A Week on Santa Rosa

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I had the opportunity to spend a week out on the island to work on my capstone so I was there from January 12th through the 19th. As much as I thought I’d be able to get everything done in a week, I realistically only had enough time to finish up one of my sampling sites which was Point of Entry 1 (see previous post for map). This was the area around the pier, the bunkhouse, and the historical buildings. Who knew picking through grass would take so long?

The above image is a very close up shot of Shortpod Mustard (Hirschfeldia incana). This is one of the invasive plants I was looking out for while sampling my site. In the close up you can see the white/gray hairs on the stem of the plant.

Winter break progress

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Over Christmas break i went to the island for a week from January 12th to the 19th. During this time i was able to complete the rest of my remaining cross sections and input the data. I also helped out with gathering seeds of the bishop pines on the island, overall it was a great trip.

Research Update

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The sandy beach research is coming along well so far. Over winter break, I was able to revisit my twelve beach sites from Santa Monica to Refugio State Beach. I have found that the Nothern Ventura County and Santa Barbara County beaches have higher species richness and heterogeneity than do beaches further south. I have also found that overall, beach invertebrate communities have declined since the summer sampling took place. I speculate that this decline in invertebrate presence is likely due to increased wave and physical energy during this year’s winter swells and storms.

In addition to these findings, I have noticed that multiple beaches are being bulldozed to protect the upper beach during these large winter swells. One of these beaches is Goleta County beach which is a site that has been sampled multiple times throughout the history of this ecology project. I plan on sampling again at this site in the next 2 weeks in order to find out if this bulldozing has had a significant effect on invertebrate communities.

A recent natural phenomena has occurred that may also effect sandy beach biological communities. Due to the increase in rain, Santa Clara River Mouth breached its sand bar that separated it from the ocean. This event rarely takes place, so it should be interesting to see the effects this breach has had on the sandy beach region of this site. I plan on conducting another sampling at this beach within the next 2 weeks.

Pervasive Plastics: Endangered Red-Legged Frog and the Western Snowy Plover

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In collaboration with the Western Snowy plover nest monitors along Ormond, Hollywood, and other State Beaches in Ventura, we will be collecting and testing fecal samples for plastic pollutants.

As well,with the National Park Service project of the Re-introduction of the red-legged frog into the water sheds of the Santa Monica Mountains, we will be testing the water and soil for plastic pollutants.

Since we have found that at least some of the particles along the coastline and in the watersheds are synthetic the likelihood that the origination is anthropogenic is high.  I plan to test the samples to see if they contain plastics and if so we hope to use a polarizing microscope to identify them.

Winter Break Research

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The last two months have been winter break and research has been going well. I was able to finish my 2015 GIS vegetation map of SRI! I also made it out to the island for a week and collected 73 ground truth points. The points were collected with the protocol of a <30m swath of the same vegetation type, points were dropped at different locations spanning nearly half of the island (Hiked 100+ miles). The points gathered will be added to another roughly 150 points so that a robust accuracy assessment of the map can be taken. My next step before completing the accuracy assessment is to import the three maps (93, 2010, 2015) into ENVI so that dark object subtraction can be done. After the Dark Object Subtraction is complete the maps will be ready for statistical analysis, different landforms (ridges, valleys, coastal bluffs, slopes ext..) will be compared to each other as well as the change in vegetation cover.

Leadbetter Beach 12-19-15

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Over the last weekend, some colleagues (Michaela Miller and Dorothy Horn) and I tabled at the ” 2015 Lakey Peterson Keiki Bowl”. The event held surf contests, surf lessons from Lakey and the high-five beach cleanup. Our booth represented CSU Channel Islands and the ESRM department. We presented on the awareness of micro-plastics and marine debris. It was a rewarding experience to enlighten and inform the younger kids and parents about our oceans.

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Opportunity for Students: Panetta Internship

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The Panetta Institute’s Congressional Internship Program, combines a rigorous two-week academic orientation at the Panetta Institute along with an experiential education as a Panetta Intern in a Washington, D.C. office of a California member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  While serving in our nation’s capital the student also attends weekly seminars.  Upon completion of all requirements, interns earn full-time academic units that will be posted to their university transcripts.  All program costs are covered, including housing, ground transportation, travel to and from Washington, D.C. and a living stipend.  Any academic major may apply; the program is open to qualified students regardless of income.

The program is open to outstanding students in any academic major, subject to the established criteria. Applicants must be a Junior or Senior during AY 2016, a California resident and must be willing to undergo a background check. Interested students should complete this application  by no later than noon on Friday, February 12, 2016.  An interdisciplinary selection team will evaluate applications and interview finalists. The selection committee will forward its recommendation to President Rush, who makes the final selection.

To complete this application students need to submit (via upload) several things. They should be prepared with these documents before beginning the application.

  1. A resume;
  2. A copy of your most recent CI transcript;
  3. A copy of your transcript from any other college or university you have attended;
  4. A statement (one to two pages double-spaced) explaining your interest in the program and your commitment to public and community service;
  5. A scanned copy of a recent class assignment with the professor’s comments and grade.

We also require one letter of recommendation from a CI Faculty member familiar with the student’s work. That letter should be submitted to sean.kelly@csuci.edu by the February 12th deadline.

The documents below provide precise details with which applicants should familiarize themselves.

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Stella “Bugz” Jimenez

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Yes as for most ofthe people who know me they know my very mischievous bulldog. She was born on the 4th of September of 2016 yes she is just a puppy.  She has grown throughout the months of me being away and at school I still am able to see her every second possible.

Backpacks vs. Briefcases

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