Fall ’24 Newsletter: Student Capstone Spotlights
| Capstone – Evaluating Sea Level Rise Impacts on Key Ecosystem Functions in Southern California Estuaries Interview with Janeen Gordon This project looks at how rising sea levels affect estuaries, focusing on more flooding, saltwater getting in, and habitat loss. Using data from monitoring programs, this research will evaluate how plant and bird habitats are affected by different sea level rise scenarios. By understanding what’s happening now and what might happen in the future, we can help estuaries handle rising sea levels and make suggestions for how to manage them better in Southern California. Q. What was your favorite part of the capstone experience? I enjoyed field research and data collection! I loved being in our Southern California tidal marshes, especially when we got to be behind the fences of places I have frequented as a public beach experience; valuable experience was gained as a field biologist and conservationist! I appreciated the relationships built during project development. Q. What was your team’s most exciting finding from your capstone project? We conducted a multi-question, multifunction analyses project. It was exciting when our findings positively correlated or reinforced previous research/literature review. Examples of this were projected severity of sea level rise within estuarine study sites, marsh transgression limited ability tied to anthropogenic development, or Ridgway’s rail habitat movement for species survival. It was also exciting when our research differed from literature. It helped remind us of the complexity of interactions within an estuary ecosystem. |
| Capstone – Mesquite Bosque Habitat Health Assessment in Anza-Borrego Interview with Nina Marchiando California has experienced severe droughts and increased groundwater removal, putting native plant communities at risk. Honey mesquite bosques in the Anza-Borrego desert play a crucial role in ecosystem functions, but this role is poorly understood. This project assessed canopy health, gas exchange rates, mortality, and seedling presence in two sites to evaluate mesquite’s impact in Borrego Springs. Data on wildlife habitat usage through bird point-count surveys and wildlife cameras was also collected. Q. What was your favorite part of the capstone experience? I really loved the opportunity to participate in fieldwork in Borrego Springs and Anza-Borrego State Park. Our team was able to conduct bird and vegetation surveys several times throughout the year and really loved the chance to spend time in the mesquite bosques. Q. What was your team’s most exciting finding from your capstone project? We found that both bosques that were studied provided high-value habitats to many native wildlife species. However, the site with decreased depth to groundwater had slightly higher species richness. To continue monitoring the impact of water availability on local biodiversity, we designed and are piloting a summer internship for local high school students who will have the opportunity to analyze wildlife camera data and share their findings with their community! |
| Capstone – Using Underwater Information Systems to Enhance White Abalone Restoration Interview with Alexiss Rivas White abalone are a critically endangered and federally listed marine invertebrate species. This project supports the enhancement of data collection of wild outplanted abalone by studying and refining the Underwater Information Systems (UWIS) use to assist in diver surveying efforts. This system has the potential to track the underwater positions and coordinates of divers accurately; however, its efficacy has previously been unexplored in open-ocean environments, which makes its deployment in California’s rocky reef ecosystems particularly novel. Q. What was your favorite part of the capstone experience? My favorite part of the capstone experience was being exposed to all of the work going on in the marine conservation world, not only within NOAA but also in the academic, professional, and broader research community. It was awesome seeing how involved different groups are and how many different avenues of work there are to explore. Our group was able to participate in a very exciting project with connections throughout the California coast, and being exposed to such an interconnected professional environment helped us better understand where our careers could lead. Additionally, we were fortunate to have two amazing, supportive, and excited scientific advisors who exemplify great passion for their work. The overall group aspect of the capstone project allowed all of these great opportunities to transpire. I’m all for collectivistic effort, and getting to work on this project with my classmates was an added bonus. Q. What was your team’s most exciting finding from your capstone project? The most exciting finding of our capstone project was providing evidence to show that our study system is reliable for gathering data, and that its use can be applied to future white abalone restoration processes. Our project was unique in the sense that the methods were also what we were researching. The Underwater Information Systems (UWIS) device is a tool designed to gather data on a SCUBA diver’s geographical position while traveling under water. The device has never been explored in southern California’s rocky reef ecosystems, so our scientific partners over at NOAA wanted to test out its accuracy before considering its incorporation in their White Abalone Recovery Plan. I am very happy that I was involved in such a novel project and helped to develop the foundational framework for future researchers to build from. I am excited to see where things go next and how underwater geographic tracking can help researchers to understand more about diver behavior and data collection methods. Eventually, once we understand more about the pros and cons of this technology, we can start to implement its use in tracking other marine species populations. |
| Capstone – Considering The Effects of Fire on Streams in Southern California Interview with Brent Castanon The Mediterranean-type climate region of California is prone to wildfires because of its weather and seasonal patterns. One specific environment greatly affected by wildfires is freshwater streams. Freshwater streams in California are important habitats for riparian biodiversity. Using a standardized wetland biology assessment method called the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) this project examined how wildfires impacted the overall health of streams in Southern California. Q. What was your favorite part of the capstone experience? My favorite part of the capstone experience was strategizing with my team mates on how best to answer our research questions. We went through multiple revisions to our methodology and how we could most effectively answer our questions with our available data. It really felt like an iterative and adaptive process. It also felt like a puzzle we were trying to solve at times. As a side note, visiting local streams in Orange County was such a nice bonus to being in this capstone! Q. What was your team’s most exciting finding from your capstone project? The most exciting find from our capstone project was that you could use the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) to identify the effects of fire on streams. CRAM is a unique assessment method to California and is such a valuable resource for restoration and conservation practitioners. Our research supporting more ways for this assessment method to be used felt like a great contribution to this already valuable database of stream health assessments. We were surprised to find that only health indicators associated with vegetation were significantly affected. There’s a lot of literature out there suggesting that the physical structure of a stream should be affected after a fire as well, but it may be something that requires a more nuanced method of assessment. |