Life on the Edge: What Processes Shape the Boundaries of Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus) Beds in Monterey Bay?
Just off shore of Monterey, there are many subtidal beds of the Pacific Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus). Some of these beds are extensive and containing millions of individuals. The beds are frequently (but not always) associated with rippled scour depressions (RSDs) and often have distinct edges. Using underwater time-lapse video cameras, this student project focuses on observing the physical and biological processes that shape these beds.
MBNMS-CSUMB Research Partnership ONGOING
The MBNMS is in the process of completing a Management Plan Review that outlines a number of resource management issues to be prioritized by the Sanctuary over the coming decade.
RockfishSeq in the Classroom: Sustaining a Research-based Capstone Course on the Applied Use of Next Generation Sequencing ONGOING
As part of a highly successful biology and marine science group capstone course (BIO/MSCI430), students learn how to prepare rockfish tissue samples for next generation sequencing and analyze the massive amounts of sequence data generated from the technique using bioinformatics tools.
ROV Demo for Underwater Parks ONGOING
To increase public awareness of underwater parks within the California State Park System, the California Department of Parks and Recreation puts on Underwater Parks Day each year. The Ecosystem Electronics Lab set up a live ROV demo in Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos, so the non-diving public could explore the undersea world of a kelp forest and see first-hand what lives beneath the waves.