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Scott Gabara - PhD student (2020)
Scotty completed the joint doctoral program with SDSU and UC Davis Sept 2020. He conducted field work and experiments in the Aleutian Islands on kelp forest community trophic ecology, growth and defense of macrolage, and connections between seabirds and kelp forests. He helped run an NSF grant on kelp forest productivity and respiration in Alaska and a CA Sea Grant that continued some of his Master's work on mooring disturbance at Santa Catalina Island. At UC Davis he worked on predator prey interactions between seastars and red/white abalone with Dr. Brian Gaylord. He is currently an EPSCoR Coastal Margins postdoctoral researcher determining the impacts of glacial melt on nearshore marine communities based in Juneau, AK. Publications: Gabara, SS, BP Weitzman, BH Konar, MS Edwards (2020). Macroalgal defense phenotype correlates with herbivore abundance. Marine Biology 167: 179 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03787-7 Gabara, S, B Konar, M Edwards (accepted). Biodiversity loss leads to reductions in community-wide trophic complexity. Ecosphere. |
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Billie Beckley - Master's student (2020)
Billie completed the M.S. program at SDSU. Her research focused on understanding the mechanisms leading to recruitment inhibition of Macrocystis pyrifera by an understory alga, Desmerestia herbacea. I found that scour (abrasion of the seafloor) by understory macroalgae can control aspects of kelp forest biodiversity by preventing kelp recruitment after disturbance. She is currently a PhD student at UCSB with Dr. Bob Miller. Publication: Beckley, BA, MS Edwards (2021). Mechanisms leading to recruitment inhibition of Macrocystis pyrifera by an understory alga. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 657:59-71. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13550 |
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Pike Spector - Master's student (2019)
As a masters student in the Edwards Lab Pike focused on understanding and quantifying the contributions benthic macroalgae make towards Net Community Productivity on rocky reefs from Monterey CA, to Baja California, MEX. These efforts were coordinated in conjunction with a multi-year study spanning the Aleutian Archipelago with the Edwards Lab, Dr. Brenda Konar (UAF) and her lab, and Dr. Ju-Hyoung Kim (Kunsen University, South Korea). While at SDSU Pike also worked with high school students in San Diego on Project Pegasus, an immersive internship experience facilitated by the Edwards Lab, and served as the seminar coordinator for MEBSA. After leaving SDSU Pike joined NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary as a California State Sea Grant fellow, where he currently works as a research operations specialist. Publication: Spector, M and MS Edwards (2020). Modelling the impacts of kelp deforestation on benthic primary production on temperate rocky reefs. Algae 35(3):237-252. |
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Emily Bews - Undergraduate researcher
Emily is a recent graduate from SDSU with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences. She joined the Edwards lab in 2019 studying the potential of the macroalga Ulva lactuca for bioremediation applications in urban waterways when cultured under different nutrient and salinity conditions. Emily now works with Seaworld-Hubbs. Publication: Bews, E., L. Booher, T. Polizzi, C. Long, J-H Kim, MS Edwards (In press). Effects of salinity and nutrients on metabolism and growth of Ulva lactuca: implications for bioremediation of coastal watersheds. Marine Pollution Bulletin. |
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Dillon Dolinar - Undergraduate researcher
As part of an undergraduate honor's thesis, Dillon examined how habitat type affects sea urchin respiration. He compared the physiology of fed (kelp forest) and starved (urchin barren) urchins. He found that urchin respiration decreased in starved urchin populations and these urchins experienced decreased health. dillonpdolinar@gmail.com Publication: Dolinar D, D Steller, S Gabara, B Beckley, JH Kim, M Edwards (2020). Impacts of boat mooring disturbance on productivity and respiration in Catalina rhodolith beds. Ciancias Marinas 46(4):253-267. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v46i4.3135 |
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Joe Matthews - Volunteer
Joe worked with our lab as a volunteer examining samples collected from Santa Catalina Island and worked with our collaborators at Sunken Seaweed, Leslie Booher and Torre Polizzi, on their San Diego Bay bioremediation project. Joe is now actively working at the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute. |
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Ehrick Costello - Volunteer
Ehrick lead our research effort examining the effects of boat mooring chain disturbance on rhodolith bed communities. |
