Science Speakers

Jeff Crooks

About: Dr. Crooks has been studying the ecology of San Diego’s coastal wetlands for 30 years, and conducted his graduate work at Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve. Much of this work has focused on viewing biological invasions as both causes and consequences of environmental change. Jeff has been the Research Coordinator of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, a Marine Protected Area just north of the US / Mexico border, since 2002. Jeff runs the Reserve’s research and monitoring program, which focuses on using sound science to adaptively manage urban marine ecosystems such as salt marshes and lagoons.

Talk on: Hydromodification and San Diego’s Coastal Wetlands

Hydromodification refers to changing the natural flow patterns of water in a watershed due to human activities, and coastal San Diego has been heavily impacted by such alterations.  In addition to dam building and river diversion, one of the primary impacts has been the import of much of San Diego’s water from outside the region, with some of it eventually spilling into coastal wetlands as “urban drool.”  This addition of freshwater can have a variety of impacts, including changes to both plant and animal communities in coastal salt marshes.

Xavius Boone

About: Xavius Boone is an Ecology PhD candidate at SDSU who studies estuarine fish populations and ecosystem management.

Talk on: Understanding How Fish and Humans Interact With Our San Diego Estuaries

When we think of ecosystem management we oftentimes think of protecting and enhancing an area to benefit animal species. A common strategy to protect habitat is to restrict human access to the area. However, many times a goal of management is also to protect and enhance the recreation opportunities for our human communities as well. How do we balance these sometimes opposing goals?

Aiyana Reissman

About: Aiyana Reissman has been a marine ecologist in California for over 15 years and is currently working on a Master’s in Ocean Sciences at the University of San Diego with a focus on the population dynamics of Light-footed Ridgway’s rails. Prior to starting the program, Aiyana was at the Living Coast Discovery Center for 8 years where she was the Animal Care Manager overseeing the husbandry propagation of the rails along with the other marine and terrestrial wildlife rescued in and around San Diego. While much of her career has been focused on working with animals directly, Aiyana remains passionate about bringing together communities to conserve our wild spaces and shared natural resources through collaboration and advocacy.

Talk on: Flocking Together- A Journey to Save Species and Spaces

Exploring the multifaceted efforts contributing to the recovery of the endangered Light-footed Ridgway’s rail and the restoration of their critical wetland habitats. We will examine the integration of environmental education, animal care practices, and scientific research driving these efforts. The talk will highlight the collaborative approaches employed and present a framework that can serve as a model for effective ecological recovery initiatives.

Ryan Hechinger

About: Dr. Hechinger is a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he works to better understand the ecology and evolution of parasites and parasitism, and to use them to enhance general ecological and evolutionary science.

Talk on: Parasites–the marvelous dark matter of our estuary food webs

Every animal and plant species that you can think about in our estuaries is fed on by one or more parasite species. But these parasitic “consumers” are typically ignored in ecological work in our estuaries. Our goal is to parasites into the picture, alongside the other animals and plants in estuary food webs. We find that parasites compose a substantial part of the species diversity and play a massive role in the flow of energy in estuary food webs. We can’t understand how estuary ecosystems work without factoring in parasites. And let’s not forget that parasites are just plain fascinating!

Pat Pannuto

About: Dr. Pat Pannuto is an Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego. Pat received a PhD from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley and an MSE in Computer Science and BSE in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. Pat’s research is in the broad area of networked embedded systems, with contributions to computer architecture, wireless communications, mobile computing, operating systems, and development engineering. Pat’s work has been recognized as a Top Pick in Computer Architecture and selected as a Best Paper Finalist at IPSN, and has been awarded NSF, NDSEG, and Qualcomm Innovation fellowships. Pat has also received teaching awards from the Computer Science Department, the College of Engineering, and the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. You can find more information at patpannuto.com.

Talk on: Smart Mud-Imagining Wetlands that Automatically Monitor Health and Detect Pollution

Wetlands are rich, complex ecosystems. At their heart are billions of tiny bacteria, some of whom are special bacteria that emit tiny electrical signals whenever they “breathe” (we call these “exoelectrogens”). Specially designed structures encourage a bunch of these bacteria to grow and work together and form a “Microbial Fuel Cell”, which acts like a bacteria-powered battery. When wetlands are healthy and nutrient-rich, these bacteria are extra productive. When pollutants such as heavy metals arrive, the bacteria slow down and change their behavior. Scientists at UC San Diego are exploring how we can build sensors that measure this “bio-battery” output to estimate wetland health in real-time and to provide early-warning systems when new pollutants enter the ecosystem.

Kat Beheshti

About: Dr. Kathryn Beheshti is an Assistant Researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute. Kat is a coastal marine ecologist that specializes in restoration ecology of salt marsh, seagrass, and kelp forest habitats. Kat received her PhD from the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2021. Currently, she is one of the Principal Investigators for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Mitigation Monitoring Program. In this role, Kat leads the long-term monitoring of two large-scale mitigation projects, including a 150-acre wetland restoration at San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar, CA. All of her work is at the interface of science, policy, and industry.

Talk on: History and status of San Dieguito Wetlands Restoration Project

The San Dieguito Wetlands Restoration project serves as out-of-kind mitigation for impacts to nearshore fish populations in the region caused by the operations of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. To assess mitigation project performance, UC Santa Barbara leads annual monitoring (2012 – ongoing) of the restored San Dieguito Wetlands and reference sites (Carpinteria Salt Marsh, Mugu Lagoon, Los Penasquitos Lagoon, Tijuana Estuary). This talk will provide a brief over of the history of the project and its performance.

Rachel Smith

About: Dr. Rachel Smith is a marine ecologist who studies the dynamics of coastal foundation species. Working in salt marshes, kelp forests, and oyster reefs, she applies principles of community ecology to better understand how to restore and manage these valuable coastal ecosystems. Currently an Assistant Researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute, Rachel received her PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia (2019). As a Co-Principal Investigator with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Mitigation Monitoring Program, she now co-leads the long-term monitoring and adaptive management of a 150-acre coastal wetland restoration project and a 373-acre offshore artificial reef in Southern California.

Talk on: Using science to meet the goals of the San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Project

Science can help us meet the goals of the San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Project. In this talk, we provide examples of how we use long-term monitoring and experiments to increase vegetation cover, understand underperformance of fish and invertebrates, and assess mechanisms of habitat transition at the restored wetland. Together, these approaches support adaptive management of the San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Project.

James Nieh

About: Professor James C. Nieh was born in Taiwan, and grew up in Southern California. He received his B.A. at Harvard in 1991 and his PhD from Cornell University in 1997. He subsequently received a NSF-NATO Postdoctoral fellowship to study at the University of Würzburg in Germany. After this, he received the prestigious Harvard Junior Fellowship. In 2000, he joined the faculty in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California San Diego where he is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. He held the Heiligenberg Chair of Neuroethology, was chair of his department, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 2017. He is an Associate Dean in the School of Biological Sciences.Dr. Nieh’s interests focus on bee communication, cognition, and health. He studies many types of social bees, including honey bees, bumble bees, and stingless bees. His lab studies natural and man-made stressors of social bees. A major part of his work focuses on foraging and communication in honey bees and honey bee health. The research on honey bee health focuses on how pesticides alter honey bee behavior and learning, how a common pathogen, Nosema ceranae, infects bees and alters their behavior, how honey bee immunity can be boosted to fight Nosema infection, how the bee gut microbiome may help us find new ways to counter Nosema infection, and how a nutritionally balanced diet can help bees exposed to pesticides.

Talk on: Pesticides, Viruses, and Hope: How Communities Can Help Pollinators

Pollinators, like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, are essential for healthy ecosystems and the food we eat. Yet, they are facing serious challenges, including pesticides and diseases. This talk will explore how UC San Diego became a Bee Campus USA and how the City of San Diego became a Bee City USA, both part of a national movement to protect pollinators. I will share why honey bees are important, the threats they face, and how these same threats—like pesticides and viruses—also harm native bees and other pollinators. By working together as a community, we can take simple but meaningful steps to support pollinator health and create a brighter future for both people and nature.

Michael Amoa-Bosompem

About: An arbovirus virologist interested in the ecology of vector-associated viruses. Currently an instructor in the Department of Environmental Science UCSD and a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Ecology Behavior & Evolution. My research is on understanding the complex interaction and evolutionary relationship between arthropod vectors and their virome, infectious viruses they transmit (arboviruses) and non-infectious viruses they harbor. I also study the evolutionary relationship between arboviruses and vector-associated viruses. My research looks at the impact of urbanization/human activity on arbovirus transmission and the development of effective preventive and control measures.

Talk on: Elucidating the Transmission Dynamics of West Nile Virus in San Diego using eDNA/eRNA.

Arboviruses are infectious viruses transmitted by arthropods, with mosquitoes and ticks the most important vectors. West Nile virus (WNV) is the most common mosquito-borne arbovirus in the United States, and present in all 58 counties in California – transmitted primarily by the Culex tarsalis mosquito. WNV is maintained in nature in the bird and Culex mosquito population, with Humans and horses as accidental hosts. Nonetheless, infection with WNV can cause mild to severe illness, and can be fatal – it is therefore of public health importance. Prevention and control of WNV is dependent on a deep understanding of the transmission dynamics in San Diego including, reservoir species, main amplifying host(s) and annual incidence. We have taken advantage of the natural interactions between species and their environment to design a non-invasive eDNA/eRNA approach to outline the transmission cycle of WNV, outlining the main species maintaining the transmission cycle of WNV in San Diego, and periods of peak WNV activity. The findings of this study will inform WNV prevention and control strategies.

Octavio Aburto

About: Dr. Octavio Aburto is a Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), a professional photographer associate with the International League of Conservation Photographers, and a National Geographic Explorer. Octavio obtained his PhD at the Center of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at SIO and was awarded the Jean Fort Award by the UCSD, for his significant contribution to an issue of public concern through his doctoral research. He is a Katerhyn Fuller Fellow, WWF-Science Program in 2010, was awarded the Conservation of Nature prize by the Mexican Ministry of the Environment – CONANP in 2014, received a Hellman Fellowship, for a Junior Faculty Research Project in 2015, and is part of the PEW Marine Fellows since 2019. His research and photographs have focused on marine reserves and commercially exploited marine species and their fisheries in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and the U.S. His photographs have been part of several conservation projects worldwide and have won international photography contests.

Talk on: The Importance of Wetlands

Para entender la importancia de restaurar y proteger los manglares y marismas, especialmente en años fríos cuando hay muchos incendios.

Hiram Moreno

About: Hiram R. Moreno Higareda es biólogo y estudiante de Doctorado en Ciencias de la Vida en CICESE, con amplia experiencia en la investigación y conservación de especies en peligro de extinción, especialmente aves de humedales costeros. Es experto en el Light-footed Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus levipes) para México y en el California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus), logrando hitos como el redescubrimiento del California Black Rail en Bahía San Quintín tras 98 años y la identificación de una nueva población en el Estero de Punta Banda.
Hiram cuenta con una Maestría en Manejo de Ecosistemas de Zonas Áridas por la UABC, donde obtuvo mención honorífica, y una Licenciatura en Biología con reconocimiento CENEVAL. Es profesor en la Facultad de Ciencias de UABC, donde imparte clases de genética e investigación básica, además de liderar proyectos de conservación en sitios Ramsar.
Con más de 10 publicaciones científicas y de divulgación, Hiram combina investigación, docencia y participación comunitaria para proteger ecosistemas sensibles como los humedales, destacándose como referente en la ecología y genética de aves de marismas.

Talk on: Conectando con los Humedales – Conservación Transfronteriza a través del Estudio de Aves en Peligro de Extinción

En esta charla, exploraremos cómo el estudio de el Light-footed Ridgway’s Rail y el California Black Rail ha revelado la continuidad ecológica entre ambos lados de la frontera, resaltando la importancia de proteger estos sistemas conectados.
Descubre los esfuerzos de monitoreo, los logros recientes en la i dentificación denuevas poblaciones y cómo la conservación de humedales fortalece la relación entre ciencia, comunidades y gestión transfronteriza

Liliana Ortiz Serrato

About: Bióloga egresada de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Actualmente se encuentra estudiando la Maestría en Ciencias de la Vida en el Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE). Y también se desempeña en el área de comunicación e Investigación de Pro Esteros, A.C. Sus esfuerzos se dirigen hacia los humedales y las aves, es Coordinadora del Programa de Monitoreo y Conservación del Charrán Mínimo en El Estero de Punta Banda y San Quintín, Baja California. Participa en diferentes actividades de Ciencia Ciudadana. Es parte del Programa de Aves Urbanas Ensenada. Forma parte del colectivo Mujeres en Parvada y es miembro de la Alianza Mexicana de fotografía para la Conservación de México. También ha impartido actividades de Educación Ambiental como pláticas, talleres y salidas de campo, hacia todos los niveles educativos y con el público en general, con enfoque hacia los Humedales costeros del Noroeste de México y hacia las aves y su conservación.

Talk on: Charrán Mínimo y Chorlo Nevado: más allá de las fronteras

El Charrán Mínimo y el Chorlo Nevado son dos especies de aves migratorias que comparten el territorio de ambos lados de la frontera. California y el noroeste de Baja California forman parte de una misma región, caracterizada por su vegetación, clima y, por supuesto, su fauna, incluyendo una rica diversidad de aves. Ambas especies, aunque diferentes en sus patrones migratorios, reflejan la interconexión de los ecosistemas que comparten, trascendiendo fronteras físicas en su búsqueda por sobrevivir y prosperar.