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Anti-predator Response and Palatability of Yosemite Toad Larvae to Nonnative Brook Trout in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California Rob Grasso, CA State University Sacramento, $1700 |
 I am studying the decline of the Yosemite toad in the High Sierra and a possible link to introduced trout. Lakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains were fishless until about the late 1800's when trout were introduced for recreational purposes. The Yosemite toad evolved in the absence of trout and may be susceptible to predation because they do not recognize trout as predators. At SNARL, I am investigating whether Yosemite toad tadpoles respond to trout by hiding when trout are present in order to reduce the chance that they will be eaten. I am also researching whether brook trout, the most widely introduced trout in the Sierra, prey upon eggs, tadpoles and newly metamorphosed toads. |
 I am originally from New Jersey where I attended Richard Stockton College and received my Bachelor's of Science degree in 1997 in Marine Biology. After graduation, I was a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife in Bozeman, MT where I took care of experimental stocks of threatened and endangered trout. I started my career with the US Forest Service in the summer of 1999 conducting stream surveys and amphibian surveys for two field seasons. In 2001, I took a position as an Aquatic Biologist working for the Sierra Nevada Research Center conducting research on the Mountain Yellow-Legged frog. I entered graduate school for my master’s degree at California State University, Sacramento in the fall of 2003. |
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The Flow of Protein Within Ant Colonies and its Effects on Caste Determination Brittany Enzmann, UCLA, $1500 |
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Comparative Studies of Spatial Learning and Memory in Ground Squirrels Jason Bruck, University of Chicago, $1350 |
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Resource Subsidies and Indirect Effects of Non-native Fish in an Alpine Food Web Peter Epanchin, UC Davis, $950 |
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Modeling Stream Pool Response to Sediment Pulses Lee Harrison, UC Santa Barbara, $1700 |
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The Regional Variation in Routine Metabolism and Physiological Tolerances of Sacramento Perch: Implication for Restoring Sacramento Perch in Their Native Range Christa Woodley, UC Davis, $1500 |
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Within ant colonies, workers must make decisions on how resources should be allocated between worker and sexual offspring. The proteins in insect prey may be particularly valuable to the development of sexuals because reproductive individuals are typically larger than workers and require flight muscles. Exploring how proteins are divided within ant colonies and across species offers insight on how this limiting resource can influence colony reproduction and growth. The purpose of my project is to determine whether protein resources are differentially allocated between offspring destined to become workers and sexuals in several harvester ant species. I will be marking insect prey with rabbit immunoglobulin G and making it available to colonies. I will then assay for the protein in larvae, pupae, and adult sexual and worker offspring using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
I am a second year Ph.D. student at the UCLA. I work in the lab of Dr. Peter Nonacs I completed my B.A. at Scripps College (Claremont, CA) in 2003 with a major in Biology and a minor in Spanish. As an undergraduate, I studied Neotropical bats and gained field experience in Costa Rica and Australia. I love music, to travel, and to be outside in the sun.
I am interested in species, sex and individual differences in spatial learning and memory in mammals. Spatial learning and memory controls an animal’s ability to orient where it is. I collect wild juvenile Belding's ground squirrels and golden-mantled ground squirrels and test them in an octopus-shaped maze, which requires animal to learn which arm is the 'escape arm'. The goal for the squirrel is to use visual or smell cues outside the maze to navigate and escape into an open-air enclosure. The speed by which they learn to navigate the maze is what I compare across species, sex and individuals. 
I have a degree in psychology and biology from Long Island University, Southampton College, where I was the Valedictorian for the class of 2002. Before coming to Chicago I worked on harbor seal migration patterns, dolphin mating interactions, deceptive calling in female African clawed frogs, mating interactions of three-spine stickleback, electro-communication in elephant-nosed fish and hearing thresholds in white rats. This is my third year at SNARL studying spatial learning and memory in ground squirrels. 
I am interested in the effects of invasive species on food webs. In the historically fishless high Sierra Nevada, the introduction of non-native fish has affected aquatic insects and hence, indirectly, song birds.At fishless and fish-containing lakes, I study aquatic insect populations and the foraging behavior and diet of song birds, including the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. My research examines whether non-native fish play a role in altering the abundance of lake-derived insects and whether this has indirectly affected bird populations.
I am a graduate student in Ecology at the University of California, Davis. Prior to pursuing my graduate education, I worked for five years as a biologist in the Endangered Species Division with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento, California. Before acquiring this policy experience, I worked as a field biologist on wildlife, fisheries, and botanical research projects in many locations, including California, Arizona, Utah, Florida, Alaska, and British Columbia. Outside of work, I like to hike, birdwatch, kayak, and travel the world.
My research is focused on understanding the processes involved in pool evolution in streams and rivers and response to erosion and sedimentation events. In order to achieve this I’ve combined field studies and computational (computer) modeling with experimental studies using channels at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (SNARL). The goal is to develop a theoretical model of how pools form under natural conditions and subsequently respond to increased sediment supply due to dam removal, landslides or following wildfires. 
Originally from Massachusetts, I migrated west to pursue an undergraduate education at the University of Oregon in Eugene. After years of climbing in the Cascades and the Sierras and gaining an interest in river restoration I decided to stay on the west coast for graduate school. I am currently a Ph.D. student studying hydrology and fluvial geomorphology in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. When I’m not out studying river channels I enjoy mountain biking, climbing and surfing. 
California’s only native sunfish, Sacramento perch, has virtually disappeared from its native habitats in the Sacramento Valley. Once a prized commercial and recreational fish, it is now a “Species of Special Concern”. The causes for its decline are unknown, though the deterioration of habitat quality, and interactions with non-native species are probable reasons. Restoration attempts are futile without more information on this species’ response to environmental parameters (i.e., temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen), habitat quality, and non-indigenous interactions. My research will compare population-level, physiological responses of Sacramento perch from Crowley Lake to those of hatchery-reared Sacramento perch. Understanding how populations respond to environmental parameters and habitat quality can help define the optimal conditions for restoration, thus avoiding failures. 
I received a B.S. in Marine Biology from Florida Atlantic University then went to work for the National Marine Fisheries Service. I received an M.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi then worked for the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory studying the effect of introduced aquatic species on coastal watersheds.