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.
Projects
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.
Investigating blue carbon alternatives as possible offsets at the Aquarium of the Pacific
As one of the largest aquariums in the United States, the Aquarium of the Pacific wants to raise industry sustainability standards by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Since decarbonization…
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.
Plastic Policy Investigation
We are the Plastic Policy Investigation team for the 2023-2024 school year. Our team is conducting a study that seeks to assess the existing levels of adherence to the UCLA…
Reducing wastewater pollution impacts from on-site disposal systems in Hawai’i
Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs, coastal ecosystems, and the health of its residents are threatened by the Islands’ heavy reliance on on-site disposal systems (OSDSs). There are some 110,000 OSDSs across the…
Reusable Container Study
We are the Reusable Container team for the 2023-2024 school year. Our team is conducting a study on the feasibility of implementing a reusable container program in UCLA dining locations…
Scrub-Jays: an emerging model system for studying evolution and understanding conservation priorities in California.
La Kretz Center postdoctoral researcher Dr. Devon DeRaad plans to use genomic approaches to characterize the genetic diversity and relatedness of scrub-jays throughout the state of California. This includes a…
Soil Health and Sustainable Landscaping
We are the Soil Health and Sustainable Landscaping team for the SAR 2023-2024 year. Our team is on a mission to explore the intricate world beneath our feet, exploring possible…