The Dr. Earl H. Myers and Ethel M. Myers Oceanographic and Marine Biology Trust of Pebble Beach has granted $13,500 to 11 UCSC students conducting research in marine science.
Each year the trust supports the work of outstanding student researchers in the Monterey Bay Area. The trust was established by the estates of Earl H. Myers, an internationally known oceanographic biologist at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station who died in 1975, and his wife and research assistant Ethel M. Myers, who died in 1985.
This year's awards went to the following graduate students:
Frank Black, "Optimizing conditions for the photo-degradation of monomethyl mercury in coastal wetland restoration projects" (faculty adviser Russell Flegal, professor of environmental toxicology)
Melissa Blakely, "Phosphate limitation in Monterey Bay: A look at species-specific phosphate limitation" (faculty adviser Raphael Kudela, associate professor of ocean sciences)
Claudia M. Boot, "Probing ocean sediments to identify divergent fungal taxa" (faculty adviser Phillip Crews, professor of chemistry and biochemistry)
Lilian P. Carswell, "How do behavior and demography determine the success of carnivore reintroduction experiments? A case study of southern sea otters translocated to San Nicolas Island" (faculty adviser James Estes, adjunct professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and ocean sciences)
Alison Collins, "Juvenile steelhead growth rates" (faculty advisers Mark Carr, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Paul Koch, professor and chair of Earth and planetary sciences)
Michelle Kappes, "Ecological responses of Hawaiian albatrosses to interannual variability in the marine environment" (faculty advisers Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Scott Shaffer, research biologist)
Jennifer L. Maresh, "Marine versus terrestrial mammals: Is it energetically more costly to live in an aquatic environment?" (faculty adviser Terrie Williams, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology)
Sherry L. Palacios, "Distinguishing diatom from dinoflagellate blooms in Monterey Bay, CA, using bio-optical signatures and remote sensing" (faculty adviser Raphael Kudela, associate professor of ocean sciences)
Samantha Elisabeth Simmons, "Super-size me: Assessing the diet of adult female northern elephant seals using a fatty acid approach" (faculty adviser Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology)
Nicole Marie Teutschel, "Northern elephant seal weanling foraging behavior determined by mass and whisker stable isotope carbon 13 and nitrogen 15 ratios" (faculty adviser Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology)
Brett D. Walker, "Establishing linkages between seasonal upwelling and major biochemical reservoirs within the California Current system" (faculty adviser Matthew McCarthy, assistant professor of ocean sciences)
