Undergraduate Degree & Program: California State University, Monterey Bay with a B.S. in Marine Science

At CSU Monterey Bay, I worked with Dr. Alison Haupt and her graduate student at the time, Issak Haberman, to understand the reproductive patterns of intertidal Purple urchins. I would go out with my lab mates to multiple intertidal sites across the Monterey Bay Peninsula from the crack of dawn or to the late evenings. The mornings were always rough, but it was worth it because of the sunrise and the feeling of the coastal breeze. Algae percent coverage was collected with 25 urchins of various sizes from each site and season. The urchins would be brought back to the lab for dissection, which often resulted in a smelly lab. From this entire experience, I have grown as a student as I was able to understand the joys of going out to the field, working in a lab, and understanding the concepts of ecology and applying them to marine fields. Furthermore, I was able to go to many conferences and present my project.

My enjoyment of ecology will continue in the invertebrate ecology lab at MLML. For my thesis, I am focusing on the population dynamics of deep subtidal sea star species. My work will include looking at various sea star species found at depths between 30 to 100 meters across the California Coast. I aim to understand how the populations of each sea star have changed over time and spatially, how it compares to the population change in intertidal and shallow waters sites, and what are the drivers that influence deep subtidal sea stars. This research will help marine protected areas (MPA) in understanding the patterns of population change and where sea stars are likely to be found based on the environmental drivers.

During my free time, I love to go out for runs, hiking, gaming, and annoying my friends 🙂