Training next generation marine scientists

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MbWaterdog

Registered
Messages
58
Reaction score
5
Location
Seaside, California, United States
# of dives
500 - 999
Hey Divers,

I am currently working on my PhD at UC Santa Cruz, where I study sea urchin ecology around the Monterey Bay. You may have noticed that a large-scale ecological shift is occurring around the Monterey Bay. Kelp forests that have persisted for decades are being reduced to underwater barrens by voracious sea urchin grazers. These barrens are considered to represent a collapsed kelp forest community and support fewer species that intact forests. My research is centered around the mechanisms that cause destructive urchins to overgraze kelp forests.

Part of my research relies on support from undergraduate students. Indeed, the benefits of undergraduate research are well documented and have been linked to post-graduate careers. When I was an undergraduate, these types of experiences were invaluable in my intellectual development and set me on the career trajectory that I am on now. With dwindling funding to many scientific outlets, students across the country miss essential chances like this to apply their skills and knowledge to solving real-world problems, like the sea urchin-kelp forest cascade that we are observing locally.

Every year, UCSC hosts Giving Day, a 24-hour fundraising drive to support campus programs. This year, it is on February 28th, a mere four hours away!!! I am currently seeking to raise funds to support two undergraduate students to conduct mentored summer research in the heart of the sea urchin-kelp forest deforestation that we are observing. This is a serious problem that needs all the help it can get – especially help from motivated young scientists. If this concerns you, I’d like to invite you to consider investing in these scientists. Giving Day begins at 12:00am on February 28 and ends at 11:59pm. Please visit my campaign page here (http://c-fund.us/f35) to learn more information and to donate. If you would like to contribute before giving day, consider creating a 1:1 matching fund (https://secure.ucsc.edu/s/1069/index.aspx?sid=1069&gid=1&pgid=2266&cid=4173) up to a designation amount of your choice. All donations made through Giving Day can be a tax write-off.
 
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