The Atlas of Turtle Genomes for Conservation
A collaborative effort between Turtle Survival Alliance and UCLA's La Kretz Center
Projects
Abalone Larvae Settlement and the California Crustose Coralline Algae Microbiome
Awardee: Zoe Saxer Bio:Zoe Saxer is a second-year Biochemistry/Environmental Systems and Society student at UCLA. Zoe is interested in the impacts of climate change on marine ecology at a microbial and…
Ambient Temperature and Bird Flight Initiation Distance in Urban vs. Rural Population Areas
Awardee: Gauri Vishnoi Bio:Gauri Vishnoi is a fourth-year undergraduate pursuing a B.S in Ecology, Behavior, andEvolution, with a minor in Evolutionary Medicine. He grew up spending time outside anddeveloped a deep…
Artificial Light at Night and Bat Movement Along Ecological Corridors
Awardee: Jill Carpenter Bio:Jill Carpenter is a third-year PhD student in the Blumstein lab at UCLA whose research focuseson challenges and implications for bats roosting in human-modified landscapes. She isparticularly interested…
Assessing Spatial and Altitudinal Variation in Artificial Light at Night Across Urban Los Angeles
Awardee: Joseph Curti Bio:Joseph Curti, Ph.D. (he/they) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA La Kretz Center forCalifornia Conservation Science. Joey’s current research focuses on the impacts ofanthropogenic stressors on…
Baccharis pilularis as a Nursery Species in the Fire-Prone Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Max Reines Bio:Max Reines is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Conservation Biology and GIS. Growing up in and around the Santa Monica Mountains, he has…
Chemical Interference in California Grasslands: Investigating the Allelopathic Effects of Pennisetum setaceum on Native Grasses
Awardee: Divine Adeboye Bio:Divine Adeboye is an undergraduate researcher at UCLA studying ecology and environmental science, with a strong interest in invasive species management and plant–soil interactions. Her work focuses on…
Genome-Resolved Survey of Microbiomes Associated with Multiple Crustose Coralline Algae Genera in southern California.
Awardee: Annabelle Conti Bio:Annabelle Conti is a fourth-year at UCLA majoring in Marine Biology and MCDB, with an interest in how microbial processes shape California’s coastal ecosystems. Since joining Dr.…
Monitoring Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Spread in Southern California with Imaging Spectroscopy
Awardee: Willow Coleman Bio:Willow Coleman is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Geography department advised by Dr. Gregory Okin. Prior to attending UCLA, she received a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational…
Patterns of Adaptive Genetic Variation in a Chaparral Oak, Quercus berberidifolia
Awardee: Jacqueline Holmes Bio:Jacqueline Holmes is a third-year Ph.D. student in Vicotoria Sork’s Labin the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at UCLA. Her research focuses onunderstanding the genomic basis of climate…
Quantifying Cold-Water Coral Community Composition Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Analysis
Awardee: Olivia Simons Bio:Olivia Simons is a Ph.D. student in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UCLA and received her B.S. in biology from UCSB. At UCLA, her research focuses on the…
Understanding the Historical Demography and Current Strength of Inbreeding Depression in Island Scrub-jays
Awardee: Devon DeRaad Bio:Devon DeRaad is an evolutionary biologist with a background in museum ornithology. His passion forinteracting with and understanding biodiversity led him to a PhD program at the…