By Noemi (Mimi) ChavezI am an SRJC student transferring to UCSC for Marine Biology in fall of 2022. I was mentored by Sam Walkes and Jacquie Rajerison. For my internship I was mentored by two amazing individuals. Sam Walkes, a third year PhD student, uses owl limpets to study ecological and evolutionary dynamics in rocky shores. And Jacquie Rajerison, a recent UC Davis graduate with a bachelors in marine science. Jacquie is currently working as a research assistant at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Prior to this internship I had no real scientific experience, so I was incredibly eager to get myself deep into science. My internship involved working with multiple people on different projects.
From working with Sam, I learned that the owl limpet population had been expanding up the California coast in recent years. Owl limpets typically live in warmer waters in Southern California. Extreme events such as heat waves can cause species to expand their range. For example, the 2013-2016 heatwave called, “the Blob” caused owl limpets to expand their range up North. Years later the climate returned to normal but the population was still increasing. It's possible the owl limpets have evolved new traits in order to thrive in colder waters. To find out why, Sam is studying owl limpet growth rates across the California coast. In the lab I was able to use ImageJ, an image processor to measure the percent coverage of barnacle growth within a meter of an owl limpet. The data will determine whether or not mussel coverage, which differs between Southern and Northern California, affects the growth of owl limpets. I was also able to go tidepooling with Sam and collect data on owl limpet measurements. This summer I also worked with a UC Davis undergraduate research fellow named Adri Penix. Adri is interested in owl limpet behavior and what effect other grazers have on their territory, since owl limpets live on the same rock their whole lives and are territorial. Adri, Sam, and I hammered small holes into tide pool rocks near owl limpets territories. The holes were filled with a drying putty called Z Spar so the owl limpet could be tagged and later found again. My second mentor Jacquie is a research assistant to Sam and PhD candidate Emily Longman. Emily is studying what effects predatory snails with different feeding traits have on mussel and barnacle growth. I was able to take part in Emily’s research by helping Jacquie with her lab duties. I learned how to use a special microscope that hooks up to a computer. Using this tool, I took close-up photos of juvenile barnacles. Then I learned how to distinguish between four different species of barnacle, even when they were almost too tiny to see. From this internship I gained a new perspective of what it means to be a scientist. There are so many types of work a scientist can do and directions a person's career can go. Whether it be going to grad school or becoming a research assistant, all of these options are valid and offer amazing experiences. I also feel I made a support system with my mentors that I feel comfortable reaching out to in the future.
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By Abigail DoanI am a fourth year biology student at SRJC, transferring to SSU. I am interested in studying ecology and evolutionary biology, and I was initially interested in working with BML through this internship to see if research and academia is something I would want to pursue as a career. This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the Bodega Marine Lab through the SRJC internship program. I was assigned to work with Alisha Saley of Gaylord lab, and I would love to share a little bit of my experience working with her this summer. Alisha is a phD candidate at BML, studying shell-building organisms and how they interact with chemical environments. Specifically, she has been looking at shell dissolution caused by a lower ocean pH due to atmospheric carbon dissolving into the ocean. Research has posited that the outermost organic layer of many marine mollusks, called the periostracum, can aid in preventing dissolution. Alisha has been working on projects showing the relationship between periostracum and shell dissolution, so what we did this summer is explore what kinds of abiotic factors can affect periostracum coverage in the coastal mussel species Mytilus californianus. We hypothesized that abiotic factors that cause the shell to dry out, such as a high tidal height or lots of sun exposure, will have a negative impact on periostracum cover. We conducted a pilot experiment in Marshall gulch, where we collected mussels from multiple tidal heights and multiple degrees of sun exposure. Then we used a program called ImageJ to calculate the percentage of periostracum cover for each group. Our results did confirm our hypothesis, and the lab is hoping to conduct more follow-up experiments for this project in the future. This summer, Alisha also introduced me to John Harreld, founder of the non-profit organization, SCHUNRS, whose mission is to educate about our maritime cultural heritage through historical research and maritime archaeology. I was tasked by John and Alisha to write a blog post going into detail about the history of one of the local shipwrecks, the Maggie Ross, that met her final resting place up near Jenner. I was provided with a document full of news clippings and statistics about the Maggie Ross’ life, and was meant to turn all of this raw data into something that was captivating and interesting to read. It was very enlightening to be able to take myself back in time and delve into the tumultuous life of this ship. There is so much more I would say about my experience this summer, but I will end by saying I am so very grateful to be given the opportunity to work with BML and SCHUNRS. Alisha has taught me so much about field work and research that I will be able to take with me into my academic and professional endeavors in the future, and I am honored to have been able to work with so many brilliant individuals. By Kevin WittI was one of the Santa Rosa Junior College interns here at Bodega Marine Labs this summer of 2022. I am just beginning my last year at the JC and will transfer to Sonoma State University in the fall of 2023. I am hoping to continue to UC Davis for postgraduate studies and would be thrilled to receive a position here when the time comes. Over the summer I worked with Tallulah Winquist in the Gaylord lab studying Bull Kelp. There was a huge kelp die off all along the Pacific seaboard around 2014 due to in large part to two factors: a large marine heat wave, and a huge rise in the number of sea urchins feeding on the kelp. This 90% reduction in the amount of kelp along our shorelines is immensely worrying because kelp and coral (which is having problems of its own) provide habitats for the vast majority of life in the oceans. Surprisingly there has been a small but unexpected resurgence in the amount of kelp along the California and Oregon coast in the last few years. While we are not completely sure of the cause of this resurgence, we are excited to see it and are hoping to find ways to encourage and expand this trend. Most of the work I did over this summer was a pilot study that will be used to inform a larger, more in depth study. We were studying the compound effects of lower salinity and higher temperature on the ability of kelp to reproduce. This a concern, because as the sea temperatures continue to rise, and polar and glacial ice melts, the salinity of the ocean, especially in the regions near the polar ice caps will drop. This particular study is focused on finding the lower end salinity and higher end temperature kelp reproduces at, so a more in depth, longitudinal study can be conducted to find the overall trends of the effects of these factors.
By Benny MisBenny is a recent SRJC graduate in Biology and will go on to major Global Disease Biology Major at UC Davis under the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is planning to pursue a career in medical research under a PhD program, and is excited to learn about the science world. Being a Land Steward is almost like being the camera man for a movie, or stage crew at a concert. The job and duties aren't always in the spotlight but they are highly critical in making a reserve run as it should. It is the job of the land steward to make sure the goals of a reserve are reached, and or maintained. In this internship I got to experience a glimpse of what it is like. I did removal of invasive species completely if possible, slowing the spread on already well established invaders, watering native grasses in the green house for restoration, and helping with experimental methods of removing a specific kind of invader. I want to talk about my day helping Luis Morales, the land steward at the Bodega Marine Reserve conduct his experiment. Holcus lanatus (Velvet Grass) is a problematic invader at the reserve that is so well established, the mountains around the lab are an ocean of this grass. Removal by hand, at the roots and before it goes to seed is the most efficient way of removing an individual from an area and ensuring that specific individual won't regrow. This is unrealistic when you are dealing with miles and miles of this plant. Luis is working on an experiment to test whether other methods can work in efficient removal of this species. Mowing is a very quick way to remove a large area of grass quickly, but the downside is that the roots will remain in the ground and allow the plant to regrow later on. This experiment is designed to measure if repeated mowings within a year can result in a depletion of the plant's resources to the point that it won't regrow. So we set out to a mow a few plots that have received mowing treatments in order to collect this data. A set of 3 plots are in a block and there are 4 blocks total. One plot has a 1x per year mow, one is 2x and one is none as a control. It took the entire day, but we were able to use string trimmers to mow the designated ones in the same day. I learned to use a string trimmer that day as well which was a great learning experience. Previous data indicated that the frequency of Holcus measured from the plots that received the treatment does indeed appear to be significantly lower than the control. This gives hope that using repeated mowing on large swaths of Holcus can result in a lower amount of this problematic invader. Giving us a chance of actually and realistically being able to get rid of it on the reserve. By Cassidy GordonCassidy Gordon is graduating with her Associates Degree in Natural Sciences from Santa Rosa Junior College in December and transferring to Sonoma State University to study Marine Biology for the Spring 2023 semester. She assisted PhD student Claire Murphy with her research on the predation of amphipods and isopods in Bodega and Tomales Bays this summer. Before this internship I knew I wanted to study Marine Biology… but I had no idea what that looked like in real life and I certainly didn’t see a clear path to my goal. Studying in school is one thing, but how do we take the things we learn there and apply them to actual research? How do we get into research in the first place? These questions and so many more plagued me constantly before being accepted into the Bodega Marine Lab Internship program through Santa Rosa Junior College. Now that my summer experience is wrapping up I feel optimistic, driven, and able to see the steps I need to take to reach my destination. From the first introduction email my mentor Claire was welcoming and enthusiastic. Hearing her explain her research on amphipods and isopods and witnessing her excitement and passion for what she studies was immediately inspiring. During my first week at the lab I got to participate in lab and field work, preparing the little crustaceans to be placed in the bays before tagging along for the actual deployment. Claire tethers four different species that are commonly found in the seagrass in Tomales and Bodega Bays and places them at 6 different sites at low tide. After 24 hours, she returns to collect the tethers and documents how many of each species has been eaten. As a mini-project to support Claire’s research, I focused on one specific species, Ampithoe lacertosa, determining if the size of the amphipod had any impact on predation rates. To do this, I would measure each amphipod before they were deployed and then measure the remaining amphipods once they were retrieved. We did this for two separate deployments - two weeks apart - and compared the data with the rough hypothesis that if size did matter, the larger amphipods would potentially be eaten more during the second week due to the growth of the local fish over the course of the period. Claire showed me how to use RStudio to analyze the data we had collected by running a t-test and creating graphs to represent our findings. Ultimately, the t-test and the graphs both indicated that size was likely not a factor impacting predation, however the graphs (like figure 1 below) did open the door for further study due to a potential for a “size refuge” as shown by the small blue hump representing the larger retrieved amphipods. A size refuge is an ecological term meaning once an organism reaches a certain size they have an advantage - in this case they are less likely to be eaten. While I have a feeling no path in academia is straightforward, this internship has provided information, connections, and experience that have laid a foundation for me to move forward confidently. More than ever, I am certain that this is what I want to do and the type of people I want to surround myself with. I highly recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in scientific research, especially those with a passion for the ocean. Rising Temperature and its Effect on Intertidal Invertebrates. AKA Hanging Out with a Bunch of Crabs8/24/2022 By Valeria SilvaValeria Silva was a general Biology major at SRJC. Who will now be transferring to CSU Monterey Bay and majoring in Marine Sciences this upcoming Fall 2022. This summer, I spent my time with my mentor Lily Mcintire helping her out with her research. We would visit four different sites she had set up on the BML reserve and around Bodega Bay. She is studying the thermal ecology of intertidal organisms with the intent to understand how increasing temperatures from climate change are affecting or will affect how these organisms choose homes and learn to cope. It’s important to understand how ocean animals are handling climate change since they are on the front line. Especially to study intertidal species who are already living in such high variability and harsh environments. To do this analysis Lily and I would go out into the field and do crab and snail surveys. We would measure body, air, substrate temp, and other abiotic factors that all affect the invertebrates' temperatures. The reason I chose to do the BML internship was that I had heard a lot of good things from both professors and peers alike. For three years, I studied at the SRJC to pursue a career as a Veterinarian, but at the last minute, I figured it wasn’t for me. It was disheartening, but I quickly found something new. The main reason I got into marine science is thanks to Professor Shawn Brumbaugh. While taking his class, I began to research different topics and I concluded that I was very interested in coral reefs and the adverse effects of climate change on the ocean. He noticed my interest and informed me about the BML internship. Since then, I have done a complete 180, and I am excited to dive into marine biology. I had a lot of fun and got to experience the beauty of nature every day. My favorite parts were honestly the hardest ones. Although it was very difficult to drive a long distance so early in the morning, it was fun being the first to the lab. I also got great advice from Lily that has better informed some of my future career choices and decisions. Overall she was a great academic fountain of knowledge who was willing to honestly talk about her experiences. She also showed me how much work and dedication it takes to do worthwhile research. This has been an incredible experience, and I gained so many skills that I will continue to build on. By Kevin SanchezKevin Sanchez is a SRJC biology student interested in all things involving science. .Greetings reader, my name is Kevin Sanchez and I am a SRJC biology student interested in all things involving science. I have always had a great love of science and this summer I was able to work on the Bodega Marine Reserve with my amazing mentor Luis Morales, a PhD student studying ecology. This summer exceeded my expectations and was without a doubt a memorable experience for the many opportunities available. Arriving on the first day I was nervous while simultaneously filled with a rush of excitement to learn more. I met Luis shortly after who I found would speak passionately about what he does on the reserve as a steward. A large portion of what Luis does is managing invasive species found on the reserve. This short introduction was followed by a very methodical plan to begin removing a perennial invasive species Holcus Lanatus (H. Lanatus). A plan was established based on several factors minimizing disturbance of other native species, careful consideration to the plants life cycle and a method that was most efficient. Once out in the field I saw velvet panicles shimmering under the sunlight that is best described as a sea of H. Lanatus. While manually pulling out the invasive species we got the chance to record data as well as map our findings to track its growth. Due to being classified as a perennial species this plant can resprout from the basal shoots further only temporarily solving the issue. This is a drawback, but it is a consideration that needs to be factored into every approach made to manage an invasive species. This is just one of the several invasive species that we had to manage which made me curious about what other methods we could approach given the potential negative and positive outcomes. Furthermore, after gaining more experience I was able to individually work on removing a different invasive species Briza Maxima (B. Maxima). Unlike H. Lanatus, B. Maxima is an annual plant that dies in one season, but its removal is still important to be done before seed drop. Thus, B. Maxima is just as important because it is well known to disturb native species by competing for nutrients.The best method to manage this species is mechanical and chemical such as use of herbicides yielding a recorded efficacy to be >95%. Though this is effective there are still other methods which I would enjoy to explore including biological control and different use of herbicides. There is very little research that has been made in biological control because it can disturb other desired species, however B. Maxima is not just an issue that affects our reserve; it has been recorded in New Zealand, Japan, Honduras, Guatemala, Hawaii, Chile and Colombia. Perhaps investing more time in biological control can prove to be an effective method for the different landscapes found in these other areas. Regardless of that it will take some of the mystery out of what could have occurred if we do not test its capacity. As a final note, it is clear to me that what may appear like a small change is in reality a mountainous impact when it comes to the ecosystem. Bodega Marine reserve was no walk in the park, but through these challenges it gave me a deep appreciation for the work it takes to maintain our native species. I am looking forward to working on similar projects or any science projects where people are passionate in what they do as I continue my educational journey. Special thanks to the BMR and BML team for guiding us and exposing us to new opportunities, including Keira Monuki, Isabelle Neylan, Luis Morales and Collin Gross my deepest gratitude. By Sahil PrasadSahil Prasad is in his final year at Santa Rosa Junior College majoring in Biology and intending to pursue a career in medicine. This summer I had the opportunity of working with my mentor Angela Korabik on a variety of different projects. The first project I worked on was oyster surveying at Point Pinole in Richmond. The purpose of this project was to examine if living shoreline restoration is possible by using oyster structures made of 80% sand and ground oyster shells mixed with cement to reduce marsh edge erosion, enhance populations of native species, and reduce wave energy. We took sample sizes using quadrats and recorded the number of each type of organism (including oysters, kelps, algae, Eel grass and Sea sponges) as well as the sizes of the oysters found. The next project I helped work on was the surveying of the invasive European Green Crab at Seadrift Lagoon, a joint effort with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Greater Farallones association. European Green Crabs are invasive, so since 2009 the Greater Farallones Association has been attempting to remove them. However in removing the adults, which are known to be cannibalistic, they saw a large population boom. They knew removal would be next to impossible but management might work better. So they continue seeking to keep European Green Crabs at low levels to potentially create room in the ecosystem for native crabs to return. We collected data on gender, diameter, and any missing appendages, then we clipped the crabs’ spines (this is harmless to them) so at a future survey we would know if we had seen the same organisms from the year prior. I am very grateful for this opportunity provided to me by the Santa Rosa Junior College and the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab. I would like to extend a special thank you to my mentor, Angela Korabik, for working hard to connect me with the many field work opportunities available this summer which was exactly what I had asked for, “a summer of exploration and adventure”. This has been the single greatest learning opportunity in science that I have ever had and I will remember this experience for the rest of my life. Nizhoni GoldtoothNizhoni Goldtooth is currently a student at Santa Rosa Junior College and plans to transfer to Sonoma State University in the spring of 2022 to pursue a Bachelors of Science degree in biology with a concentration in physiology. This summer she worked with her mentor Carina Fish on a coastal sciences and public health issue in San Francisco. You may think the SRJC-BML internship is only for those who are solely interested in the marine sciences, but there is far more to it than that. This summer I had the honor of working with my mentor Carina Fish, on a coastal and public health issue in the Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco. Through this internship I got to see how coastal issues are interdisciplinary where I worked with medical doctors, oceanographers, geologists, health officials, sociologists and many others to achieve a goal of bringing attention to the health and coastal injustices going on at Hunters Point Shipyard. This site has a history of radiochemical experiments, nuclear decontamination and testing. GreenAction, a community-based organization, is concerned about the potential for sea level rise to release contaminants from the coastal Superfund sites into the Bay (both the estuary and neighboring community). Tasked by GreenAction to develop sampling plans for independent testing, our goal for this summer was to complete phase one: determining the feasibility of a testing plan given the budget, time, and permitting constraints. Subsequent phases (which are predicated on phase one) include executing the sampling plan and analyses, and collating the data to produce contaminant concentration maps. Through this experience, I learned and researched 1) the complex history of the shipyard, 2) what type of protocols and analytical tests to use for specific contaminants, 3) how to navigate the many different agencies and stakeholders involved in order to define a testing site, and 4) the basics of coding in R. Doing so enabled me to work with an array of people.
Tenzing SherpaTenzing is a MCB transfer student at UC Berkeley. He is interested in pursuing a career medicine. Tenzing was mentored by graduate student Priya Shukla this summer (2021). I applied for this internship program thanks to the encouragement of professor Shawn Brumbaugh. Some things I was looking forward to when applying for this internship were getting to work in the field and get a deeper understanding of how research works outside of the classroom setting; I wanted to see how marine scientists operate and contribute to their fields.
For my 2021 BML internship, I helped my mentor Priya Shukla with her research project on the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. The purpose of Priya’s study is to explore whether or not thermal conditioning of juvenile C.gigas in nurseries can reduce their mortality in thermally stressful environments once out-planted. For my internship, I helped Priya tag the oyster bags with zip ties, put the oysters out in the field, set up temperature sensors, and conduct mortality surveys. Outside of working in the field I also learned how to use Image J to measure the lengths of oysters using photos and a ruler for scale. During my internship, I got plenty of experience doing fieldwork and got a close look at the research being conducted at the graduate student level. Being out in the field was one of my highlights for the internship. I got the opportunity to work in the low intertidal zone and saw different marine species, some of which include crabs, jellyfishes, and sea anemones. One obstacle working out in the field was walking in the mud. On my second day out on the field while walking on mud my boot sank too deep and while trying to pull it out I accidentally took off my boot and stumbled into the water. The rest of the day I worked with wet socks. After doing it for a couple of days I got used to the squishy/ sinking feeling of the mud and being wet. One of the biggest learning opportunities working in the field was seeing just how difficult it can be to make sure everything is going smoothly. During our first survey of oyster mortality in one of our sites, we noticed that a large number of oysters had gotten out of their bags. This was despite us double-checking to make sure that none of the bags had any tears in them and that they were closed tightly. Priya quickly had to accept and adapt to the unfortunate situation. Seeing just how difficult it can be for everything to go as planned in field experiments made me more appreciative of the work done by researchers. One valuable skill I learned during my internship was the use of ImageJ. ImageJ is an app that can measure the lengths of different objects in a picture using a reference measurement. For my internship, I used a standard ruler to set the scale which was used to measure the lengths of different oysters grown in the lab. Image J is a very helpful tool not just for research but also for real-world situations. When I was moving to my new place I needed to measure the length of my room to order a desk online. Since I did not have any measuring tape I used image J to make the measurement using my phone as a reference. My time as a BML intern has provided me with lots of wonderful experiences working out in the field and learning new skills. I would recommend this internship to anyone looking to expand their view on the field of Biology. |
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