Replacement Cost Study for the Cemex Lapis Lustre Sand Mine

Clesi Bennett, Alex Long, Aimee Kerr, MIIS

 

Abstract: South Monterey Bay has historically been the most intensively mined coastline in the United States and is experiencing the highest rate of erosion in California.  The Cemex Lapis Lustre sand mine is the last coastal sand mine in the United States. Roughly 270,000 cubic yards of sand are removed per year by a dredging pond and more is lost from erosion caused by the mine. Costs inflicted by the mine can be seen in lost recreational value, damage to property and increased vulnerability to sea level rise.  Past studies related to the mine have focused on these values.  We propose to calculate the price of the sand itself being removed from South Monterey Bay.  In order to find this number, we will be looking at the cost of putting back the sand taken out by the Lapis Lustre sand mine each year.  We have chosen this method because of its intrinsically objective nature, not relying on perceived value of the beaches. We will attempt to quantify the physical cost of the sand removed by the Cemex Lapis Lustre sand mine by using the replacement cost method for sand replenishment. This method involves determining the amount of sand removed from the littoral cell due to the mine, and calculating the cost of putting it back.  We will also try to test the feasibility a beach nourishment project to determine impacts of replacing the sand. We may not have a precise number at the time of the conference, but we plan on presenting our findings to date.

 

Bio: Clesi Bennett, Alex Long, and Aimee Kerr are Master of Arts candidates in the International Environmental Policy program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) where they are concentrating in Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

 

 

The folly of sophisticated scientific interventions in community-based conservation: The case of coral propagation in the Philippines

Lindsay Cope, MIIS

 

Abstract: Simple in-situ methods for coral gardening are becoming popular coastal conservation interventions throughout the Philippines. Training for coral gardening methods are offered to a variety of interested parties including volunteers, concerned free divers and SCUBA divers, local government employees and coast guard. One method in particular, developed by scientists at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, uses basic technology for coral restoration relying on materials that can be sourced in rural villages where they hope the methods will be deployed. Criteria for site selection includes parameters for depth and proximity to healthy coral reefs, but fails to integrate water quality testing into the analysis. One project, conducted in Calatagan, Batangas, Philippines experienced extreme stress in the nursery and nearly 100% mortality for replanted corals. While another project across Balayan Bay in Mabini, Batangas had similar results. Members of the scientific community should counterpart sophisticated community-based conservation interventions to improve outcomes of coral propagation practice. The lure of rebuilding something as fragile and productive as coral reefs attracts funding, but the folly is failing to see that these interventions are sophisticated and require scientific support for success.

 

Bio: Lindsay Cope studies International Environmental Policy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and specializes in Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. She spent her practicum with the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines (2014-2016) working with coastal communities to support fisheries and marine protected area management. Website.

 

 

The Ecology of the Internet: Lessons Learned From a Career in Science Journalism

Melissa Cronin, UCSC

 

Abstract: Scientific outreach is no longer an extracurricular activity for scientists. In an era marked by particularly anti-science public discourse and policies, more and more scientists are practicing some form of science communication—and this type of work is increasingly expected of scientists. But disseminating scientific results in a responsible, educational, and entertaining way in the fast-paced and fickle media atmosphere isn’t an easy task. Drawing on my career as an environmental journalist and science communicator, this session will help inform scientists about how to use their outreach to convey an effective message to diverse knowledge users, promote scholarly debate, and amplify the scope of audiences reached—as well as to show why these tools are more important than ever. This talk will also offer practical advice for maximizing engagement on popular “new media” sources, including blogging and social media platforms like Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, WordPress/Squarespace, Periscope, and Storify, as well as for developing skills to relate to journalists, avoiding media “hype” and misunderstandings, and expanding the reach of scientific publications. Lastly, it will include a two-minute crash-course in pitching to large media organizations and news sites, and how to be the scientist a journalist really wants to interview.

 

Bio: Melissa Cronin is a Ph.D. student in the Coastal Conservation Action Lab at UC Santa Cruz studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She is interested in collective action problems in marine and coastal systems, science-based fisheries co-management, and the social and ecological consequences of conservation actions. Her past research has focused on developing quantitative tools to assess the impacts of evidence-based marine conservation projects, and mapping global marine aquaculture expansion. Website.

 

 

Vey nou Lagon, a catalyst for change in Mauritius

Zara Currimjee, MIIS

 

Abstract: Movies can be a very powerful tool to advance public policy. Vey nou Lagon, an award-winning documentary, sparked a conversation about marine conservation in Mauritius. Vey nou Lagon follows Georgie, a traditional artisanal fisherman and his family as they show us the current state of the ocean. Vey nou Lagon is the first of its kind. Although previous films document Mauritius’ marine environment, none have been made directly from the perspective of local fishers and targeting Mauritian stakeholders. Highlighting personal stories from fishers grabbed our audience emotionally in a way that statistics and pictures of depleted lagoons cannot. Communication is a powerful yet often forgotten tool by policy makers and scientists. I will use Mauritius and Vey nou Lagon to highlight how storytelling, if done well, can create waves of change. Storytelling is universal and the story of Mauritius is not unique. Our approach is a replicable model that can be adapted to different communities and targeted to different needs.

Bio: Website.  @veynoulagon

 

 

Marine mammals as oceanographic research assistants: Migrating northern elephant seals collect chlorophyll data in the North Pacific

Theresa Keates, UCSC

 

Abstract: Remote ocean ecosystems are inherently challenging to study. With recent technological advances allowing development of small instrument tags, scientists have enlisted the help of marine animals as data collectors. Tagging and tracking pelagic marine animals has provided insights to remote oceanic environments by collecting data on animal ecology, physiology, and the environment they pass through. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are tagged as part of a long-term study at the Año Nuevo rookery on the central Californian coast. Equipping the seals with fluorometers alongside miniaturized CTDs (conductivity temperature depth sensors) allows us to collect high resolution chlorophyll data along their migration routes. Chlorophyll data from the elephant seals’ long migrations will be used to examine the relationship between primary productivity and areas used for foraging, providing insight into prey distribution in relation to environmental variables.

 

Bio: Theresa is a first-year graduate student in the Ocean Sciences department at the University of California Santa Cruz. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA in 2014 and is now a member of the Costa Lab at Long Marine Lab. Her current research focuses on oceanographic data collected from electronic tags mounted on northern elephant seals from a breeding colony at Año Nuevo State Park in Pescadero, CA.

 

 

The Tales of Scientific Diving

Karen Lykkebo Petersen, UCSC

 

Abstract: How do we study the Oceans? How do we study the coastal processes? The ecology, biology and chemistry? We collect samples and data. But how do we do that? Some research projects are able to collect data from machinery: remote sensing, core drilling. More theory based (physical oceanography, climate modeling) uses mathematical models. But for many research projects, you need to go into the ocean to collect samples to investigate a certain problem. For this we have scientific divers. Trained to scuba dive and work, we collect samples conduct surveys and monitor. Going on a work-dive is different than a recreational – you are working and conditions that might not be favorable for “fun-dive” can still be good enough for a “sci-dive”. This can lead to many interesting situations and problem-solving while under water.
In this talk I will embrace some of these episodes and talk about the challenges, failures and successes on different sci-dives I’ve been doing, and why they are important to me and to the science community.
 

Bio: I am 2nd year Master Student at UCSC. My research projects concern the anthropogenic impacts in coastal zones, where my main focus is on how desalination plant discharge impacts seafloor organisms. Website. @K_Lykkebo

 

 

Evolutionary origin of mammalian immune and hematopoietic systems found in a colonial chordate.

Benyamin Rosental, Stanford (Hopkins)

 

Abstract: Two conditions in humans require allorecognition (the distinction between ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ tissue): pregnancy and transplantation. We study the role of innate histocompatibility in a model system in Botryllus schlosseri. B. schlosseri is especially relevant because it demonstrates a natural chimerism and a natural stem cell transplantation reaction when individual organisms are incorporated into or rejected by a colony. We have characterized 34 cell population of B. schlosseri hematopoietic system, including the immune effector cells. We have shown that our new discovered cytotoxic cells are inducing the rejection phenomena. Cell populations RNA-seq analysis revealed cells homolog to mammalian hematopoietic stem cells, which upon transplantation, migrated to known stem cell niche and differentiated into other cell lineages. Interestingly, we have shown that this niche is homolog to mammalian bone marrow. In addition, our data suggests that the common ancestor of tunicates and vertebrates had a true hematopoietic myeloid lineage.