Earth & Space
UC Santa Cruz marine biologists bring expertise to regional scientific organizations
Professors Roxanne Beltran and Dan Costa named to committees focused on activities on the West Coast and in Antarctica
Roxanne Beltran and Dan Costa (Photos by Carolyn Lagattuta)
Ecology and evolutionary biology professors Roxanne Beltran and Dan Costa have recently been appointed by separate, wide-reaching organizations to serve on committees where they will provide scientific expertise on regions of the world where they’ve each done extensive, leading field research.
West Coast ocean science action
Assistant Professor Roxanne Beltran has been appointed to an advisory committee for the West Coast Ocean Science Action Agenda, a joint initiative of the California Ocean Science Trust and Oregon Ocean Science Trust. The committee will work with the trusts to provide strategic oversight and validation of agenda implementation to address the most compelling ocean and coastal issues facing the West Coast.
Beltran studies species interactions and global change in the open ocean through the lens of marine mammal movement, behavior, and demography. Her research leverages and advances the six-decade research program of northern elephant seals at Año Nuevo Natural Reserve—along with environmental and biologging data—to better characterize ecological patterns including spatial and temporal variation in open ocean productivity hotspots.
Beltran was one of 11 experts named to the committee, which has an emphasis on fairness, representation, and a balance of voices needed to deliver on ocean-science priorities for the coming decade. Beltran also advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM—particularly in field settings—by undertaking and implementing research on education equity with an interdisciplinary team.
U.S. and international Antarctic research
Dan Costa, distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, has been appointed to serve as a life-sciences representative for the U.S. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. The committee, established in 1958, facilitates international collaborations in Antarctic science, and serves as an advisor to the Antarctic Treaty System.
In his role as a life-sciences representative, Costa will facilitate U.S. and international collaborations and initiate new international research initiatives. He will also serve on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Polar Research Board, which advises Arctic and Antarctic research.
Costa served on the NAS committee that produced the 2023 consensus report, “Future Directions for Southern Ocean and Antarctic Nearshore and Coastal Research.”
In 2005, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved naming a prominent spur that juts into Antarctica’s Ross Sea “Costa Spur.” That year, the board honored both Costa and fellow ecology and evolutionary biology professor Terrie Williams with named sites in Antarctica for their extensive field research on the southernmost continent.