Bird Migration Tracking in the Santa Monica Mountains at Stunt Ranch Reserve
Awardee: Kelsey Reckling, a second year PhD Student, primarily studies bird migration in the Western United States.
PROJECTS
Investigating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis prevalence in a fragile vernal pool ecosystem
Awardee: Erica Ro, an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology, is broadly interested in urban ecology and conservation science.
Plant performance-dispersal feedbacks in a California annual grassland community
Awardee: Lauren Glevanik, a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, works with a plant community of annual wildflowers and grasses.
Determining the drivers of collective behavior in Veromessor harvester ants at the UC Sedgwick natural reserve
Awardee: Sean O'Fallon, Ph.D. student in the Pinter-Wollman lab at UCLA. Sean's research focuses on the collective behavior of ant colonies, focusing on the factors that determine behavioral variation within populations and the relationship between ant nest architecture and collective behavior.
Effects of artificial lighting at night on bats in Los Angeles County
Awardee: Lily Rivas, undergraduate student at UCLA under the IoES program pursuing an Environmental Science B.S. and a minor in Conservation Biology.
Effects of interspecific competition on Stephens’ kangaroo rat habitat selection
Awardee: Janine Fischer, Ph.D. candidate co-advised by Dr. Grether and Dr. Shier at UCLA, who is interested in how aggressive interference between species influences their coexistence and habitat use.
Hydraulic function and carbon metabolism of three southern California oak species
Awardee: Anna Ongjoco, Ph.D student co-advised by Dr. Elsa Ordway at UCLA and Dr. Leander Anderegg at UCSB.
Hyperspectral Imaging for California Plant Ecology
Awardee: Nikita Burger, undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Computational and Systems Biology at UCLA.
Integrating Environmental DNA and Epigenetics as a Novel Approach for Age Classification of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a Model Organism.
Awardee: Madeleine Pacheco, first year PhD student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department under the supervision of Dr. Paul Barber at UCLA.
Is Prey Availability a Factor in the Decline of a Bat Species in Southern California that is Synanthropic in the Rest of its Range?
Awardee: Jill Carpenter, Ph.D. candidate interested in the roosting and foraging ecology of bats, especially with regard to how various species navigate and utilize the human-altered landscapes of Southern California as well as what traits allow some species to persist while others decline.
Using eDNA Techniques to Understand the Patterns of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Santa Monica Bay
Awardee: Likhitha Yettela, 4th-year undergraduate environmental science student with a concentration in conservation biology at UCLA.
Assessing the determinants of collective behavior of seed dispersing ants at the UC Sedgwick natural reserve
Awardee: Sean O'Fallon, Ph.D. student in the Pinter-Wollman lab. His research focuses on the collective behavior of ant colonies.
Characterizing the Evolutionary History of Southern California UC Reserves with an Integrated Computational Approach
Awardee: Maya Chari, senior Computational Biology student, interested in mathematical and computational applications to Ecology. Maya has worked both field and computational jobs and enjoys collecting data and processing it.
Developing Novel Coastal Infrastructure Habitat Through Beneficial Reuse of Carbon Sequestration Spoils and Cutting-Edge Biosurvey Methods.
Awardee: Gabriela M. Carr, IoES Ph.D. student focused on improving coastal infrastructure as marine habitat.
Effects of interspecific competition on habitat use by Stephens’ kangaroo rat
Awardee: Janine Fischer, Ph.D. student co-advised by Dr. Grether and Dr. Shier at UCLA. Janine is interested in how aggressive interference between species influences their coexistence and habitat use.
Impacts of domestic dogs on gray fox behaviors in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Madeleine Zuercher, Ph.D. candidate advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Madeleine is interested in how invasive species affect native carnivore behavior and ecology.
Investigating Local Adaptation of Heteromeles arbutifolia using a Common Garden Approach.
Awardee: Laurel Thomas, undergraduate student completing her degree in Environmental Science with minors in Conservation Biology and Environmental Engineering. Laurel is passionate about conserving and increasing access to California native plants and their respective ecosystems
Modeling the impact of invasive annual grasses on wildfire behaviors in Southern California.
Awardee: Bowen Wang, undergraduate student with majors in Climate Science and Geography. Bowen has a wide interest in both the physical and social impacts of anthropogenic climate change, particularly in droughts, floods, and wildfires in the Western US and tropical cyclones, and he likes to develop and run models to represent these processes.
Physiological mechanisms enabling species survival of drought in southern California
Awardee: Nidhi Vinod, 2nd year Ph.D. student in Dr. Lawren Sack and Dr. Elsa Ordway’s labs researching how ecosystems across the US respond to changes in climate by connecting field based physiological functions and traits to ecosystem level processes such as carbon and water cycles.
Tracking changes in photosynthetic activity of native California plants
Awardee: Alannah Linden, third year atmospheric and oceanic sciences / mathematics major. Alannah has interests in a range of physical sciences subjects.
Characterizing community biodiversity of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in the Port of LA surrounding a localized dredging event
Awardee: Candice Cross, third year Ph.D. student in Dr. Paul Barber’s lab. Candice is interested in using next- generation sequencing tools to study the role of foundation species in marine ecosystems.
Comparisons in Patterns of Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria Between Urban and Non-urban Populations of Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Carolyn Xue, master’s student in Evolutionary Medicine program in the Yeh Lab. Carolyn hopes to promote ideas on One Health, work in preserving biodiversity, and grow her interests in art and science.
DNA methylation variation as a mechanism to alleviate inbreeding depression in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis)
Awardee: Stella Yuan, first year Ph.D. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Robert Wayne and Dr. Kirk Lohmueller. Stella is interested in the evolution of small or declining populations and hopes to use genomic and epigenomic tools to further conservation efforts.
Effects of interspecific competition on habitat use by Stephens’ kangaroo rat
Awardee: Janine Fischer, Ph.D. student co-advised by Dr. Grether and Dr. Shier. Janine is interested in how aggressive interference between species influences coexistence and habitat use.
Effects of Urbanization on Gut Microbial Communities in Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Sara Freimuth, M.S. student in the Yeh lab. Sara is interested in scientific research, science education, and science communication and hopes to intertwine them in her work with urban birds.
Urbanization effects on the disease ecology of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Wilmer Amaya-Mejia, second-year Ph.D. student in the Yeh Lab. Wilmer is interested in understanding the disease ecology and eco-immunological responses of birds to address conservation and human health concerns.
Wildlife post-Woolsey Fire Recovery and Recolonization
Awardee: Chloe Nouzille, M.S. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Dan Blumstein and Dr. Seth Riley. Chloe is pursuing a research-based career studying social learning behavior to increase reintroduction success and conserve endangered species.
Assessing Barriers to California Quail (Callipepla californica) Gene Flow in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Joey Curti, second year doctoral student in the Wayne Lab. Joey is interested in applying whole-genome sequencing to address conservation management questions in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles and throughout California.
Evolution of floral scent variation in Linanthus
Awardee: Ioana Anghel, fourth year Ph.D. Candidate in the Zapata Lab. Ioana is interested in the drivers of diversification and how taxa maintain their phenotypic and genetic identity while co-existing in a small area with the potential to hybridize.
Investigating ringtail ecology and behavior in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Maddie Zuercher, hD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and is co- advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier. Maddie is interested in the ecological effects of behavioral interference between carnivore species.
Monitoring of artificial reef restoration in Palos Verdes using eDNA
Awardee: Elijah Catalan, first year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Environment and Sustainability. Elijah's research intends to bring together genomic-based biodiversity monitoring, biogeochemistry, Indigenous tribal knowledge, and stewardship programs to understand the resilience of coastal and marine biodiversity to climate change and possibilities for adaptation on the West Coast.
Urbanization effects on the disease dynamics of haemosprodian infections in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Wilmer Amaya-Mejia, Ph.D. student in the Yeh Lab at UCLA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Wilmer is interested in understanding the disease ecology and eco-immunological responses of birds to address conservation and human health concerns.
Using Environmental DNA to Assess the Community Composition of Eelgrass Meadows in Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island
Awardee: Tanner Waters, third-year doctoral student at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability studying marine genetics. Tanner's work uses environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand landscape scale conservation and restoration efforts.
Wildlife Post-Woolsey Fire: Recovery and Recolonization
Awardee: Chloe Nouzille, M.S. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Dan Blumstein and Dr. Seth Riley. Chloe's research explores wildlife post- fire recovery and recolonization in the Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
“Fishing” out the exomes of the federally endangered tidewater gobies to identify potential genes under selection
Awardee: Benjamin Ha, Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in Dr. Dave Jacobs’ lab. Benjamin's general research interests are to understand how anthropogenic factors impact the genetics of marine populations and communities, and how research may be applied to inform marine conservation and policy.
Characterizing interactions between mountain yellow-legged frog and unarmored threespine stickleback fish to assess the potential for their coexistence
Awardee: Samantha Snowden, Master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, co-advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier. Samantha is interested in bridging ecological research and wildlife conservation.
Does Eutrophication First Drive “Basification” Then Acidification in California Estuaries?
Awardee: Regina Zweng, 3rd year Ph.D. student. Regina is involved with the Science Policy Group which facilitates interactions between students and local policy makers and provides career guidance for students interested in a career in science policy.
Effects of urbanization on the diet, gut microbiome and prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Vivien Enriquez, Ph.D. student in the Yeh Laboratory. Vivien's interests incorporate animal behavior, animal host-bacteria interactions, and environmental change.
Environmental DNA as a tool for assessing microbial diversity & ecological impacts by contaminants at The Bowtie parcel Brownfield site in Southern California
Awardee: Maura Palacios, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Wayne Lab. Maura's projects use eDNA to assess species assemblages in the Mojave Desert Springs, a threatened ecosystem and to explore microbial community changes in relation to hazardous materials at Brownfield sites throughout Southern California, for potential bioremediation practices.
Managing Pond Hydroperiod to Reverse Invasive Tiger Salamander Introgression
Awardee: Robert Cooper, PhD student in the Shaffer and Grether labs. Robert uses genomics to understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of recent hybridization between the endangered California tiger salamander and a non-native salamander.
Utilizing environmental DNA to understand its efficacy to detect rare fish and the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas
Awardee: Zack Gold, Ph.D. Candidate in Professor Paul Barber’s lab. Zack researches the effects of multiple human stressors on marine ecosystems using novel environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques.
Assessment of Helminth Biodiversity in Los Angeles County Coyotes through Fecal Meta-barcoding
Awardee: Amanda Tokoyama, graduate student in the Lloyd-Smith lab. Amanda's research focuses on identifying the drivers of parasitism in coyotes across the Santa Monica Mountains and greater LA area.
Community and ecosystem responses to physical processes – assessment of closure dynamics in California coastal wetlands
Awardee: Brenton Spies, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Brenton's research primarily focuses on how environmental factors and anthropogenic impacts influence community level processes, hydrological dynamics, water quality, and the presence/absence of threatened and endangered species.
DNA meta-barcoding to inform management for parasite infecting endemic San Miguel Island foxes
Awardees: Meixi Lin, second year Ph.D. student in the Wayne Lab, and Ana Garcia Vedrenne, Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at UCSB. Ana is using DNA meta-barcoding to identify and quantify parasite and pathogen biodiversity in California ecosystems. Meixi is intrigued by how molecular biology tools could help resolve previously impossible wildlife conservation puzzles.
Identifying Drivers of Recent Recruitment Failures in California Tiger Salamanders in Santa Barbara County
Awardee: Erin Toffelmier, Ph.D. student in Brad Shaffer’s lab. Erin's research focuses on understanding the drivers of population declines in the Santa Barbara County populations of the California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense.
Intestinal pathogen surveillance in Los Angeles region mammals
Awardee: Sarah Helman, Ph.D. in Professor Jamie Lloyd-Smith's lab. Sarah is interested in disease surveillance of marine and terrestrial mammals along the California coast.
Investigating divergence with gene flow in the plant genus Linanthus
Awardee: Ioana Anghel, second year Ph.D. student in the Zapata Lab. Ioana is interested in the drivers of diversification and how taxa maintain their phenotypic and genetic identity while co-existing in a small area with the potential to hybridize.
Only one way to succeed in a city? Urban Dark-eyed Junco adaptation across multiple novel environments
Awardee: Eleanor Diamont, Ph.D. in the Yeh Lab. Eleanor is interested in using the Dark-eyed Junco as a model system to understand how birds can cope with and adapt to urban stressors.
Post-fire impact on biological community of coastal lagoons in southern California
Awardee: Rachel Turba de Paula, Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Rachel studies population genetics of endangered and extirpated species in southern California, as well as community change in coastal lagoons to address local conservation efforts.
Quantifying the effects of soil microbes on California annual plant community dynamics
Awardee: Gaurav S. Kandlikar, PhD candidate and NSF Graduate Research fellow in Dr. Nathan Kraft’s plant community ecology group. Gaurav is deeply fascinated by the origins and consequences of diversity, and in his research he uses a combination of ecological theory, field experiments, and molecular techniques to study the ecological processes that help maintain plant species diversity, especially in southern California grasslands.
Assessing mechanisms that facilitate the success of the invasive brown alga, Sargassum horneri, and enhance community susceptibility to invasion
Awardee: Emily Ryznar, PhD Student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Emily's research focuses on enhancing the understanding and early detection of the invasive marine alga, Sargassum horneri in Southern California through predictive modeling and experimentation.
Characterizing lagoon biodiversity in southern California using environmental DNA
Awardee: Rachel Turba. Rachel is investigating shifts in community structure related to such impacts through exploration of environmental DNA from water samples and sediments from these lagoons, with the goal to address conservation efforts related to translocation of populations or local environment improvement.
Detection of incipient, invasive Ambrosia Beetles using species distribution models
Awardee: Monica Dimson, Ph.D. Student. Monica is interested in modeling the distribution of the invasive shot-hole borer (Euwallacea sp. nr.fornicatus), a beetle that threatens native trees, urban forests, and agricultural crops in California, in order to assess the utility of these models in conservation and planning.
Developing Genomic Resources to Inform Conservation and Management of the Tricolored Blackbird
Awardee: Kelly Barr, PhD Student. Kellys work surrounds using a massive genomic dataset to analyze these issues in Tricolored Blackbirds, a species that has undergone sharp declines and is under intense management throughout the state of California.
Does wrack of an invasive alga provide a similar resource subsidy as giant kelp for supporting key ecosystem functions on sandy beaches?
Awardee: Lauren Smith, PhD Student. Lauren is researching invasive Sargassum horneri found in southern California.
Intestinal Pathogen Surveillance in Los Angeles Region Coyotes
Awardee: Sarah Helman, PhD Student. Sarah is working with wildlife and veterinary agencies to obtain coyote fecal samples from within and around urban Los Angeles, which I will use to test for intestinal pathogens and parasites.
Long-term urban adaptation in a nesting raptor community
Awardee: Daniel Cooper, PhD Student. Dan is investigating the urban bird community of the Los Angeles area, assessing changes over time using both early-historical records and data from the Los Angeles Breeding Bird Atlas, with a focus on nesting raptors and colonial waterbirds.
Toward a conservation physiology of Californian flora: assessing drought vulnerability across species and ecosystems
Awardee: Camila Medeiros, PhD Student. Camila's project aims to quantify the vulnerability of woody plant species to drought in key ecosystem types of California and model species’ relative sensitivities to drought under future climate change scenarios.
Urban ecology meets citizen science: monitoring reptile diversity and measuring landscape genetic connectivity in the Los Angeles area
Awardee: Erin Toffelmier, PhD Student. Erin is studying how some types of reptiles are able to live in urban environments while some are not and how we can help protect species that are negatively impacted by humans.
Using Pond Hydroperiod to Attenuate the Spread of Invasive Tiger Salamander Alleles
Awardee: Robert Cooper, PhD Student. Robert's research is focused on the recent hybridization between the threatened California tiger salamander and the non-native barred tiger salamander.
“Global-Change-Type Drought” Effects on the Metaplasticity of Native California Plant Species: Implications for Restoration
Awardee: Jacqueline Zhang, Undergraduate in Environmental Science Department. Jacqueline is studying a plant’s phenotypic plasticity and will explore whether or not we can prime plants to become more drought tolerant before transplanting them into their native, water-stressed environment.
Citizen Scientist’s Message in a Bottle: Rapid eDNA assessments of marine biodiversity to evaluate the effectiveness of Los Angeles’ marine protected areas
Awardee: Zack Gold, graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Zack is conducting a citizen science environmental DNA project to compare marine biodiversity inside and outside of coastal MPAs in Los Angeles County to understand how well fishing restrictions protect marine ecosystems.
Deploying Arable ‘PulsePod’ Sensors to Continuously and Remotely Monitor Plant Stress
Awardee: Alexandria Pivovaroff, Ph.D. Alexandria's research will remotely monitor plant stress using newly developed sensors to understand both short- and long-term responses.
Developing Genomic Resources to Inform Conservation and Management of the Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor)
Awardee: Kelly Barr. Kelly is using a massive genomic dataset to analyze these issues in Tricolored Blackbirds, a species that has undergone sharp declines and is under intense management throughout the state of California.
Does Fear Filter Lizards from Urban Areas in Los Angeles?
Awardee: Bree Putman, Ph.D. Bree is examining whether fear responses (behavioral and physiological) contribute to the differential success of two lizard species in urban areas in Southern California.
Effects of urbanization and habitat fragmentation in native reptiles
Awardee: Erin Toffelmier. Erin is researching the differences in how lizards use the human-altered habitat versus how they use natural habitat.
Exploring the role of plant maternal effects in response to drought in restoration
Awardee: Evelin Escobedo, Undergraduate in the Environmental Science Department. Evelin is studying how maternal effects in plants can help restore native plant communities that are resistant to impacts of drought.
Influence of Previous Exposure on Seed Preference in the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus)
Awardee: Brigit Harvey. Brigit is testing whether the critically endangered Pacific pocket mouse can be trained to consume the seeds of invasive species found across the San Diego County landscape to increase their foraging options in the wild.
Toward a conservation physiology of Californian flora: assessing drought vulnerability across species and ecosystems
Awardee: Camila Medeiros. Camila's project aims to quantify the vulnerability of woody plant species to drought in key ecosystem types of California and model species’ relative sensitivities to drought under future climate chance scenarios.
Using Plant Remains from the La Brea Tar Pits to Assess the Impact of Climate Change on Community Ecology and Extinction in the Los Angeles Basin
Awardee: Jessie George. Jeesie is using plant remains from the La Brea Tar Pits to assess the impact of climate change on community ecology and extinction in Ice Age Los Angeles.
Using Pond Hydroperiod to Attenuate the Spread of Invasive Tiger Salamander Alleles
Awardee: Robert Cooper. Robert is using pond hydroperiod to attenuate the spread of non-native alleles through the range of the endangered California tiger salamander.
Can large algal blooms associated with eutrophication and microbial respiration lead to estuarine acidification in Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve?
Awardee: Tiara Moore. Tiara is conducting a yearlong study to determine if there is a relationship between nutrient-stimulated eutrophication and estuarine acidification in the highly eutrophic Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve.
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) as a facilitator species assemblage: investigating CCA’s role in structuring marine communities
Awardee: Emily Ryznar. Emily seeks to investigate the facilitative mechanisms and importance of CCA and its microbiome as contributors to increased invertebrate diversity and community stability in California’s rocky reefs.
Drought Influence on Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Evergreen and Deciduous Plant Species of Southern California
Awardee: Ariel Pezner. Ariel's research focuses on the effects of drought on the chlorophyll fluorescence of four drought deciduous and evergreen plant species native to Southern California.
Ground-based remote sensing of Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence of evergreen and drought-deciduous plants at the UCLA Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve
Awardee: Katja Grossman. Katija will use a SIF instrument to monitor the photosynthetic activity at the site continuously over both the growing season and hot summer period.
Landscape genomics of the western spadefoot toad, Spea hammondii, in the Natural Reserve of Orange County, California
Awardee: Kevin Neal. Kevin will be developing a set of genomic tools to use in a pilot study to analyze genetic connectivity of western spadefoot toad populations at the landscape level in Proctor Valley in San Diego County.
Modeling Rangewide Metapopulation Viability and Persistence of the Endangered Tidewater Goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi): Implications for Long-term Conservation and Management
Awardee: Brenton Spies, Ph.D. candidate. Brenton's work is directed towards implementing aspects of the US Fish & Wildlife Service Recovery Plan in order to determine the best approach for long-term conservation and sustainability of the tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi).
Spectral Overlap and Temporal Avoidance among Singing Birds
Awardee: Yi-Ju Wang. Yi-Ju is interested in testing if song birds can use either temporal avoidance or spectral avoidance strategy, or both, to transmit signals.
Temporal and Spatial Niche Partitioning in a Small Mammal Community
Awardee: Rachel Chock. Rachel is researching whether microhabitat use and peak activity times for pocket mice vary within a night and across seasons with competitor abundance.
Toward a conservation physiology of Californian flora: assessing drought vulnerability and its variation with plant size across species and ecosystems
Awardee: Camila Medeiros. Camila's research aims to quantify the vulnerability of woody plant species to drought in key ecosystem types of California and model species’ relative sensitivities to drought under future climate chance scenarios.
Tracking migration of Cassin’s Vireo: identifying wintering grounds and assessing the impact of brood parasitism on migratory movements
Awardee: Richard Hedley. Richard's research will use cutting-edge technology to track migratory movements, contributing to a rapidly growing understanding of songbird migration.
Understanding carbon sequestration and climatic variability in alpine wet meadows of Yosemite National Park, California
Awardee: Scott Lydon. Scott is investigating how past climatic variability has altered carbon sequestration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Yosemite National Park, California.
Understanding the persistence of Leptospira interrogans in California’s coastal wildlife: uncovering cryptic contributors in a complex multi-host disease system
Awardee: Sarah Helman. Sarah is collaborating with local wildlife and government agencies to obtain biological samples to test for evidence of past Leptospirosis exposure and current infection in various coastal mammalian species.
Using Citizen Science to Assess Urban Carnivore Communities in Los Angeles
Awardee: Tiffany Armenta. Tiffany is employing citizen scientists of all ages to help collect data on mesocarnivores to evaluate population densities or species-specific activity patterns in urban areas.