News

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.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Volunteer of the Year Award goes to MLML Affiliates Scott Benson and Karin Forney

Kimberly Elson

Scott Benson and Karin Forney have been honored by the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) for their outstanding volunteer service in support of the BeachCOMBERS (Coastal Ocean Mammal and Bird Education and Research Surveys) program. This citizen-science program identifies seasonal and long-term biological trends in natural and anthropogenic mortality of marine mammals and seabirds and provides important information to resources managers.  Scott originally developed the BeachCOMBERS program in 1997, in collaboration with MBNMS and MLML, while attending graduate school at MLML. The program initially covered about 30 miles of beach in Monterey Bay and has since expanded to include beaches as far south as Ventura County.  For the past 21 years, Scott and Karin have conducted systematic monthly surveys on one of the 3-mile beach sections in Monterey Bay to enumerate and identify beachcast birds and mammals.  Over the years, Scott has trained dozens of volunteers in rigorous science-based data collection methods and species identification.  Scott and Karin have also co-authored several publications and conference presentations resulting from these data, including analyses of fishery bycatch, oiling events, and natural mortality spikes caused by El Niño conditions or toxic algal blooms.

MLML Welcomes International Scholar, Dr. Patricia Eichler!

Kimberly Elson

MLML welcomes Dr. Patricia Eichler who will be working out of Ivano Aiello's Lab as an International Scholar until March 2019.

Dr. Patricia Eichler is Biological Oceanographer interested on the assessment of coastal and marine environments through the use of marine benthic Foraminifera, physical and geo-chemical datasets. More recently, she has been focusing on the use of stable isotopes for micropaleontology studies and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Her skills and expertise focus in the Environment, Water Quality, Ecology and Evolution, Ecosystem Ecology, Marine Ecology, Sedimentology, Biodiversity, and Conservation of Marine Environment and Marine Biodiversity. She is a Professor at the Environmental Sciences Post Graduation Program at Sul de Santa Catarina University (Unisul) and at the Geodynamic and Geophysics and Geophysics Post Graduation Program in the Federal do Rio Grande do Norte University.

Welcome to MLML, Dr. Eichler!

Stacy Kim, MLML Research Faculty, and colleagues publish exciting research on sea ice!

Kimberly Elson

Stacy Kim, Research Faculty in MLML's Benthic Lab, along with colleagues Ben Saenz, Jeff Scanniello, Kendra Daly, and David Ainley, published a paper on their research  of sea ice in Antarctica.  The study investigates changes in fast ice (ie ice that is "fastened" to the shore) in McMurdo Sound.  Fast ice is an important feature in the Southern Ocean and understanding changes in sea ice sheds light on marine ecosystem dynamics.

The paper is titled: Local climatology of fast ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Click here for more info!

 
Stacy Kim

MLML Welcomes Dr. Luke Gardner, New California Sea Grant Extension Specialist

Kimberly Elson

MLML is excited to welcome Dr. Luke Gardener to the MLML community!  Luke is the new California Sea Grant Extension Specialist.  Along with his statewide responsibilities for the California Sea Grant, Dr. Gardner will spend his time at MLML teaching aquaculture courses, mentoring our graduate students, and conducting his own research.

Read the California Sea Grant press release here, which includes a quote from our phycologist, Dr. Michael Graham:

Dr. Gardner’s appointment to the Sea Grant Extension Specialist position and his residency at MLML validates the importance of the aquaculture industry to the citizens of California, and the important role academics and research play in developing the industry in a sustainable fashion. We are thrilled to have Luke joining our program.

Announcing MLML’s New Chemical Oceanographer: Dr. Maxime Grand!

Kimberly Elson

MLML is excited to welcome a new Chemical Oceanography faculty member: Dr. Maxime Grand.  He will be joining us this coming August!

Dr. Maxime Grand is recognized for his work as a chemical oceanographer and analytical chemist. His research interests focus on the biogeochemical cycling of trace metals and nutrients in coastal and open ocean regimes and their biological implications. His analytical work revolves around the development of autonomous microfluidic analyzers, also known as optofluidic sensors, which are well suited to investigate complex nutrient and trace metal dynamics in situ.

Dr. Grand holds a PhD from the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, a MS in Applied Marine Science from the University of Plymouth (UK), a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Science from the University of Auckland (NZ) and a BS in Global Environmental Science from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Immediately after completing his academic training, Dr. Grand was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre (UK). Dr. Grand is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where he is leading the development of a National Science Foundation funded oceanography summer bridge program, which aims to improve the recruitment of underrepresented Native Hawaiian students into baccalaureate geoscience programs.