t\t\tline-height: 1.5em;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-thumb {\n\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #EEE !important;\n\t\t\tbox-shadow: none !important;\n\t\t\tmargin: 2px 10px 2px 0;\n\t\t\tpadding: 3px !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-summary {\n\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-time {\n\t\t\tcolor: #bbb;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 11px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-comment {\n\t\t\tcolor: #bbb;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 11px;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 5px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-alignleft {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline;\n\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-alignright {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline;\n\t\t\tfloat: right;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-aligncenter {\n\t\t\tdisplay: block;\n\t\t\tmargin-left: auto;\n\t\t\tmargin-right: auto;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:before,\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:after {\n\t\t\tcontent: \"\";\n\t\t\tdisplay: table !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:after {\n\t\t\tclear: both;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix {\n\t\t\tzoom: 1;\n\t\t}\n\t<\/style>\n<div id=\"panel-1546-1-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_rpwe_widget rpwe_widget recent-posts-extended panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><h3 class=\"widget-title\">Recent Posts<\/h3><div  class=\"rpwe-block \"><ul class=\"rpwe-ul\"><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><a class=\"rpwe-img\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/08\/25\/congratulations-to-recent-grant-recipient\/\"  rel=\"bookmark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rpwe-alignleft rpwe-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/08\/unnamed-100x100.jpg\" alt=\"Congratulations to Recent Grant Recipient!\"><\/a><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/08\/25\/congratulations-to-recent-grant-recipient\/\" title=\"Permalink to Congratulations to Recent Grant Recipient!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Congratulations to Recent Grant Recipient!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-08-25T12:20:17-07:00\">August 25, 2026<\/time><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><a class=\"rpwe-img\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/06\/01\/celebrating-recent-awards-and-scholarships-in-the-vel-lab\/\"  rel=\"bookmark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rpwe-alignleft rpwe-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-01-125616-100x100.png\" alt=\"Celebrating Recent Awards and Scholarships in the VEL Lab\"><\/a><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/06\/01\/celebrating-recent-awards-and-scholarships-in-the-vel-lab\/\" title=\"Permalink to Celebrating Recent Awards and Scholarships in the VEL Lab\" rel=\"bookmark\">Celebrating Recent Awards and Scholarships in the VEL Lab<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-06-01T12:48:03-07:00\">June 1, 2026<\/time><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><a class=\"rpwe-img\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/04\/07\/congratulations-on-candidacy\/\"  rel=\"bookmark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rpwe-alignleft rpwe-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/06\/2AD2B3CB-B142-4E1E-8102-58629F35A520-scaled-100x100.jpeg\" alt=\"Congratulations on candidacy!\"><\/a><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/04\/07\/congratulations-on-candidacy\/\" title=\"Permalink to Congratulations on candidacy!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Congratulations on candidacy!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-04-07T16:02:10-07:00\">April 7, 2026<\/time><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><a class=\"rpwe-img\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/06\/17\/three-new-interns-are-joining-the-vel-for-the-summer\/\"  rel=\"bookmark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rpwe-alignleft rpwe-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/06\/photo-collage.png-100x100.png\" alt=\"Three new interns are joining the VEL for the summer!\"><\/a><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/06\/17\/three-new-interns-are-joining-the-vel-for-the-summer\/\" title=\"Permalink to Three new interns are joining the VEL for the summer!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Three new interns are joining the VEL for the summer!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2024-06-17T11:44:26-07:00\">June 17, 2024<\/time><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><a class=\"rpwe-img\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/01\/26\/welcome-to-the-new-vel-post-doc-martin-tournier\/\"  rel=\"bookmark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rpwe-alignleft rpwe-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/01\/image-100x100.jpg\" alt=\"Welcome to the new VEL post-doc, Martin Tournier!\"><\/a><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/01\/26\/welcome-to-the-new-vel-post-doc-martin-tournier\/\" title=\"Permalink to Welcome to the new VEL post-doc, Martin Tournier!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Welcome to the new VEL post-doc, Martin Tournier!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2024-01-26T14:45:42-08:00\">January 26, 2024<\/time><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- Generated by http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/recent-posts-widget-extended\/ --><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-1546-1-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" >\t<style>\n\t\t.rpwe-block ul {\n\t\t\tlist-style: none !important;\n\t\t\tmargin-left: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 0 !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block li {\n\t\t\tborder-bottom: 1px solid #eee;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 10px;\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 10px;\n\t\t\tlist-style-type: none;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block a {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline !important;\n\t\t\ttext-decoration: none;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-block h3 {\n\t\t\tbackground: none !important;\n\t\t\tclear: none;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tmargin-top: 0 !important;\n\t\t\tfont-weight: 400;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 12px !important;\n\t\t\tline-height: 1.5em;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-thumb {\n\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #EEE !important;\n\t\t\tbox-shadow: none !important;\n\t\t\tmargin: 2px 10px 2px 0;\n\t\t\tpadding: 3px !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-summary {\n\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-time {\n\t\t\tcolor: #bbb;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 11px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-comment {\n\t\t\tcolor: #bbb;\n\t\t\tfont-size: 11px;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 5px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-alignleft {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline;\n\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-alignright {\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline;\n\t\t\tfloat: right;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-aligncenter {\n\t\t\tdisplay: block;\n\t\t\tmargin-left: auto;\n\t\t\tmargin-right: auto;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:before,\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:after {\n\t\t\tcontent: \"\";\n\t\t\tdisplay: table !important;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix:after {\n\t\t\tclear: both;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.rpwe-clearfix {\n\t\t\tzoom: 1;\n\t\t}\n\t<\/style>\n<div id=\"panel-1546-1-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_rpwe_widget rpwe_widget recent-posts-extended panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><h3 class=\"widget-title\">Lab News and Updates<\/h3><div  class=\"rpwe-block \"><ul class=\"rpwe-ul\"><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/08\/25\/congratulations-to-recent-grant-recipient\/\" title=\"Permalink to Congratulations to Recent Grant Recipient!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Congratulations to Recent Grant Recipient!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-08-25T12:20:17-07:00\">August 25, 2026<\/time><div class=\"rpwe-summary\">Jess has received the American Cetacean Society - Monterey Bay Chapter's Sally Eastham Research Grant. This grant will help support her work assessing the long-term decadal and short-term seasonal variation in Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) diet in Elkhorn Slough, Monterey County.<\/div><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/06\/01\/celebrating-recent-awards-and-scholarships-in-the-vel-lab\/\" title=\"Permalink to Celebrating Recent Awards and Scholarships in the VEL Lab\" rel=\"bookmark\">Celebrating Recent Awards and Scholarships in the VEL Lab<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-06-01T12:48:03-07:00\">June 1, 2026<\/time><div class=\"rpwe-summary\">Aleah has received the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories' WAVE Scholarship and the Myers Award from the Dr. Earl H. Myers and Ethel M. Myers Trust. These awards will help support her work investigating the seasonal variation of southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) raft size, distribution, and abundance in Elkhorn Slough. \u00a0 \u00a0 &nbsp; Jess [&hellip;]<\/div><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2026\/04\/07\/congratulations-on-candidacy\/\" title=\"Permalink to Congratulations on candidacy!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Congratulations on candidacy!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2026-04-07T16:02:10-07:00\">April 7, 2026<\/time><div class=\"rpwe-summary\">Congratulations to VEL student Sarah Perryman for advancing to candidacy! Sarah\u2019s thesis investigates the foraging ecology of Risso\u2019s dolphins (Grampus griseus) in the California Current. She uses stable isotope analysis of biopsy samples to characterize variation in diet across seasons and sexes. By linking dolphin isotope values to regional prey and seasonal context, she aims [&hellip;]<\/div><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/06\/17\/three-new-interns-are-joining-the-vel-for-the-summer\/\" title=\"Permalink to Three new interns are joining the VEL for the summer!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Three new interns are joining the VEL for the summer!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2024-06-17T11:44:26-07:00\">June 17, 2024<\/time><div class=\"rpwe-summary\">We are so excited to welcome our three interns for the summer! &nbsp; &nbsp; Roxane is an undergraduate student pursing a degree in Marine Sciences at San Francisco State University. She is from a small town in San Diego, where she discovered her passion for marine life. She grew up on a beach where sewage [&hellip;]<\/div><\/li><li class=\"rpwe-li rpwe-clearfix\"><h3 class=\"rpwe-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2024\/01\/26\/happy-new-year-from-the-vel\/\" title=\"Permalink to Happy New Year from the VEL!\" rel=\"bookmark\">Happy New Year from the VEL!<\/a><\/h3><time class=\"rpwe-time published\" datetime=\"2024-01-26T14:25:10-08:00\">January 26, 2024<\/time><div class=\"rpwe-summary\">The VEL rung in the New Year and the start of the semester with a group dinner at the Whole Enchilada in Moss Landing. We hope you had a restful winter break and spent time with your loved ones!<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- Generated by http:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/recent-posts-widget-extended\/ --><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-1546-2\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-1546-2-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell panel-grid-cell-empty\" ><\/div><div id=\"pgc-1546-2-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-1546-2-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-social-media-buttons panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-social-media-buttons so-widget-sow-social-media-buttons-flat-0a045f62a598-3354\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<h3 class=\"widget-title\">Follow Us On Social Media<\/h3>\n<div class=\"social-media-button-container\">\n\t\n\t\t<a \n\t\tclass=\"ow-button-hover sow-social-media-button-facebook-0 sow-social-media-button\" title=\"Vertebrate Ecology Lab \" aria-label=\"Vertebrate Ecology Lab \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/vel.mlml\" \t\t>\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sow-icon-fontawesome sow-fab\" data-sow-icon=\"&#xf39e;\"\n\t\t \n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\t<a \n\t\tclass=\"ow-button-hover sow-social-media-button-wordpress-0 sow-social-media-button\" title=\"Vel Lab Field Blog\" aria-label=\"Vel Lab Field Blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/home\/vert-lab-blog\/\" \t\t>\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sow-icon-fontawesome sow-fab\" data-sow-icon=\"&#xf19a;\"\n\t\t \n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\t<a \n\t\tclass=\"ow-button-hover sow-social-media-button-x-twitter-0 sow-social-media-button\" title=\"Vertebrate Ecology Lab \" aria-label=\"Vertebrate Ecology Lab \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vel_mlml\" \t\t>\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sow-icon-fontawesome sow-fab\" data-sow-icon=\"&#xe61b;\"\n\t\t \n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About Our Lab Under the guidance of Dr.\u00a0Birgitte (Gitte) I. McDonald, graduate\u00a0students in the Vertebrate Ecology Lab study the physiology, behavior and ecology of marine mammals, birds and turtles. Moss Landing Marine Labs&#8217; proximity to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve provides a wealth of pelagic, near-shore, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1546","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Vertebrate Ecology Lab","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1546"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3306,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1546\/revisions\/3306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}