Ambient Temperature and Bird Flight Initiation Distance in Urban vs. Rural Population Areas
Awardee: Gauri Vishnoi; Undergraduate in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolutionary Biology department.
PROJECTS
Artificial Light at Night and Bat Movement Along Ecological Corridors
Awardee: Jill Carpenter, Graduate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department.
Assessing Spatial and Altitudinal Variation in Artificial Light at Night Across Urban Los Angeles
Awardee: Joseph Curti, Postdoctoral Researcher
Chemical Interference in California Grasslands: Investigating the Allelopathic Effects of Pennisetum setaceum on Native Grasses
Awardee: Divine Adeboye; Undergraduate with the Institute of Environmental Sustainability.
Monitoring Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Spread in Southern California with Imaging Spectroscopy
Awardee: Willow Coleman, Graduate in the Geography department
Bird Migration Tracking in the Santa Monica Mountains at Stunt Ranch Reserve
Awardee: Kelsey Reckling, a second year PhD Student, primarily studies bird migration in the Western United States.
Effects of Urbanization and Feral Cats on the Psychobiology of LA’s Most Abundant Lizard
Awardee: Colleen De Allaume, a third year Undergraduate Student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department
Investigating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis prevalence in a fragile vernal pool ecosystem
Awardee: Erica Ro, an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology, is broadly interested in urban ecology and conservation science.
Effects of artificial lighting at night on bats in Los Angeles County
Awardee: Lily Rivas, undergraduate student at UCLA under the IoES program pursuing an Environmental Science B.S. and a minor in Conservation Biology.
Is Prey Availability a Factor in the Decline of a Bat Species in Southern California that is Synanthropic in the Rest of its Range?
Awardee: Jill Carpenter, Ph.D. candidate interested in the roosting and foraging ecology of bats, especially with regard to how various species navigate and utilize the human-altered landscapes of Southern California as well as what traits allow some species to persist while others decline.
Using Vertical Gradients Of Urban Stressors to Characterize 3D Activity Of Mobile Urban Species
La Kretz postdoctoral researcher Dr. Joseph Curti is interested in the impacts that anthropogenic stressors have on urban bat species. Urbanization is a major force shaping modern distributions of native…
Developing Novel Coastal Infrastructure Habitat Through Beneficial Reuse of Carbon Sequestration Spoils and Cutting-Edge Biosurvey Methods.
Awardee: Gabriela M. Carr, IoES Ph.D. student focused on improving coastal infrastructure as marine habitat.
Impacts of domestic dogs on gray fox behaviors in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Madeleine Zuercher, Ph.D. candidate advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Madeleine is interested in how invasive species affect native carnivore behavior and ecology.
Leveraging community science and museum collections to evaluate impacts of wildfire smoke on California’s backyard birds
Studying how wildfire smoke impacts California’s birds to guide conservation and protect vulnerable species.
Characterizing community biodiversity of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in the Port of LA surrounding a localized dredging event
Awardee: Candice Cross, third year Ph.D. student in Dr. Paul Barber’s lab. Candice is interested in using next- generation sequencing tools to study the role of foundation species in marine ecosystems.
Comparisons in Patterns of Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria Between Urban and Non-urban Populations of Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Carolyn Xue, master’s student in Evolutionary Medicine program in the Yeh Lab. Carolyn hopes to promote ideas on One Health, work in preserving biodiversity, and grow her interests in art and science.
Effects of Urbanization on Gut Microbial Communities in Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Sara Freimuth, M.S. student in the Yeh lab. Sara is interested in scientific research, science education, and science communication and hopes to intertwine them in her work with urban birds.
Intersecting effects of urbanization, diet and rodenticides on local coyote health
La Kretz postdoctoral researcher Dr. Sarah Helman is investigating the intersecting effects of urbanization, diet and rodenticides on local coyote health, working in collaboration with the National Park Service, the…
Urbanization effects on the disease ecology of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Wilmer Amaya-Mejia, second-year Ph.D. student in the Yeh Lab. Wilmer is interested in understanding the disease ecology and eco-immunological responses of birds to address conservation and human health concerns.
Wildlife post-Woolsey Fire Recovery and Recolonization
Awardee: Chloe Nouzille, M.S. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Dan Blumstein and Dr. Seth Riley. Chloe is pursuing a research-based career studying social learning behavior to increase reintroduction success and conserve endangered species.
Assessing Barriers to California Quail (Callipepla californica) Gene Flow in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Joey Curti, second year doctoral student in the Wayne Lab. Joey is interested in applying whole-genome sequencing to address conservation management questions in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles and throughout California.
Investigating ringtail ecology and behavior in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Maddie Zuercher, hD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and is co- advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier. Maddie is interested in the ecological effects of behavioral interference between carnivore species.
Monitoring of artificial reef restoration in Palos Verdes using eDNA
Awardee: Elijah Catalan, first year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Environment and Sustainability. Elijah's research intends to bring together genomic-based biodiversity monitoring, biogeochemistry, Indigenous tribal knowledge, and stewardship programs to understand the resilience of coastal and marine biodiversity to climate change and possibilities for adaptation on the West Coast.
Urbanization effects on the disease dynamics of haemosprodian infections in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Wilmer Amaya-Mejia, Ph.D. student in the Yeh Lab at UCLA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Wilmer is interested in understanding the disease ecology and eco-immunological responses of birds to address conservation and human health concerns.
Using Environmental DNA to Assess the Community Composition of Eelgrass Meadows in Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island
Awardee: Tanner Waters, third-year doctoral student at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability studying marine genetics. Tanner's work uses environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand landscape scale conservation and restoration efforts.
Wildlife Post-Woolsey Fire: Recovery and Recolonization
Awardee: Chloe Nouzille, M.S. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Dan Blumstein and Dr. Seth Riley. Chloe's research explores wildlife post- fire recovery and recolonization in the Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Effects of urbanization on the diet, gut microbiome and prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)
Awardee: Vivien Enriquez, Ph.D. student in the Yeh Laboratory. Vivien's interests incorporate animal behavior, animal host-bacteria interactions, and environmental change.
Environmental DNA as a tool for assessing microbial diversity & ecological impacts by contaminants at The Bowtie parcel Brownfield site in Southern California
Awardee: Maura Palacios, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Wayne Lab. Maura's projects use eDNA to assess species assemblages in the Mojave Desert Springs, a threatened ecosystem and to explore microbial community changes in relation to hazardous materials at Brownfield sites throughout Southern California, for potential bioremediation practices.
Assessment of Helminth Biodiversity in Los Angeles County Coyotes through Fecal Meta-barcoding
Awardee: Amanda Tokoyama, graduate student in the Lloyd-Smith lab. Amanda's research focuses on identifying the drivers of parasitism in coyotes across the Santa Monica Mountains and greater LA area.
Intestinal pathogen surveillance in Los Angeles region mammals
Awardee: Sarah Helman, Ph.D. in Professor Jamie Lloyd-Smith's lab. Sarah is interested in disease surveillance of marine and terrestrial mammals along the California coast.
Only one way to succeed in a city? Urban Dark-eyed Junco adaptation across multiple novel environments
Awardee: Eleanor Diamont, Ph.D. in the Yeh Lab. Eleanor is interested in using the Dark-eyed Junco as a model system to understand how birds can cope with and adapt to urban stressors.
Intestinal Pathogen Surveillance in Los Angeles Region Coyotes
Awardee: Sarah Helman, PhD Student. Sarah is working with wildlife and veterinary agencies to obtain coyote fecal samples from within and around urban Los Angeles, which I will use to test for intestinal pathogens and parasites.
Long-term urban adaptation in a nesting raptor community
Awardee: Daniel Cooper, PhD Student. Dan is investigating the urban bird community of the Los Angeles area, assessing changes over time using both early-historical records and data from the Los Angeles Breeding Bird Atlas, with a focus on nesting raptors and colonial waterbirds.
Urban ecology meets citizen science: monitoring reptile diversity and measuring landscape genetic connectivity in the Los Angeles area
Awardee: Erin Toffelmier, PhD Student. Erin is studying how some types of reptiles are able to live in urban environments while some are not and how we can help protect species that are negatively impacted by humans.
Does Fear Filter Lizards from Urban Areas in Los Angeles?
Awardee: Bree Putman, Ph.D. Bree is examining whether fear responses (behavioral and physiological) contribute to the differential success of two lizard species in urban areas in Southern California.
La Kretz postdocs partner with National Park Service on mountain lion study
La Kretz Postdoc Dr. John Benson's work suggests that a new immigrant lion every two to four years is necessary for the Santa Monica Mountains population to remain viable
Using Citizen Science to Assess Urban Carnivore Communities in Los Angeles
Awardee: Tiffany Armenta. Tiffany is employing citizen scientists of all ages to help collect data on mesocarnivores to evaluate population densities or species-specific activity patterns in urban areas.
Butterfly survey by La Kretz Center and Natural History Museum scientist
As a La Kretz/Natural History Museum postdoc, Elizabeth Long conducted a comprehensive resurvey of butterflies across the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles