August 2008

Students Xeronimo Castaneda and Ben Nilsen are shown assisting with research at Point Lobos State Reserve that is being conducted through the Marine Landscape Ecology Lab at CSUMB. Under the supervision of Dr. Corey Garza students are assisting with the development of survey methods that can estimate scale dependency in the relationship between environmental factors, such as topographic complexity, and patterns of species distribution and abundance in rocky intertidal communities. General landscape ecology theory suggests that factors that affect species distribution and abundance at the scale of a few meters may not necessarily relate to species distribution and abundance at larger spatial scales. The data gathered by students in the lab will be used to develop GIS and statistical models that will help provide estimates as to how strongly physical and biological processes structure intertidal marine communities at local and regional scales. The development of such models can not only provide insight on the general relationship between environmental factors and species distribution but can also help guide environmental monitoring designs aimed at tracking the relationship between the environment and marine species at multiple scales.

July 2008

In June, the California Transect class of 2008 completed a 1000-mile lap of the Sierra Nevada. Twenty-two students and seven staff completed the trip, taking in campsites, hikes, and field activities in diverse locations such as Mt Whitney Portal, Death Valley National Park, Mono Lake, and the Freeman Grove of Giant Sequoias. The class focuses on the aspects of environmental science and history that relate to contemporary issues such as water scarcity, climate change, threatened species, pollution, and public land managemet.

Over 400 photos of the trip can be browsed here.

June 2008

ESSP undergraduates Mary Young and Miles Daniels participated in the 22nd annual system-wide CSU Student Research Competition against undergraduate students throughout the CSU system. Both competed in the Biological and Agricultural Sciences round. Mary presented her capstone project “Multivariate Prediction Models of Rockfish Abundance & Distribution in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, California”. Miles presented on “Inorganic Nutrient Removal from a Constructed Treatment Wetland in Monterey County, California” and won first place in his session!

May 2008

Jon Detka, a SEP lecturer currently teaching FYS (First Year Seminar for Science Majors), Chem 110L, and PHYS 121L is working to conserve threatened and endangered rare plant species throughout Fort Ord and the Central Coast. Jon graduated from the ESSP program in 2001, and has just finished an MS at SJSU in Conservation Biology & Ecology by conducting research for USFWS and BLM that identified the potential affect of fire on a rare maritime chaparral shrub Eastwood's Golden Fleece (Ericameria fasciculata, Asteraceae). This work continues, and Jon is now building on this experience while working for Denise Duffy and Associates to monitor rare plant populations along the Central Coast.

April 2008

Condor Tech Support Team. Graduate student Tamara Myers (left) and undergraduate student Katie Lannon are developing new technologies to help save the endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). These magnificent soaring birds came perilously close to extinction when, in 1982, a total of only 22 individuals remained alive. Intensive captive breeding programs have since raised those numbers to over 300. The Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) is now leading efforts to reintroduce some of these condors to the steep mountains of Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness, located less than an hour's drive south of CSUMB. Condors often travel over 100 miles a day, so tracking and monitoring them in these rugged mountains is a challenge. Tamara and Katie are working with VWS biologist Joe Burnett and Professor Steve Moore in CSUMB’s Ecosystem Electronics Laboratory (EEL) to develop video surveillance systems for remote monitoring of wild condor behavior during nesting and in pre-release pens. They are also experimenting with inexpensive ways to automate the tracking of condor movements in remote areas. Their research will help answer questions about condor biology and behavior and will assist VWS in its condor reintroduction efforts.

March 2008

DNA Barcoding Cryptic Invaders. Over the past century all of Southern California's and most of Central California’s native Bay Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) have been replaced by the European Blue Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and no one noticed a thing. Because the two species appear so alike, one has to use DNA analysis to tell them apart. And because the mussels are so similar scientists hope to learn a lot about what it takes to make a successful invader. To help track the ongoing northward expansion of the invader, High School Biology Teachers and some Moss Landing graduate students have been working each summer with professors Henrik Kibak (CSUMB) and Simona Bartl (MLML) to sample the DNA of mussels from area waters.Based on this ongoing research experience, the teachers prepare lessons and practice techniques with a summer contingent of RISE students with the ultimate goal of sharing these concepts with their own classrooms. More info...

February 2008

CSUMB students have been studying the future Fort Ord Dunes State Park as a living laboratory to study restoration in BIO 240L and to learn about natural history interpretation in ESSP 349S. These dunes were once used for target practice by soldiers stationed at Fort Ord. After the bullet casings were removed, State Parks staff teamed with Beach Garden Project volunteers to plant tens of thousands of dune plants to recreate the vibrant dune plant community that once existed there. CSUMB introductory biology students have been assessing the progress of this restoration effort by comparing it to a reference site at the Martin Dunes (co-owned by the Big Sur Land Trust). Biology students Mary McLellan and Sarah Park stand in front of a restored dune, while Lindsay Flores and Alex Vega collect vegetation data along a transect. In preparation for the Fort Ord Dunes State Parks grand opening, ESSP349S students, Daniel Miller, Esa Morrison, and Monique Flores, created an orientation sign with State Parks staff during fall semester 2007.

January 2008

Students in Marine Geospatial Technologies and Seafloor Mapping (ESSP 433/533) conducted a hydrographic survey of Elkhorn Slough from CSUMB Seafloor Mapping Lab’s R/V VenTresca. Elkhorn Slough, one of California’s last remaining coastal wetlands, has been impacted by increasing tidal scour since the 1947 opening of Moss Landing Harbor. Class data will be compared with time series from previous surveys to assess changes in slough erosion rates for presentation at the May 2008 Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Symposium at CSUMB. Above, Brian Spear, Anthony Zelensky, and Eric Adams recover the multibeam sonar. Below, Jacob Hinkle and SFML staff/instructor Pat Iampietro monitor navigation and multibeam data collection.

December 2007

Students from the Geomorphic Systems class (GEOL 360) made high-precision surveys of a channelized reach of Carneros Creek to establish present stream conditions. Carneros Creek is the main waterway feeding water and sediment to the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. The creek is slated for wetland and stream restoration in coming months. The student-generated data will add to a long-term stream monitoring database, and will be used to create, and evaluate, restoration proposals. ESTP student Lauren Grounds records data from a cross section survey.

November 2007

Last month, students from the BIO 345 Marine Biology class assisted in the collection of data at the Del Monte shalebeds, a diverse ocean seascape just off the coast of Cannery Row in Monterey. A small video camera (held by CSUMB student Josh Hess, in the picture) was deployed over the side of R/V MacGinitie and towed for 45 minute transects. Data on fish and invertebrate species as well as habitat attributes were recorded using a geospatial annotation system. These data will be integrated into a growing data library as CSUMB develops the shalebeds as a "living laboratory" for the conduct of student-driven scientific research.

October 2007

Capstone student and CCoWS intern, Jessica Watson, is studying the life cycle of invertebrates in Carmel Lagoon. These invertebrates form part of the prey base for threatened steelhead trout rearing in the lagoon. The lagoon habitat was greatly expanded by State Parks in 2005 for the benefit of the trout. Previous CCoWS studies led by Dr Fred Watson have shown that the invertebrate populations fluctuate significantly, and Jessica's thesis aims to find out why. She's focusing on Corophium - a tiny crustacean that lives in tubes it builds on the sandy bottom of the lagoon. It is intended that this work will help future habitat enhancement projects in other lagoons optimize their steelhead habitat.

September 2007

Graduate student Jeremiah Brantner and Dr. James Lindholm of CSUMB’s Institute for Applied Marine Ecology are investigating the effects of seafloor complexity on the use of acoustic telemetry. Currently, automated acoustic telemetry is widely utilized to address questions regarding the movement of aquatic organisms in relation to marine protected area (MPA) boundaries. While this technology provides researchers with a previously unavailable view of fish behavior, it is suspected that seafloor complexity (ie. high, rocky relief) plays a role in limiting the operating range of acoustic tracking devices. By quantifying these effects, researchers will gain a better understanding of fish behavior and thus the requirements of effective MPAs.

August 2007

This summer, Dr. Marc Los Huertos of SEP and collaborators from UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University began work to characterize the biogeochemical processes occurring in the Harkins Slough Aquifer Storage Recharge System in Watsonville, CA. Water from Harkins Slough is pumped into this depression and percolates into the groundwater to be pumped later for irrigation purposes. Evidence suggests that nitrate in the pond is reduced as the water moves through the hyporheic zone toward the water table. Dr. Los Huertos and his colleagues are currently installing instruments to measure the water flux and nitrate removal when the pond is full.

July 2007

In an effort to improve water quality, growers along the Central Coast have collaborated with researchers at CSUMB's Division of Science and Environmental Policy to test the use of treatment wetlands to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations and loads to surface waters that drain into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Many growers are willing to implement practices to improve water quality at their expense, but they want to determine if these efforts are cost effective. This research is the first step to determine the effectiveness of these treatment systems. This project has been developed in collaboration with the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County.

June 2007

Students and faculty from CSUMB’s Institute for Applied Marine Ecology joined scientists from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary on board the NOAA ship McArthur II to study the recovery of seafloor habitats and associated taxa following the cessation of bottom trawling along California’s central coast. Data collected with the towed video camera sled (pictured above) will be used to compare areas that are no longer fished to areas that continue to be fished. This was year 2 of a multi-year collaborative study directed toward improving our understanding of the ecological consequences of fishing activity.