Drop-In Blog – Page 4 – MLML Student Life

Holly visits Cawthron!

October 9, 2020October 14, 2020Lauren Cooley

Blog post from the MLML Environmental Biotechnology Lab

Dr. Holly Bowers had an awesome experience as a visiting researcher at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand in 2020! Although she has previously collaborated with some of their team, those relationships were expanded upon and new ones were formed during this visit. She worked closely with the Biosecurity Team to run two experiments testing different filter types and filtration times for efficient eDNA and eRNA capture, using the dinoflagellate Alexandrium as a model species. An eDNA/eRNA review paper with a biosecurity angle is in the works.

With the Safe New Zealand Seafood Programme she worked to expand geographic specificity testing for qPCR assays targeting four species within the toxin-producing genus Pseudo-nitzschia. A continuing collaboration with the team aims to characterize species diversity and toxin production of a subset of Pseudo-nitzschia species around New Zealand. She returns with an expanded knowledge base and heaps of ideas for future collaborations!

Check out this article from the Marine Biosecurity Toolbox to learn more about Holly’s trip to New Zealand!

Heading back to Picton after a successful dolphin watching trip!

The case of the sea lion: stranding events linked to domoic acid outbreaks

September 29, 2020October 3, 2020Lauren Cooley

By Sophie Bernstein, MLML Ichthyology Lab

When I moved to the Monterey Bay area for graduate school, I found myself most excited to be immersed in a new ecosystem. I couldn’t wait to learn about what the Monterey Bay was known for: the kelp forest. But I never considered the marine life I could see from shore until my scientific diving course, when we would spend several hours a day loading and unloading boats near Moss Landing Harbor. I felt like a little kid in an ice cream store, excited by all the resident sea lions perched on the dock and nearby boats! Needless to say, as an East-coaster, I was in awe. Meanwhile, the Californians who surrounded me did not look twice. Whereas I thought these sea lions were outrageously cute, and had never seen something like this in the wild, my peers simply rolled their eyes at the barking and obnoxious smell coming from the large animals.

Soon enough, I came to realize that California sea lions are a commonly observed, charismatic marine mammal found along the entire California coast. They are top predators in the local ecosystem, and spend extensive amounts of time at sea foraging on a variety of prey items. Common food for these sea lions include anchovies, sardines, squid, and salmon. When not actively feeding, sea lions may be found on shore breeding in groups called rookeries. A single breeding site can be home to several hundred breeding individuals, with one large male dominating the pack! Because they are such large predators who spend time on coastal shores, they are highly visible to the public.

Rookeries are not the only location where sea lions are seen in large numbers onshore. Every few years, sea lions strand in high numbers along the coast. This is particularly noticeable to the public, because when stranded, they displaying incredibly abnormal behavior, such as excessive head weaving, seizures, or even unusually large mortality events. Unfortunately, mass sea lion strandings usually indicate a larger problem occurring in the marine system: harmful algal blooms.

Red tide events, which cause coastal waters to appear red and make the headlines in California newspapers, are one type of harmful algal bloom visible by the naked eye. Another type of bloom that is not necessarily visible in the water itself causes mass sea lion stranding events along the California coast. These blooms are caused by a different type of algae known as Pseudo-nitzschia, and are capable of producing a harmful neurotoxin called domoic acid (DA). Similar to a canary in a coal mine, California sea lion stranding events are often the first indicator of a domoic acid outbreak.

The most recent DA events were in 2015-2016 and 1998 and both coincided with unusually warm oceanographic conditions. These warm oceanographic conditions are characterized by a decreased supply of cold, nutrient rich water (scientifically known as ‘upwelling’), resulting in water that is comparatively warmer and depleted in nutrients. The changes in upwelling alter how the larger ecosystem functions, by changing the distribution and amount of prey available. Major DA events occur rather infrequently because they require a specific combination of environmental conditions, but when they occur, they are visible to the public. Similar to other threats to marine ecosystems, these stranding events are tied to climate change. The frequency of DA events and marine mortality events may increase as climate change pressures alter upwelling patterns, creating environments prone to toxic outbreaks.

But if sea lions are top predators in California waters, how and why would a tiny algae cell impact them? While we don’t know yet for sure, scientists think sea lions are impacted by domoic acid through the food web. The Monterey Bay ecosystem is amazingly rich. It is home to thousands of fish and invertebrate species, all of which are connected to each other through predator-prey dynamics. For example, a sea lion may eat a squid, which eats smaller invertebrates and phytoplankton. Through this chain, sea lions and the phytoplankton come in contact.

Scientists recognize that sea lions are exposed to DA through these food chain connections. Sea lions are opportunistic feeders who consume a variety of prey items, including anchovies. Anchovies feed directly on algae and other phytoplankton. Since anchovies are important prey items for predators throughout California, the sea lions who consume them might be directly exposed to DA.

Yes, we’re talking about the same anchovy that may be sitting on your pizza! Anchovies are one of the largest fisheries in central California that contribute > 13 million pounds to commercial fisheries. This creates another question: Does DA threaten seafood consumers? Indeed, humans can be exposed to DA through the same food web connections that make sea lions vulnerable.

An important remaining question is: where are sea lions foraging when they’re exposed to DA? Scientists at The Marine Mammal Center have been researching related topics based on the stranded animals they respond to. Researchers have found that DA toxicity in sea lions can result from ingesting prey items which have accumulated DA, but where were these prey items consumed? And what is the relationship between ocean warming events, climate change, and DA outbreaks? With a better understanding of where prey items accumulate DA, monitoring agencies can more adequately test high risk regions, and increase the chances of detecting a toxic event early on rather than waiting for another biological indicator, such as mass sea lion stranding and mortality events.

To learn more about how The Marine Mammal Center is researching and helping during DA stranding events, check out this article.

Science is creative, creativity is science

September 23, 2020September 23, 2020Lauren Cooley

By Hannah Bruzzio, MLML Ichthyology Lab

Growing up we often feel like we have to put ourselves in boxes. Being asked: “what’s your favorite subject?” and not being expected to have more than one. I liked science, knew I would be a scientist one day and never put much thought into what else I could be good at. I was always told I was a creative person, that I was a right-brained creative, but I liked science so that was what I was going to stick with.

Stereotypes exist on both sides to help recognize what a child might be good at throughout their schooling and maybe set them on a career path early in life. These ‘standard’ traits are often on opposite sides of the spectrum, with a right-brained, free-thinking creative sending you on a path to be an artist, and a left-brained, rigid, plan-oriented book worm on the other leading you to science. However, these basic human traits don’t hold up in either field in the real world and should never restrict someone to one path in life. Some of the most creative people I have met have been peers in the lab and some friends who are artists are some of the more methods-orientated people I know. There is no such thing as boxes, and it is the blending of these traits that can really make someone excel in their field.

Over the past 6 years or so, breaking out of high school biology and into the world of scientific research, is when I realized that creativity and science are not mutually exclusive. They are in fact very closely linked and it might be my creative side that has made me into the scientist that I am today. Like scientists, artists conceptualize and put together ideas in a new way. But instead of observation, facts and data, they use color, shapes, texture, etc.

The scientific method is inherently built on creativity. Scientists are pushed to think outside the box to ask new questions and to design unique projects from beginning to end and produce a novel result. Of course, there is an aspect of sticking to a protocol and precision that all good science must incorporate, but you often cannot get to that point without a creative mindset. This was a lesson that, once learned, was extremely exciting to me. I could now have a career that nurtures both sides of my brain, the logical and the creative.

In recent years, I have read about artists being included on scientific cruises and exploration projects as well as seeing people go from hard scientist, to scientific illustrator, then to a tattoo artist specializing in scientifically accurate representations of animals and plants. It is this blending that catches the eye of the public. A good artistic visual representation of science can easily become a trending topic because it has become palatable and stimulating for people outside of either field of science or art. Photography and documentary making has made coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef a globally recognized issue that we are facing and has in turn allowed more interest and need for increased knowledge in the scientific community on the subject as well. Another great visual representation of science, the ocean specifically, is aquariums. These attractions are seen by millions of people each year and are carefully curated as a sensory exploration of life in the ocean. This allows people to see and understand the ocean in new ways, being told a story written by both artists and scientists alike.

This personal realization that I didn’t have to choose one side or the other, led very quickly into having more creative hobbies. I received an iPad as a Christmas present in 2017, and the rest was history. The development of my own personal artistic style has been a slower journey, reaching the present where a huge source of my inspiration is taken directly from marine science and marine life as a whole. I will spend hours at the aquarium taking pictures and videos of fish to incorporate into my drawings. I will spend even more hours staring at pictures of kelp to figure out how to take the beautiful underwater landscape and give it new life with my own personal flare. I have also gotten the chance to design for Moss Landing Marine Labs (mostly in relation to out Open House event) as well as be a go-to graphic illustrator for my peers because I understand the importance of stylized yet realistic designs in bridging the gaps between science, creativity and communication.

So, for me I choose to acknowledge the links between my career path and my hobbies and not have separate organized little boxes of my life where science and creativity live separately. I have been given the unique opportunity to be both academically passionate and creatively inspired by a career in science and I am sure you have not seen the last fish drawing out of me.

What is a marine heat wave?

August 10, 2020October 28, 2020Lauren Cooley

By Sierra Fullmer, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab

Do you know what a marine heat wave is? Imagine being outside in the peak heat of summer, walking in what feels like a sea of heat. Heat waves, during which temperatures are much hotter than normal, occur in the oceans as well as on land. An unusual warming of the ocean can have many cascading effects, not just for the organisms living in the water, but also those on land which rely upon the ocean’s resources. This was demonstrated in 2014, when the Alaskan ‘warm blob’ became a trending phrase, even outside of the scientific community. This unusual hot spot in the North Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Alaska reached a peak in 2016, ranking in the top five heat anomalies ever recorded. During this time, the top 100-300 meters of the ocean warmed up to two degrees Celsius, or three point six degrees Fahrenheit. That’s enough water to reach from one to three American football fields deep! It may not seem like that much of a difference but imagine how much energy is required just to heat a small pot of water. Now scale that up to the size of the Gulf of Alaska, and three football fields deep.

A glimpse into the shifting community structure of a Southern California kelp forest and the benefits of long-term monitoring

July 29, 2020September 23, 2020mlmlblog

By Lauren Parker, MLML Ichthyology Lab

I can’t tell you how much I miss spending the majority of my day underwater. It’s difficult to communicate the feeling it gives you; the feeling that you have somehow been given the opportunity to glimpse another world, one that most people never get to see. As a marine scientist spending a select few glorious (for the most part) hours in that world, I am tasked with collecting data. I record pages and pages of species codes and numbers, I count things and I measure them. I take copious amounts of photos.

I was a research SCUBA diver for the Partnership for the Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), monitoring the kelp forest around the northern Channel Islands in Southern California. Most of my days were spent waking up before the sun, loading dive gear into the boat, racing dolphins and dodging migrating whales across the Santa Barbara Channel so that we could dive all day long. We’d race the sunset back to the harbor just to do it all again the next day.

The 2017 PISCO team on board NOAA's Shearwater.

UCSB’s PISCO team has been monitoring the kelp forest in the Channel Islands since 1999. While changes over the long-term are the principle focus of organizations such as PISCO, short-term variability in ecosystem structure can provide insight into the potential effects of future ocean conditions, particularly in the context of a swiftly changing climate.

While my time with PISCO represents just a snapshot of the continually evolving story of the kelp forest ecosystem, I was witness to several distinct changes in the kelp forest community in my five seasons of diving. I watched sea star populations decline markedly and sunflower sea stars disappear completely. I watched the invasive alga, Sargassum horneri, replace the native giant kelp at Catalina Island and then quickly spread to the northern Channel Islands. More and more often we recorded species not normally seen on our surveys.

Decline in Sea Stars

I began surveying the kelp forest in 2013, just before the anomalous rise in sea surface temperatures across the North Pacific Ocean, known as the “warm blob,” appeared along the west coast. For a more in-depth explanation of the “warm blob” check out this link. 2013 was also the last year during which I saw a sunflower sea star.

Me with a sunflower sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, on my head in 2013.

Sunflower sea stars can grow up to meter in diameter, and can have 24+ arms as adults. They are also voracious predators, feeding on a variety of invertebrates and even other sea stars. Sunflower sea stars were seemingly the first casualty in what came to be a mass mortality event over the next few years. Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) caused the death of many types of sea stars and scientists are still studying the disease’s origins and what triggered the outbreak. Sunflower stars play an integral role in the kelp forest ecosystem. As sunflower stars became functionally extinct, purple urchin numbers increased dramatically, which in turn caused a marked decline in kelp abundance, though not as prevalent a decline as that of macroalgae populations in central and northern California. While noted as an important player in the kelp forest, research on sunflower sea stars is unfortunately minimal due to a lack of commercial importance.

A large number of other sea star species were heavily impacted by SSWD. The ochre sea star, the giant-spined sea star, and the short-spined sea star are larger and more abundant species, so their decline was particularly apparent. These and several other sea stars, totaling around twenty different species, were decimated by SSWD. Infected individuals looked like they were slowly dissolving, many of them missing limbs and they were often covered in white, fleshy lesions.

Invasion of Sargassum

Sargassum horneri, nicknamed devil weed, is an invasive seaweed native to eastern Asia and a relatively new resident in California waters. Discovered in 2003 in Long Beach harbor, it has since invaded and become established throughout Southern California, taking a particularly firm grip in the Channel Islands. S. horneri has become the subject of several studies aimed at understanding it’s invasibility, particularly its ability to outcompete native algae. In the northern Channel Islands, at Anacapa Island in particular, the level of invasion has been linked to the level of management, where marine protected area type and the length of protection strongly influence invasibility. Results indicate that marine invasions are complex but that protection does play a key role in resistance. Check out this paper for more information. Adequate marine management is imperative in a changing climate, particularly since marine invasions are forecasted to increase with changes in ocean climate.

Diving deep into a bed of S. horneri at Catalina Island, CA.

An increase in ocean temperatures is often accompanied by some odd animals showing up in strange places. This became particularly apparent during the “blob” years of 2014 through 2018 when a variety of organisms began pushing the limits of their typical temperature envelopes and causing an uproar wherever they were spotted. Thousands of pelagic red crabs began making a regular appearance each field season. Finescale triggerfish began showing up on the same transects as lingcod, a comparably much colder water fish. A goldspotted sand bass, normally a resident of the waters from Cedros Island southward off the coast of Baja California, showed up on a fishing vessel in the Channel Islands. Basking sharks began patrolling the waters of the channel and green sea turtles were glimpsed at Santa Cruz Island. These examples represent only a portion of what seemed out of the ordinary during my time with PISCO. However, an increasingly changing ocean climate is likely to foster shifts in species ranges that will cause a lot more strange animals to show up in weird places. If you happen to see any such animals, such as the sheephead and spiny lobsters that have shown up in Carmel, check out the Strange Fish in Weird Places website and let the scientists know what you saw.

A pelagic red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes, at Santa Cruz Island.

Return of top predators

Not all of the changes I witnessed were negative, although that might depend on who you ask. Recent years have shown what seems to be a recovery of top predators in the kelp forest ecosystem. Yep. You guessed it. Sharks. White shark populations have made a significant comeback, with higher numbers of both adult and juvenile populations reported along the California coast, likely the result of increased protections in the last couple of decades. While white sharks do pose a threat to crowded beaches and various other ocean pastimes, such as surfing and freediving, they are a vital component of the marine ecosystem and their increase in numbers, while making us ocean goers slightly more uneasy, should be celebrated.

These events by no means indicate a clear trend for the future of the kelp forest, however they do highlight what can happen in a drastically changing climate. Recent years, including those in which I was an active PISCO diver, were what can be termed a perfect storm of events. Periodically warmer waters caused by an El Niño event were coupled with the “warm blob”, a marine heatwave that caused unseasonably warm waters for an extended period along the west coast of the United States. Prolonged elevated temperatures caused innumerable marine impacts, and likely had a hand in the ones discussed here.

More frequent and more intense storms and heat waves, like the “blob”, higher levels of pollution, and other anthropogenic impacts that result from climate change are threatening ecologically and economically important marine systems, worldwide. Scientists in recent years have begun to confirm that kelp systems, globally, are in decline. The need for long-term monitoring of ecosystems is necessary now, more than ever, to assess and understand the changes that are happening right before our eyes.

Could seaweed be a pollution solution?

July 16, 2020September 23, 2020mlmlblog

By Shelby Penn, MLML Phycology Lab

As a child, I remember spending hours collecting trash from the street ditch, woods, and ravine around my house. It was something that I felt very strongly about even as an 8-year old. I’ve never been able to understand how someone could just throw their trash out the car window without a second thought. Today, as an avid outdoor enthusiast, tour guide, and lover of all things nature, or as I like to call it “neature”, helping out mother nature has now become a passion and life-long pursuit.

Chemical pollution is a huge problem across the globe and many contaminants are released into the natural environment daily. Concern over chemical pollution can be dated back as far as the 13th century when England’s King Edward I wanted to use penalties to reduce air pollution if the residents of London did not stop burning coal. This threat, however, had little effect, and it was not until after the industrial revolution that the concern of pollution resurfaced.

Living among emperor penguins: 2019 field expedition to Antarctica

July 9, 2020September 23, 2020mlmlblog

How does pollution ‘coral’ate with coral bleaching in American Samoa?

July 2, 2020October 14, 2020mlmlblog

By Melissa Naugle, CSUMB Logan Lab & MLML Invertebrate Ecology Lab

You may have heard stories about the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs worldwide that are succumbing to ‘coral bleaching.’ Maybe you’ve seen the pictures of stark white corals devoid of the fish and other creatures that make a reef healthy and colorful. But what exactly is coral bleaching and what is it like to study it?

When corals bleach, they lose their symbiotic partner, microscopic algae called zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae provide the majority of the coral’s diet by converting energy from the sun into food for the coral. As a response to stressful changes in their surroundings, zooxanthellae will abandon their coral host, leaving behind a pale and hungry coral skeleton. Often, the corals never recover their zooxanthellae and die of starvation.

Improving soil health on farms: better for the farmer, better for the planet

June 25, 2020October 16, 2020mlmlblog

by Stefanie Kortman, CSUMB Haffa Lab

The author collecting soil greenhouse gas measurements on a farm during a cover crop season.

My research in sustainable agriculture practices was born from two passions: my love of food and my concern for protecting and preserving natural resources. I came into my role as an agricultural scientist in the world-renowned farming valleys of the Monterey Bay region. (One of these valleys—the Salinas Valley—is even called “The Salad Bowl of the World” for all the produce it exports.) In my work, I examine how different farm management practices influence soil and the production of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Before I started my research, I never thought of soil as a source of greenhouse gas emissions and didn’t know how the process of growing food can cause more to go into our atmosphere than are naturally produced in the soil by microorganisms. I have come to learn that agriculture is in fact an important source of human-induced greenhouse gases. It’s estimated to contribute 19–29% of total greenhouse gas emissions, while transportation accounts for 14%. With agriculture soil management heralded as a top solution for drawing down global carbon dioxide levels to mitigate climate change, farmers are increasingly expected to adopt practices that reduce emissions and store, or sequester, carbon in soil while still providing our growing population with essential food products. The solution is in the soil. My goal is to help show farmers how to keep their soil healthy. It benefits both their farming and the environment.

Farm-to-Water, Farm-to-Air

What happens on farms does not always stay on farms. When farmers apply fertilizer and water to soil, plants don’t use all of it. Microscopic organisms (aka “microbes”) in the soil transform excess nutrients into other forms, such as gas emissions. One such gas is nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”—the same gas dentists use for sedating patients. But nitrous oxide production from agriculture is no laughing matter; this potent greenhouse gas is 300 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat on Earth. Most nitrous oxide emissions caused by humans come from agriculture—mainly from applying more nitrogen fertilizer to the soil than plants can use.

Left: Monitoring soil greenhouse gas emissions on a farm participating in a 3-year Healthy Soils Program grant funded by the California Department of Agriculture. Right: Dark, rich soil with crop residues on the surface at a farm that has practiced management focused on soil health for over 30 years.

Agricultural runoff can carry topsoil and nutrients that pollute waterways and degrade aquatic ecosystems.

Nutrients can also be transported in water (think salt in water) down through the soil and into groundwater or out of farms through drainage channels that carry this “runoff” into rivers, streams, estuaries, and eventually the ocean. This can lead to contamination of drinking water, pollution of waterways, and negative impacts within aquatic ecosystems. Runoff often encourages the growth of harmful algae that use up the dissolved oxygen in the water and create “dead zones”. Thankfully, there are many opportunities for improving farm management practices and reducing air and water pollution.

Good for the Soil, Good for the Farmer

Improving crop production, reducing losses of topsoil and nitrogen, and storing carbon in soil are all achievable opportunities of soil-health focused farming, and it all comes down to the basis of managing soil health: soil aggregates. Soil aggregates are little clumps of soil bound by secretions from roots and enzymes from microbes, both of which act like glue to hold soil particles together. They improve soil structure by creating little pockets of space between clumps, which helps keep water in place so plants can use it. This, in turn, reduces topsoil erosion and runoff. When soil can hold more water, less irrigation is needed, and minimizing erosion and runoff reduces the loss of nitrogen and precious topsoil from farms. These little clumps also keep carbon locked away, or sequestered, and help promote conditions that reduce nitrous oxide production.

Practices that improve soil aggregate stability, and thus soil health, include planting cover crops and reducing tillage. Cover crops are crops that are planted in the winter or spring and provide many benefits to soil, including adding plant-usable nitrogen, keeping soil in place, extending roots into the soil to create pathways for water to move through, and much more. Common cover crops are legumes—such as hairy vetch, fava beans, and clover—and grasses—such as rye, oats and buckwheat. Reducing disturbance to the soil by minimizing tillage helps maintain soil aggregates that take time to build. These methods can help farmers promote healthy soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Left: Hand-applying compost on a farm to improve soil structure is one of many techniques to promote soil health in agroecosystems. Right: Cover crops promote soil health by keeping the soil planted which prevents erosion, improve soil's physical and biological properties, supplies nutrients, suppress weeds, and improves the availability of water.

The future of food production is dependent on soil health-based farm management, but not all methods work for every farm or region. Researchers like me partner with farmers to monitor the impacts different crop and soil management practices have on soil health and crop production and learn which techniques work best for different situations. Through these collaborative efforts we can assess the efficacy and practicality of different management practices in terms of improving soil health and maintaining a successful farm business. The future of farming depends on partnerships to achieve the greatest benefit for feeding a growing population and protecting the resources that make this planet so unique. I am proud to be working for a better future.

Saving sea turtles from cold stunning

June 12, 2020October 14, 2020mlmlblog

By Daphne Shen, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab

Every October, animal rehabilitation facilities around the northeast gear up for another sea turtle cold stun season. Cold stunning for sea turtles is similar to hypothermia for people, and typically occurs in November and December. As the ocean temperature drops below about 10°C (50°F), a sea turtle’s body shuts down. Since they are cold-blooded, their body temperatures are close to that of the surrounding water. Once they get too cold, sea turtles become lethargic and are no longer able to swim or eat, and end up at the mercy of the currents.

These turtles, usually juveniles, wash up on beaches around Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Long Island, New York. They can be found traveling up the East Coast with the Gulf Stream and spending their summers feeding in the waters off the coast of New England. As the water cools down, sea turtles should instinctively migrate back south towards Florida and the Caribbean. The problem is that many animals get caught in bays and can’t figure out how to navigate back to the open ocean, eventually succumbing to cold stunning when the water rapidly cools.

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