Ron Holthuysen, Scientific Art, Inc.

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - September 20th, 2018

Hosted by the Phycology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

Open to the public

In 1980, Ron Holthuysen  founded Scientific Art Studio.  After teaching, biology, chemistry and physics for a few years, he decided to follow his desire to create natural history exhibits.  There was not really a job in which he could explore and combine his interests in taxidermy, wild life photography, film, design, history, paleontology, geology, sculpture, painting, engineering, teaching and be an inventor all at the same time.  Ron has always had the need to involve himself in a wide range of fields, and to challenge himself with interesting projects.  The result is Scientific Art Studio as it is now.

During the last 35 years, under the name of Scientific Art Studio He has been able to take on and, mostly to great satisfaction of his clients, finalize projects of a very wide variety.  From Natural History exhibits to special effects for motion pictures and television, from Museum taxidermy to mechanical costumes for a Las Vegas show, from the restoration of artifacts to the design of rock show stages, and much more.  The source of his inspiration and the focus of his interest has been always Nature in its broadest embrace.  It gives Ron great satisfaction to reconstruct extinct animals and plants, to work with scientific specialists and to dabble in whatever  draws his attention.

Scientific Art or Artistic Science ?

The initial reaction of members of the Scientific World and of the Art World often is to distance themselves from one another’s realm of interest.

Science:

A world of exactness and no fuzzy, artsy stuff.

Rigid discipline.

Art:

Seeking for the absolute freedom of self expression.

No restraints.

Absolute separate worlds, right ?

Think again or better: Look , listen, smell and feel again.

Science and Art are, in my opinion, co-dependent siblings.

Both realms study and investigate and interpret the world we live in.

This talk features the some of the  visualizations and interpretations of our world through Scientific Art (or Artistic Science)

Mike Weise, ONR/Navy

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - September 27th, 2018

Hosted by the Vertebrate Ecology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

Open to the public

~More info coming soon!~

Curt Storlazzi, USGS

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - October 4th, 2018

Hosted by the Geological Oceanography Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Curt received his BSc from the University of Delaware in 1996, his PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2000, and has been a research geologist in the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program since 2003.

Curt’s research focuses on the quantitative study of hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and geomorphology in coastal and marine environments across the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian Oceans.

Currently, Curt is the Chief Scientist of the USGS Coral Reef Project and leads a research team of 13 PhD- and MSc-level scientists that examines the geologic and oceanographic processes that affect the sustainability of US coral reefs and reef-lined coasts, authoring more than 130 scientific papers, reports, and book chapters on these topics.

Curt is on the steering committee for the US Coral Reef Task Force and regularly contributes scientific review for the US Global Change Research Program, NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program, the National Park Service, the USFWS Landscape Change Cooperatives, and theUSGS Climate Science Centers.

Coral Reefs, Climate Change, and Atoll Sustainability:

How long will atolls be able to sustain human habitation?

Although absolute rates of sea-level rise (SLR) and projected 2100 global sea levels are still under deliberation, the models consistently suggest that eustatic sea level will be considerably higher by the end of the century and rates of SLR will far outstrip vertical coral-reef accretion rates, which will have a profound impact on coral reef-lined islands. Atoll islands are low-lying carbonate Holocene features, many of which have maximum elevations of less than 4 m, that support 1000 year-old cultures, yet the amount of land and water available for human habitation, water and food sources, and ecosystems is limited and extremely vulnerable to wave-driven flooding and inundation from SLR. The USGS is leading a multi-agency, multidisciplinary effort to understand how SLR and climate change may impact low-lying atoll islands in Micronesia using field observations and global climate model outputs to drive coupled hydrodynamic and hydrogeologic models for a number of SLR and climate change scenarios. Rising sea levels and climate change will reduce the ability of coral reefs to mitigate wave-driven flooding in the future, leading to more frequent, persistent, and extreme marine flooding and overwash on atoll islands, damaging infrastructure, habitats, and agriculture. More importantly, the increased marine flooding, along with decreased precipitation, will result in salinization the islands’ limited freshwater drinking supplies with such frequency that the freshwater resources will not be able to recover. Our findings suggest that such “tipping points” – when the islands can no longer sustain a freshwater lens and thus human habitation – will likely occur in decades, not centuries as previously thought, which will result in significant geopolitical issues when it becomes necessary to abandon and relocate island-states.

More info on:

Coral Reefs: https://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov/

Sea-level Rise and Atolls: https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/climate-change/atolls/

Crow White, Cal Poly SLO

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - October 11th, 2018

Hosted by the Ichthyology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

~More info coming soon!~

Shannon Johnson, MBARI

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - October 18th, 2018

Hosted by the Invertebrate Zoology & Molecular Ecology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Bolinopsis (Ctenophora: Lobata) are common, relatively large, and abundant comb jellies found throughout the world ocean. Bolinopsis infundibulum is thought to occur in most northern latitudes, and B. vitrea in tropical latitudes. Sequence data from conservative loci such as 18S rRNA revealed little to no differentiation within the genus and is unresolved for lobate ctenophores in general. In contrast, sequence data from the mitochondrial locus Cytochrome-C-Oxidase subunit I, (COI) revealed species-level differentiation amongst ocean basins for both taxa. Sequence data from the 28S rRNA, Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA, and Histone-3 (H3) nuclear loci, also confirmed patterns of species-level differentiation. Sequences also revealed a new lineage of Bolinopsis from the Pacific Ocean. Bolinopsis n.sp. included two closely related, yet distinct mitotypes that were sympatric in the Monterey Bay, California (USA). The sympatric lineages were often collected together and did not segregate by depth or geography.  Nuclear genomic RAD sequencing on a small subset of individuals revealed potential cytonuclear disequilibrium and hybridization between the two mitotypes, lending evidence to the presence of a cryptic species complex. Further genomic sequencing and Sanger sequencing, coupled with morphological investigations are underway to determine if genetic differentiation is reflected phenotypically.

Irina Shilova, Second Genome

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - October 25th, 2018

Hosted by the Chemical Oceanography Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Irina Shilova is a Microbial Ecologist and Bioinformatician with advanced education in Molecular Biology and Microbiology and extensive experience in the field, lab and meta‘omics data analysis. She has developed and implemented novel molecular tools and informatics approaches to study responses of microbial communities to environmental stimuli. Irina is dedicated to mentoring and science outreach and passionate about the microbial world and striving towards constant improvement and learning.

Differential effects of nitrate, ammonium and urea as N sources for microbial communities in the North Pacific Ocean

Nitrogen has long been known to limit phytoplankton growth and productivity in large regions of the oceans. Likewise, the form and supply of N are important controls on microbial community composition, activity and ultimately ecosystem function. However, the effect of different chemical nitrogen species on complex natural phytoplankton communities in the open ocean is not well-known. We investigated the effect of nitrate, ammonium, and urea on microbial and phytoplankton community composition (cell abundances and 16S rRNA gene profiling) and functioning (photosynthetic activity, carbon fixation rates) in the transitional zone of California Current system and oligotrophic waters of the North Pacific Ocean. All nitrogen substrates tested significantly stimulated phytoplankton growth and productivity. Urea resulted in the greatest (>300%) increases in chlorophyll a and productivity at two experimental stations, largely due to increased abundances of Prochlorococcus. Two abundant clades of Prochlorococcus, High Light I and II, demonstrated similar responses to urea, suggesting this substrate is likely an important N source for natural Prochlorococcus populations. The timing and magnitude of response to nutrient amendments varied with geographic location due to the differences in phytoplankton community composition and nutrient status among and within these communities. Finally, both the oligotyping approach applied for 16S rRNA gene sequences and the gene-targeted transcription (microarray) approach showed that sub-populations of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus had different responses to nitrogen sources. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that changes in nitrogen supply would likely favor specific populations of phytoplankton in different oceanic regions and thus, affect both biogeochemical cycles and ecological processes.

Lindsey Dillon, Science and Justice Research Center, UCSC

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - November 1st, 2018

Hosted by the Fisheries & Conservation Biology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Lindsey Dillon is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Santa Cruz. She received a PhD in Geography in 2014 and held a postdoctoral fellowship in American Studies. Her works looks at the intersection of urban geography, environmental justice social movements, and the politics of knowledge. At UCSC she serves on the steering committee of the Science and Justice Research Center.

Environmental Justice at the Hunters Point Shipyard

This talk explores the politics of environmental data at the Hunters Point Shipyard, in southeast San Francisco. The shipyard is a Superfund site and currently undergoing cleanup and redevelopment as a landscape of condominiums, offices, and waterfront parks. The construction activity produces health hazards for the neighboring Bayview-Hunters Point community, which has struggled against environmental racism for decades. I explain environmental data justice (a concept I am helping to develop with other colleagues, based on our work advocating for better data practices under the Trump administration) and I explore whether and how this applies to a particular case in Hunters Point: the attempt to demolish Candlestick Park by exploding it, and the political organizing that stopped this from happening.

Nancy Caruso, Get Inspired, Inc.

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - November 8th, 2018

Hosted by the Phycology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Nancy is a Virginia native with a B.S in Marine Biology with an emphasis in aquaculture and chemistry. Early in her career, Nancy worked in the aquaculture industry and for a local public aquarium. Wanting to do more conservation work within her community, Nancy left the aquarium to build a program to restore Orange County, California’s decimated kelp forests.  With help from magazine and newspaper articles, as well a television and radio, Nancy has helped to bring the message of the importance of kelp forests along our coast to millions. The Orange County Ocean Restoration Project has taught 5000 students how to grow giant kelp in their classrooms that was planted in the ocean by 250 trained volunteers and now there are giant kelp forests in areas that had been barren for more than 25 years.  To continue her work, Nancy started a nonprofit organization called Get Inspired!  She continues to restore the kelp forest ecosystem and has taught 5000 more kids to grow white seabass in their classrooms which are released annually to their ocean habitats in the restored kelp forests.  Get Inspired! is dedicated to Inspiring stewardship and curiosity for the natural world through the exploration of science. Nancy has just begun a massive 10 year project to restore green abalone with the help of public aquaria, museums, and 36,000 southern California students in their classrooms.  This project will educate millions of people about how, in one human lifetime, we nearly ate the abalone to extinction and how we can all work together to bring them back.

 

Changing the World: Ocean restoration with citizen scientists

An evolution in science has occurred; the public wants to be part of it.  It is the era of “Citizen Science”.  They are interested in science, hungry for data, and want to “do” something to affect change.

Get Inspired’s mission is to inspire stewardship and curiosity for the natural world through the exploration of science.  We are all part of the problem, we try to make everyone part of the solution.

Through hands on ocean restoration projects in Orange County, California, we have restored the kelp forests, we are working to increase the numbers of white seabass, and we are restoring reproductive populations of green abalone.  Overall, 10,000 people have directly grown these organisms, been trained to outplant and monitor them in the ocean, and millions more have been educated about our efforts through outreach and media.  Students care for the organisms in classroom nurseries with a full year curricula centered on ocean chemistry, ecology, and biology of the species.   In order to have lasting change, behaviors and attitudes must evolve and we believe having a stake in the success of these restoration efforts is the solution.

Tien-Chieh Hung, UC Davis

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - November 29th, 2018

Hosted by the Ichthyology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Prof. Tien-Chieh Hung works in the area of aquacultural engineering including computational fluid dynamics, biomimetic particle filtration system design, recirculating culture system design, cultural technique development, and fish behavior. He has been working with listed fish species since 2008 and is Director of the Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory and manages the refuge population of the delta smelt. His current study is focusing on the fish culture technique improvement, marking method development, domestication effects on the captive fish, and integrated aquaculture.

The development of delta smelt hatchery and the use of cultured fish for conservation purposes

The UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory (FCCL) has started the delta smelt hatchery program since 1996 in response of the decline of their population in Delta. The fish is known for their fragile and sensitive to the environment, and they were federally listed as threatened and as endangered by the state. It took about 10 years for the FCCL to develop a reliable culture method for the delta smelt, and since then, the FCCL has been further developing a genetically managed refuge population of the fish. Currently the FCCL is housing the 11th generation removed from the wild. With the potential need of future reintroduction of delta smelt, the FCCL is now working with collaborators on the fitness of captive fish to the wild.

 

Susanna Blackwell, Greeneridge Sciences

Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar Series - November 29th, 2018

Hosted by the Vertebrate Ecology Lab

MLML Seminar Room, 4pm

(or Watch it Live here!)

Open to the public

Dr. Blackwell has been working with large marine vertebrates for nearly 30 years - northern and southern elephant seals, Baltic grey seals, albacore tuna, Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna, bowhead whales, and narwhals, to name a few.  In the early stages of her career she was involved in the design and manufacture of several types of seal data loggers, recording parameters such as depth, temperature, heart rate, swim speed, activity levels, and bioluminescence.  She joined Greeneridge in May 2000 and has since collected and analyzed acoustic data on man-made sounds, such as those produced by impact and vibratory pile-driving, airgun pulses, and numerous construction activities, to assess their range and impact on marine vertebrates, mostly marine mammals.  More recently she has combined these two interests—in collecting data using tags and in assessing the effects of man-made sounds on marine animals—to examine how East Greenland narwhals react to sounds from airgun pulses, which are used the world over in seismic exploration for oil and gas.  She is the lead author of 12 refereed journal articles and a co-author in 31 others.  She is a member of the Acoustical Society of America (and a Fellow since 2008), the Society for Marine Mammalogy, and Sigma Xi (National Society for Scientific Research).