News

Dr. Holly Bowers featured on SJSU Research Foundation Annual Report cover

Lauren Cooley

Farm-derived nutrient runoff is a global problem that threatens marine ecosystems. Here in Monterey Bay, researchers from the SJSU/MLML Central Coast Wetlands Group and Environmental Biotechnology Lab are working hard to develop innovative new solutions to this longstanding issue.

This important work was recently highlighted in the San José State University Research Foundation 2021 Annual Report. MLML scientist Dr. Holly Bowers was even featured on the report cover! The photo shows Dr. Bowers using a handheld qPCR instrument to detect DNA from target harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. Read the full story on page 16 of the report.

Dr. Luke Gardner interviewed in Accuweather story about sustainable uses for seaweed

Lauren Cooley

SJSU/MLML research faculty member & California Sea Grant aquaculture specialist Dr. Luke Gardner was recently interviewed by Accuweather for a story about the many uses of seaweed.

“Seaweed is definitely having a moment," Gardner told AccuWeather. "People are particularly excited about the potential of seaweed and what it can do for our environment.”

New research shows that while forests have long been considered the best natural defense in the battle against climate change, seaweed is actually the most effective natural way of absorbing carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

Read the full Accuweather story here.

MLML awards $20,000 in scholarships to 21 graduate students

Lauren Cooley

We are thrilled to announce that this year we were able to award $20,000 in scholarships to 21 of our incredible Moss Landing Marine Labs graduate students in recognition of academic achievement and community service!

Congratulations to all our scholarship awardees and thank you to our generous donors who make these scholarships possible. If you would like to support future SJSU/MLML student scholarships, please consider making a donation to our scholarship fund.

Three MLML students receive COAST Graduate Student Research Awards!

Lauren Cooley

We are thrilled to announce that three Moss Landing Marine Labs graduate students received 2021 COAST Graduate Student Research Awards! Congratulations to Daphne Shen (Vertebrate Ecology Lab), Kinsey Matthews (Fisheries Lab), and Jackson Hoeke (Invertebrate Ecology Lab).

The CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology (COAST) provides these grants to support CSU graduate students engaged in marine, coastal, and coastal watershed research. Many SJSU/MLML students have been funded by COAST over the years, and we are always thankful for the California State University’s strong support for marine science research.

SJSU among top universities in the US in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

Lauren Cooley

San José State University, MLML's administrative campus, ranks among the top universities in the US in the 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings!

This worldwide ranking system measures university progress around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations. SJSU’s best showing was in the Life Below Water SDG, finishing in the top 10 in the U.S. and #62 in the world. These strong scores are thanks in large part to initiatives and research in water-sensitive waste disposal led by Moss Landing Marine Laboratories faculty and staff.

Read more about SJSU's placement in the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking in this article from the SJSU Newsroom.

Leatherback sea turtle research led by MLML highlighted in the Washington Post

Lauren Cooley

Just as scientists are beginning to fully understand the amazing 7,000 mile odyssey undertaken annually by migrating leatherback sea turtles, these gentle giants are disappearing — and fast.

In less than 30 years, the number of western Pacific leatherbacks in the foraging population off of California plummeted 80% and a recent study led by SJSU/MLML scientist Scott Benson shows a 5.6% annual decline.

This important research was recently highlighted in the Washington Post. Read the article to learn more.

Research faculty member Dr. Diana Steller leads innovative rhodolith research project

Lauren Cooley

The picturesque harbors of Catalina Island are the perfect habitat for rare coral-like red algae known as rhodoliths. Like corals, these algae form calcium carbonate ‘skeletons’ that grow in spherical branching patterns. Then in the gentle wave action of semi-protected harbors, the rhodoliths roll around on the ocean floor like tumbleweeds, forming into spheres, with pockets of open space between the branches.

“They form living layers that look like pink golf balls covering the ocean floor,” explains SJSU/MLML research faculty member Dr. Diana Steller, who led a recent California Sea Grant-funded project on Catalina’s rhodolith beds. “Rhodoliths form a structured habitat on what is otherwise normally soft sediment bottoms—a complex matrix of shapes and sizes for things to find refuge in."

"And because they form a hard structure that's heterogeneous, a lot of organisms can settle, survive better and live there. They act often as nursery grounds, and/or habitat for holdfast of different species,” she adds.

Learn more about Dr. Steller’s fascinating research in new story from California Sea Grant.

Grad student Kristin Saksa interviewed by MLML alumna Emily Donham ’16 on the Santa Cruz Naturalist podcast

Lauren Cooley

This week on the Santa Cruz Naturalist podcast on KSQD Radio, host and SJSU/MLML alumna Emily Donham ’16 sits down with current Ichthyology Lab grad student Kristin Saksa to discuss all things rockfish. Kristin’s research focuses on how climate change stressors will impact larval rockfish. 

Find the episode on the KSQD website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Alumna Erin Loury ’11 featured in Diversity in Action magazine

Lauren Cooley

During her tenure at MLML, alumna Erin Loury ’11 researched the impacts of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the trophic ecology of gopher rockfish. In the decade since she graduated, Erin has conducted research on fisheries throughout the world and now works as the Communications Director & Fisheries Biologist at the environmental consulting company FISHBIO.

Erin’s marine science career path is one of several highlighted in the latest issue of Diversity in Action magazine. Read the article here.

New study co-authored by MLML Visiting Scientist Scott Shaffer sheds light on endangered seabirds and the need for international protection

Lauren Cooley

A new study published in the prestigious journal Science Advances co-authored by MLML Visiting Scientist & SJSU Biological Sciences Professor Scott Shaffer highlights the need for cooperative global protection of wide-ranging seabirds such as albatrosses and large petrels.

An international team of researchers tracked the movements of 5,775 individual seabirds belonging to 39 species across 87 different sites. They found that the albatrosses and petrels spent at least 39% of their time on international waters where no single country has jurisdiction. Collaborative multinational conservation efforts will thus be needed to adequately protect these globetrotting seabirds.

Read more about this important research in the SJSU Newsroom story. 

Black-footed albatrosses photographed by Dr. Scott Shaffer