INSTRUMENTL - ONLINE FUNDRAISING PLATFORM FOR RESEARCHERS

Angela Braren, co-founder of Instrumentl

Instrumentl makes finding and applying to grants dead simple. Come chat with the founders about discovering new grants, how to ensure that your grant application is a success, and what the current research funding landscape looks like. Stop by the Instrumentl table during the Expo to sign up to be matched with grants specific to your project... for free!

EXPLORING OCEAN DATA WITH THE CENCOOS DATA PORTAL

Aric Bickel, MBARI

I'll be demonstrating how to find ocean data relating to your project using CeNCOOS's online tools.  The new version of the portal includes mobile platforms (like ship board monitoring and gliders) and expanded biological data.

IMPREZI YOUR AUDIENCE: PREZI PRESENTATION TOOLS FOR INTERACTIVE ENGAGEMENT

Kyle Broach, UCSC

Imagine you gave a stellar presentation.  Your audience was enthralled, your visuals were excellent, and you communicated your big idea so well you wish everyone could see.  Prezi is an online platform that is so much more than a presentation.  It allows for dynamic, non-linear flow from one point to another and is more visually appearing than a PowerPoint.  In fact, your audience can walk themselves through your talk.  This demonstration will showcase Prezi's excellent ability to be a self-contained interactive infographic you can share online to let your audience experience your work in detail.

HOW TO TEST OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

Gina Contolini, UCSC

What exactly is ocean acidification, and how does it work? What does this mean for marine life? Can animals evolve to cope with decreased seawater pH as fast as it is changing? These questions and more will be answered in this demo highlighting how scientists perform ocean acidification experiments. I will also present results and show the set up of an experiment I recently performed. Finally, using pH-sensitive dye, you can acidify your own seawater and watch the pH change before your eyes! 

INVESTIGATING LINGCOD LIFE HISTORY

Laurel Lam, MLML

Fishery stock assessments are often based on quantifiable life history traits (i.e. growth rate, maturity, fecundity and mortality) and assumes that those characteristics are stable and unchanging throughout a species range or management area of interest. This results in regulations (minimum size limits, catch limits) and policies applying equally over broad geographic regions. They do not take into account regional or habitat-based variations in growth and maturation rates even though many fish species are known to grow slower, attain larger sizes, and reach sexual maturity later at higher latitudes. In my study, I will be examining lingcod, a commercially and recreationally valuable top predator found along the US West Coast, and how its life history parameters can vary both latitudinally and between two essential habitats, soft-bottom and rocky substrate. This information can help us better understand the implications of using small-scale, regional and habitat-specific sub-stocks to manage the Lingcod fishery.

ENUMERATING THE MICROSCOPIC: METHODS FOR EVALUATING BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Liz Lam, MLML

Aquatic invasive species transported by ballast water is a major issue in the maritime industry. I would like to illustrate the fundamentals of this problem and demonstrate the scientific tools we use and the complications we face when determining the efficacy of ballast treatment systems.

DISCOVERING DESCENDING DEVICES: HOW YOU CAN CONSERVE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES

Jordan Maeding, CSUMB

The end goal of all environmental conservation science is to incite and inform management actions. However, there is often a significant disconnect between the scientists informing management and the stakeholders. In the case of marine fisheries, it can be difficult for marine scientists to communicate their findings or receive feedback from the fishermen their science so heavily impacts. Through an outreach project designed to educate the recreational rockfish angler community on how to reduce bycatch mortality, our team ended up learning a great deal (through some trial but mostly error) on how to reach and connect with the people upon whom the conservation of our marine species ultimately depends upon: the fishermen.

OPTIMAL FORAGING IN THE THE INTERTIDAL: A GAME OF PREY SELECTION

Cory Pickering, UCSC

Using field observations and laboratory experiments, we aim to model the foraging behavior of predatory dogwhelks in the genus Nucella. These intertidal snails feed largely on mussels, and can greatly affect the abundance of preferred prey, altering the structure of the intertidal communities they inhabit. When given the choice, Nucella will seek out and consume the smaller and presumably easier to handle bay mussels over California mussels. Bay mussels, however, are distributed in patches amongst the near ubiquitous California mussels. Using a mathematical model, we attempt to predict the foraging patterns of Nucella snails to find which pattern optimizes  the energy gained from feeding on bay mussels in patches, while factoring in the search and handling times of either prey relative to their abundances.  Currently our focus is to confirm and parameterize assumptions with observations, data from previous work, and experiments in the lab.