California Research

Graduate Research

Several of my graduate students have chosen to conduct their research on aquatic life in California.


	Wendy Billock, PhD Graduated: August 2008 Her research investigates cognition in the hermit crab, Pagurus samuelis. There is a wide variety of information available in the intertidal environment, and hermit crabs must sort through the various stimuli to make a decision. Her experiments have explored the various combinations of visual, chemical, and tactile cues that Pagurus samuelis uses in specific situations. She propose that in each situation hermit crabs utilize a specific 'Contextual Decision Hierarchy' with a primary, secondary, and possibly tertiary cue.
	Tracey Magrann is a second year master's degree student. Tracey's research involves developing a new water treatment program to reduce the levels of toxic algae in man-made lakes. By installing water treatment plants to remove phosphate, she hopes that algae levels will be greatly reduced thereby making the lakes healthier for the birds, fish, and other organisms that live there.
	Katsura Matsuda, Master's Degree Graduated: June, 2006 Her studies compared the physiological responses of the barnacle, Balanus amphitrite, along the shores of the landlocked Salton Sea with those of the same species along the southern coast of California. Her work included measuring and comparing the respiratory, osmotic, and ionic responses of both populations to extreme environmental conditions.
	Janelle Shives is a fourth year master's degree student. She is investigating hypotheses regarding the lack of hermit crabs found in association with gastropod shells in the fossil record. Although many gastropod shells are found throughout the fossil record with evidence that they have been "hermitted" (Walker & Carlton, 1995), questions remain as to why so few hermit crabs are found. Janelle's work focuses on the behaviors of Pagurus samuelis in various conditions of burial stress. She is also investigating anerobic respiration in buried hermit crabs.
	April Sjoboen Master's Degree Graduated: December, 2007 Her objective in this research is to test the hypothesis that fatty acids found in the hepatopancreas change on a seasonal basis as well as between sexes. This could be important in understanding how these crabs are able to survive in the fluctuating environment in which they live. Changes in these fatty acids could be an adaptive mechanism used by Pachygrapsus crassipes to take advantage of the biochemical properties of fatty acids in different temperatures. Because fatty acid viscosity changes with fluctuations in temperature, it may be beneficial for them to store different types of FAs in different seasons. Changing fatty acid saturation and length with fluctuations in temperature could maximize the utilization of these energy stores, allowing Pachygrapsus to thrive in the variable conditions of the intertidal zone.