Seminars

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Biodiversity of marine alveolates: examining species diversity and patterns in evolution

Alveolates are a diverse group of microeukaryotic organisms. In this seminar, I will be focusing on the rich diversity of marine alveolates that live together (as symbionts) with other organisms. Symbiosis itself is an interesting concept. These relationships between organisms can be benign (commensal), exhibit a common benefit (mutualism), or to the detriment of one of the partners (parasitism). This symbiotic spectrum has become more interesting with the addition of more modern genomic and proteomics data, highlighting some of the cellular machinery that has been modified to a symbiotic lifestyle. Other interesting concepts that are emerging from molecular data is species diversity and host specific: why are there so many symbiotic alveolates? Why not just have one generalist that is globally distributed? In the seminar I will also talk about some preliminary data on host/species relationships and what this has to do with an intriguing model for addressing parasitic alveolates: marine apicomplexans.

Dr. Kevin Wakeman

Assistant Professor, Hokkaido University

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Unraveling how symbioses and indirect interactions influence biological communities

Ecologists often focus on species interactions to understand populations, but sometimes overlook the diversity of ways species can interact or how the effects of these interactions trickle through biological communities. I will discuss my research exploring how the presence of a species can influence other species and the ecosystems around them, highlighting the importance of symbioses, positive interactions, and indirect effects in structuring communities.

Dr. Gerick Bergsma

Assistant Professor, CSU Monterey Bay

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Ocean Observatories: Open Access to the Open Ocean

Building on the legacy of ship-based oceanographic expeditions, recent technological progress has begun to transform many approaches to ocean research – a shift from expeditionary science to a permanent presence in the ocean. New developments in sensor design, computational speed, communications bandwidth, miniaturization, genomic analyses, high-definition imaging, robotics, and data assimilation, modeling, and visualization techniques continue to open new possibilities for remote scientific inquiry and discovery. One example of this approach is the National Science Foundation-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), an integrated infrastructure program composed of science-driven platforms and sensor systems that measure physical, chemical, geological, and biological properties and processes from the sub-seafloor to the air-sea interface. The project is delivering real-time and near real-time open-access data within an expandable architecture that can incorporate emerging technical advances in ocean science over its 25-year-plus lifespan. The OOI network was designed to address specific science questions that will lead to a better understanding of our oceans, enhancing our capabilities to address critical issues such as climate change, ecosystem variability, ocean acidification, and carbon cycling.

Dr. Mike Vardaro

Research Scientist, University of Washington

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Shorelines from Space: Measuring California’s Coastal Changes with Satellite Imagery

Dr. Jon Warrick

Research Geologist at USGS

Jonathan Warrick PhD is a Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Santa Cruz, California. His research focuses on coastal change and the movement of sediment from rivers to the sea. Jon has led efforts to characterize the outcomes of the massive dam removal project on the Elwha River of Washington in collaboration with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, federal agencies, and several universities. Recently, Dr. Warrick has led the USGS Remote Sensing Coastal Change project, which has collected and interpreted remote sensing data to better understand changes to U.S. coasts from wildfires, floods, landslides, hurricanes, and other storm events. Jon received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2002 and has authored or co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed science articles, reports, and book chapters. Dr. Warrick and his work has been featured in multiple media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, KQED Forum, Outside Magazine, and the nationally broadcast CBS Evening News, and he was recently featured in the short video entitled "Science of Surfing," developed by the USGS and available on YouTube.

Marine bacterial symbionts: Challenging evolutionary norms and informing conservation

Interactions between organisms, particularly in symbiotic relationships, are a key driver of biological innovation in marine ecosystems. My research leverages advanced sequencing technologies and bioinformatics to examine the dynamics of bacterial symbionts across diverse marine hosts, including sharks, anglerfish, and corals. This work elucidates the evolutionary trajectories and transmission mechanisms of symbiotic bacteria, revealing unique patterns that diverge from those observed in terrestrial symbioses. Furthermore, I investigate the influence of environmental factors on host-associated microbiomes, highlighting their critical role in host health and ecosystem functioning.

Dr. Lydia Baker

Assistant Professor, CSUMB

Dr. Lydia Baker earned their Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, focusing on diatom-associated bacteria. They completed postdoctoral research at Oregon State and Cornell, studying microbial interactions and symbiosis in anglerfish and coral respectively. Dr. Baker is currently an Assistant Professor at California State University Monterey Bay, where their research covers microbial ecology, symbiont evolution, and their impact on marine ecosystems.

Beyond Symbiosis: Reframing Of The UCYN-A Marine N2-fixing Partnership

Primary endosymbiosis is the biological process which led to the domestication of mitochondria and consequently the evolution of complex life on Earth. It is also responsible for the origin of the two photosynthetic organelles in eukaryotes which gave rise to land plants and many algal lineages. Research into marine microbes has revealed the fourth known occurrence of primary endosymbiosis which resulted in a novel N2-fixing organelle called the nitroplast. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa, or UCYN-A, is a metabolically streamlined N2-fixing cyanobacterium previously reported to be an endosymbiont of a marine unicellular alga. Here we show that UCYN-A has been tightly integrated into algal cell architecture and organellar division and that it imports proteins encoded by the algal genome that expand its metabolic capabilities. For instance, UCYN-A biosynthetic pathways previously reported to be incomplete are restored by participation of nuclear-encoded proteins. The eukaryotic cell supports the process of N2-fixation with cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and flavodoxin electron-transfer proteins, and regulates UCYN-A circadian rhythm with cryptochromes. Furthermore, nuclear and nitroplast genomes together encode a vitamin B12 (adenosylcobalamin) biosynthetic pathway which may enable B. bigelowii to avoid B12 deficiency in the marine environment. This new perspective on a key player in the marine nitrogen cycle provides insight into the mechanisms of eukaryotic nitrogen fixation and the transition from symbiont to organelle.

Dr. Tyler Coale

Postdoctoral Researcher, UCSC

Dr. Tyler Coale is a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with UCSC and has previously studied the physiological response of phytoplankton in low iron conditions. Dr. Coale completed a B.S. in Plant Sciences at UCSC and went on to work as a technician in the field of chemical oceanography with Ken Bruland at UCSC and later with Kristen Buck at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Shaping the Future of California Currents: Insights from Seasonal Forecasts to Climate Projections

The California Current Ecosystem (CCE) is a highly productive eastern boundary upwelling system, in which seasonal upwelling fuels primary production that supports a thriving marine ecosystem and socioeconomically valuable services including fisheries and tourism. The CCE and its resources are strongly driven by changes in the physical and biogeochemical environment, both of which experience considerable variability on timescales ranging from days to centuries. Prognostic information on this variability is therefore highly desirable for marine resource users, for example managers of fisheries whose target populations are sensitive to variations in the climate system. In this presentation, I will present a number of recent and ongoing efforts that have begun to explore the predictability and forecast skill of physical and biogeochemical properties in the CCE on seasonal-to-interannual (~1-24 months), decadal (~5- 20 years) and long-term (~50-100 years) timescales. I will also describe, when known, the physical mechanisms driving predictability in that range of timescales. Skillful forecasts and predictions of the physical and biogeochemical state in the CCE have the potential to provide actionable information to those managing the CC marine resources.

Dr. Mercedes Pozo Buil

Associate Project Scientist, UCSC/NOAA

Dr. Mercedes (Mer) Pozo Buil is a physical oceanographer interested in ocean modelling, climate change, ocean and climate dynamics, and decadal climate variability and its impact on marine ecosystems. She is an Associate Project Scientist at the University of California Santa Cruz in the Institute of Marine Sciences, working at the Ecosystem Science Division of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Sciences Center in Monterey, California. Mer received two bachelor of science degrees in marine and environmental science, and a master’s degree in physical oceanography from the University of Cadiz in Spain. She holds a doctoral degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Background

A collaborative sea otter study led by University of California, Santa Cruz, researchers is underway in Elkhorn Slough. Participating organizations and agencies include CDFW, USGS, Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Marine Mammal Center, ESNERR (ROMP), USFWS, and others. The purpose of the study is threefold: (1) to provide updated information on sea otter body condition, foraging success, and habitat use for comparison with data from a previous study conducted 2013–2016, (2) to provide novel information on sea otters’ physiological responses to stressors, and (3) to provide novel information on the social structure of sea otters. This fall, sea otter captures in Elkhorn Slough will occur for the third consecutive year. The goal is to recapture and resample sea otters tagged in previous years, replace missing tags, and capture new sea otters to add to the study. Sea otters will be captured primarily using tangle nets and transported to MLML Marine Operations for sedation, sampling, and tagging. After sampling and tagging are complete, the sedation will be reversed, and the sea otters will be transported back to their capture location and released. Monitoring of tagged sea otters is ongoing.

Engineering integrative methods for physiological sensing in whales.

High-resolution biologgers record detailed information about an animal in its natural environment and provide important information about species, like large-bodied whales, that are fully-aquatic and often difficult to observe. While traditional analyses of biologging tag data provide insights about an individual’s three-dimensional movement, recent engineered solutions are enabling direct measurements of physiological parameters, like heart rate, from non-invasive, suction-cup attached whale biologgers. Similarly, an increase in capacity for molecular analysis of tissue samples has uncovered the potential for unique adaptations at the cellular level to support the large body sizes, elevated breath-hold capacities, and extreme seasonal energetics of whales. Combining physiological rate measurements with information about cellular function and whole-organism diving behavior provides an unparalleled opportunity to understand the traits that underpin the extreme physiological function of cetaceans. This seminar will cover the “hows” and “whys” of physiological sensing in whales across multiple scales of biological organization and will conclude with major takeaways as to how these methods could be applied to benefit both comparative physiology as well as conservation and translational medicine.

Dr. Ashley Blawas

Postdoctoral Researcher, Hopkins Marine Station

Dr. Ashley Blawas is a postdoctoral researcher in the Goldbogen Lab at Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. She completed her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and her Ph.D. in Marine Science at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in the Nowacek Lab. She works at the intersection of marine mammal science, engineering, and ecological physiology to investigate the physiological traits that underpin the extreme metabolic function of cetaceans. To date, her work has led to new insights that inform our understanding of basic physiological principles as well as translational medicine and conservation. At Stanford she studies the physiology of baleen whales off the California coast using biologging tags and  has been developing the capacity for physio-logging by engineering novel designs for electrocardiogram (ECG) equipped tags. Her ongoing research also includes understanding the scaling of physiological rates in cetaceans and the molecular drivers of extreme cardiac function in diving baleen whales.

Emperors of the Ice: Physiological Ecology of the emperor penguin

Emperor penguins are the largest species of marine bird, and perhaps because of their size, they are able to fast longer, dive deeper, and endure harsher conditions than any other avian species. As a top predator in the Antarctic ecosystem, they have a significant top-down effect on prey. Additionally, as top predators, their survival and reproduction depend on the functioning of the entire food web.

Join Gitte McDonald as she talks about her research expeditions to the Ross Sea to study the ecology and physiology of emperor penguins. She will start off with an introduction to the basic biology and ecology of emperor penguins before talking about current research on the behavioral and physiological adaptations that allow them to thrive in the Antarctic ecosystem. The talk will conclude with a discussion of current and future challenges. The talk will be heavy on pictures and light on data.

Birgitte (Gitte) I. McDonald

Associate Professor, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

As a physiological and behavioral ecologist, Dr. Gitte McDonald investigates adaptations that allow animals to survive in extreme environments. Marine mammals and birds provide an ideal study system to investigate how animals deal with extreme conditions because of their large size variation, geographic distribution, and physiological challenges they face daily, including hypoxia, extreme temperatures, and fasting. Understanding the mechanisms that allow an organism to interact and survive in its environment is crucial for predicting and potentially mitigating their response to climate change. Currently, her research program focuses on two broad areas of research: 1) determining the diving capacity of breath-hold divers and understanding the underlying mechanisms, and 2) determining the energetic requirements of foraging and reproduction to better understand energy allocation, physiological trade-offs, and the organism’s role in the ecosystem. To address these questions, she uses state-of-the-art biologgers that measure fine-scale diving behavior and physiological variables (heart rate and oxygen), in addition to providing information about the environment.  Her research has provided opportunities to work with a broad range of species in diverse habitats from the Antarctic to the Galapagos.