Amanda Gerrard
After graduation I am looking forward to pursuing a career in outdoor education preferrably with an aquarium or zoo.
B.S. in Biology, CSU Fullerton 1997
Expected graduation date: December 2003
Email: mirounga@aol.com
Master's
Thesis:
Long-Term Changes in the Rocky Intertidal Flora Along the Palos Verdes Peninsula
(Los Angeles County).
Long-term changes in rocky intertidal seaweed and seagrass populations along the Palos Verdes Peninsula (Los Angeles County) were studied at five sites. These sites were first established by E. Y. Dawson in the late 1950s. They were resurveyed in the 1970s by Thom and Widdowson and in the early 1980s by Harris. Frequency and cover data were collected for all macrophyte populations, and were compared with records obtained during the previous studies to examine changes in floral composition and abundances over the past fifty years. During this time, the human population has increased greatly throughout Southern California resulting in modifications of the coastal landscape along the Palos Verdes Peninsula and throughout the region. Improvements have been made in sewage treatment practices, changing effluent conditions previously believed to impact intertidal populations. In addition, significant changes in oceanographic climate have occurred during the five decadal period of study. Our results show that changes in the intertidal flora continue to occur along the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Cover of opportunistic and disturbance resistant seaweeds appears to have increased and of large, fleshy algal species to have decreased. Marked differences continue to occur in the macrophyte floras at these sites along the western and southern portions of the peninsula. (Supported by NOAA Grant NA46RG0472 to USC Sea Grant and the California State Resources Agency.)
Presentations of Research:
Southern California Academy of Sciences 2001
Western Society of Naturalists 2001