Amy Arispe (2005-2007), email: amyarispe@yahoo.com
Amy worked with faculty mentor Darren Sandquist and studied
nitrogen fixed by microbial crusts that is subsequently used by desert shrubs.
She presented the results of the summer group research at the 2006 annual meeting of the Southern Academy of Sciences. Amy received $1,000 from the CSUF Undergraduate Support Initiative in 2006. She currently works at an environmental consulting firm in Rancho Cucamonga.
Leslie worked with faculty mentor Sean Walker. Her research investigated the influence of female chemical cues on male behavior in the field cricket (Archeta domesticus). She won second place for her presentation at the 2007 Orange County Graduate Women in Science conference. She published results from her SCERP research, Buena, L.J. and S.E. Walker. 2008. Information asymmetry and aggressive behaviour in male house crickets, Acheta domesticus. Animal Behaviour 75:199-204. Leslie completed her M.S. in Biology at CSU, Fullerton in 2008, and she currently works as a Stewardship Associate for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (http://www.pvplc.org/)
Andres worked with faculty mentor Kathryn Dickson. He studied the kinematics of escape response by juvenile white sea bass. Andres traveled to Brazil as part of the CSUF-UConn FIPSE Brazil-U.S. Coastal Resource Management program in 2006. He won the Best Student Poster Award at the Annual meeting of the Southern California Academy of Sciences in 2005. As a SCERP scholar Andres worked at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium as an Aquaculture Research Assistant. Andres studied freshwater shrimp and talapia aquaculture in Thailand during the summer of 2007. Andres is currently pursuing his M.S. degree in biology working with Dr. Kathryn Dickson at CSU Fullerton.
Carina (Cory) Castro (2006-2009), email: fairybubble1@ca.rr.com
Cory worked with faculty mentor Anne Houtman investigating song function in Anna’s hummingbird in southern California deserts. Cory was awarded a faculty-student research grant from CSUF and a CSUF Associated Students Inc. grant in 2006. She presented the results of her research at the 2007 Southern California Academy of Sciences meeting in Fullerton, CA, and the 2007 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science conference in Kansas City, MO. Cory won the 2007 SACNAS undergraduate student best poster award in ecology for her research. Cory is pursuing her M.S. degree in Biology at CSU Fullerton working with Anne Houtman.
Carmen worked with faculty mentor Darren Sandquist . She is interested in ethnobotany and has completed research investigating traditional use of the plant Hydrocotyle ranunculoides in the higher Lerma river basin in Mexico. As a SCERP scholar Carmen studied habitat restoration methods for the reestablishment of the endangered Santa Ana river woolly star (Eriasterum densifolia sanctorum). Carmen presented results from the SCERP summer research on Kellet's whelk larval behavior at the 2007 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science conference in Kansas City, MO. Carmen particpated in the 2008 NSF-REU program at the university of Cape Coast Ghana, West Africa. While in Ghana she studied the effect of pollintor limitation on fruit production of the cauliflorous Theobroma cacao and compared pollination efficiency of the major branch axis and trunk segments. She also participated in the 2008 Summer Undergraduate Research Program at U.C. Davis and worked with Dr. Kevin Rice identifying limitations to seedling recruitiment of native grasses in the Sierra Nevada grassland communities. She was also a CSUF McNair scholar. Carmen received a prestegious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and is pursuing her PhD at UC Davis where she is also an IGERT fellow.
Stephanie Diaz (2005-2008), email: shdiaz25@yahoo.com
Stephanie worked with faculty mentors Steven Murray and Jayson Smith monitoring the sale of invasive algae in the genus Caulerpa by southern California aquarium stores.
She was a scholar in the FIPSE Brazil-U.S. Coastal Resource Management exchange program in 2006. As a 2007 REU scholar at the Environmental Science Institute at UT Austin, Stephanie studied nitrate dynamics in two river systems of southern Texas. Her many CSUF-sponsored scholarships include the 2007 Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association Undergraduate Scholarship, and the 2007 Rachel Carson Scholarship in Conservation Biology. She also was awarded the 2007 Orange County Association of Environmental Professionals Undergraduate Scholarship. She presented her research at numerous scientific meetings, including the 2007 SACNAS conference. Stephannie was honored as a commencement speaker at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics graduation in 2008. Following graduation she worked in 2008-2009 as an intern at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Program. Stephanie is currently a graduate student in the PhD program in Earth Science at UCSB. She was awarded an NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Summer Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship to work at UCSB during the summer prior to her first year in graduate school.
Sarah English (2006-2008), email: sm.english@yahoo.com
Sarah worked with faculty mentor Anne Houtman studying the effects of environmental noise on song production in Anna’s and Costa's hummingbirds.
Sarah presented the results of her research at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science in Kansas City, MO and the 2007 annual meeting of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Sarah received a CSUF faculty-student research grant in 2006 for $1,000. She has also received funding from the Department of Biological Science, and the CSUF Associated Students Incorporated. She received two scholarships from the San Diego Police Officers' Association in 2004 and 2006. She is currently working in San Diego and preparing for graduate school.
Susana worked with faculty mentor Darren Sandquist and studied the photosynthetic rate of Eriastrum densifolium ssp. sactorum in the presence and absence of competitors. Susana presented her work at the Desert Studies Symposium, 2004. Susana has received many awards including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for $2,500 in 2003, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute for $3,000 in 2004 the CSUF Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for $3,000 in 2004, and the CSUF Alumni Association Natural Sciences and Mathematics Scholarship for $500 in 2005. Susana received her M.S. in Biology at CSUF in 2008 working with Dr. Jochen Schenk investigating hydraulic segmentation and axis splitting in desert shrubs. She has published multiple peer-reviewed papers on her work and is currently the manager of the Schenk lab.
Missy worked with faculty mentor Paul Stapp studying the foraging behavior of Chaetodipus pocket mice in response to rattlesnake olfactory cues. She presented her research at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists at Southwestern Missouri State University, Springfield, MO. Missy received the CSUF Judith Presch Memorial Desert Research Scholarship for $250 in 2004 as well as the American Society of Mammalogists Undergraduate Student Research Award for $400 in 2005. Until 2009 Missy worked as a Research Associate at the Irvine Ranch Land Conservancy. She is now a graduate student in the Masters program in Environmental Studies at CSUF.
Victor worked with faculty mentor Steven Murray. While a SCERP scholar Victor investigated the ecophysiology of the invasive red alga Caulacanthus ustulatus. He presented his work at the 2003 and 2004 SACNAS conference and at the 2004 meeting of the Phycological Society of America. As a SCERP scholar Victor was awarded a CSUF Alliance for Minority Participation award for $600 in 2004 and a CSU Los Angeles, CEA-CREST student experience award for $2,000 in 2004. Victor received his M.S. degree in Biology at CSU, Los Angeles in 2008 and was awarded the Louis Stokes AMP fellowship. Victor is currently in the Peace Corps working in the Dominican Republic.
Christine worked with faculty mentor Jochen Schenk investigating axis splitting and root function in desert shrubs. She was a co-author with Dr. Schenk on her undergraduate research in a paper entitled "Hydraulic integration and shrub growth form linked across continental aridity gradients" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in 2008, Vol 105, pp. 11248-11253. She is currently enrolled in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D. Program at U.C. Irvine with Dr. Diane Pataki. During the fall 2008 she taught plant physiological ecology at CSUF.
Robin Keber (2003-2007), email: robinkeber@gmail.com
Robin worked with faculty mentor Sandra Banack. She studied the
effects of invasive artichoke thistle on hummingbird nesting success. She was awarded two Strategies for Ecology Education, Development, and Sustainability (SEEDS) Student Travel Awards to present at the 2005 and 2006 Ecological Society of America annual meetings.
Robin was Chair of CSUF Natural Sciences and Mathematics Inter Club Council, 2006-2007.
She was a cowbird trap monitor for Leatherman Bioconsulting, Inc. in 2006. She was awarded the CSUF Library Prize for her research in 2007. Robin traveled to Thailand to study biology during the summer of 2007. She worked on San Clemente Island in 2008 studying an endangered sparrow population. Robin currently works for Back to Natives Restoration, a non-profit conservation agency in Orange County. She is also applying to PhD programs in biology.
Serra worked with faculty mentor Danielle Zacherl and studied larval yolk variation in Kelletia kelleti, Kellet's Whelk, across ranges, geographic regions, within sites, and across seasons. Understanding maternal yolk contribution is important because it provides insight in to how much parental investment is being put into these larvae and thus how successful they may be as adults. Serra presented the results of SCERP summer research on Kellet's whelk larvae diel vertical migration patterns in response to light cues at the annual meeting of the Western Society of Naturalists in Ventura, CA in 2007. She also presented her work at the 2009 Southern California Academy of Sciences meeting.
Loralee worked with faculty mentor Paul Stapp. She investigated invasive plants and arthropod diversity in Southern California grasslands. As a SCERP scholar Loralee worked as a student naturalist at CSUF Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. She was the recipient of a Strategies for Ecology Education, Development, and Sustainability (SEEDS) field experience award in Alberta Canada in 2004. She was a CSUF President's Scholar and was on the Dean's list fall 2002, spring 2003, fall 2003, spring 2004, and fall 2004. Loralee worked as the ecology laboratory manager for Dr. Katherine Suding at U.C. Irvine for two years. She is currently in the Ph.D. program in Dr. Suding's lab at UCI and received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2008.
Kim worked with faculty mentor Paul Stapp. She investigated how reducing anthropogenic water flow in to natural southern California riparian habitats affects how the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) impacts native arthropod diversity. In addition, she is surveying the distribution of the Argentine ant in riparian habitats at Starr Ranch Audubon Sanctuary in Orange County, CA. She received honorable mention for her poster presentation at the 2008 Southern California Academy of Sciences conference. She is in the M.S. program in biology at CSU Fullerton working with Sean Walker.
Eric worked with faculty mentor Sean Walker studying the reproductive behavior of crickets. He presented results of the summer field course investigating the effects of invasive periwinkle on arthropod communities in riparian habitats at Starr Ranch Audubon Sanctuary as a poster at the 2006 SACNAS conference in Tampa, FL. He also presented this work at the 2006 Southern California Academy of Sciences annual conference in Fullerton, CA. Eric is pursuing an M.S. degree in biology at CSUF working with Sean Walker.
Meredith worked with faculty mentor Danielle Zacherl she investigated the feeding ecology of the sea slug Aplysia. She also studied growth of the native oyster (Ostrea conchaphila) in Newport Bay. She spent a semester studying at the Wrigley Marine Institute on Catalina Island. Meredith was a research intern at Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands, WA during the fall of 2008. She is currently a M.S. student at CSUF studying the biogeographic distribution and genetics of the native oyster with Danielle Zacherl.
Robert worked with faculty mentor Sean Walker investigating wolf spider reproduction. As a SCERP scholar Robert worked as a naturalist at CSU Fullerton Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. Robert was awarded the CSUF Judith Presch Scholarship for $300 in 2003. As of 2005 Robert planned to attend graduate school in ecology.
Albert worked with faculty mentor Doug Eernisse investigating the comparative phylogeography of limpets and chitons in southern California. As a SCERP scholar Albert was a Blinks Fellow in Science, University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2005. He also received a CSUF Faculty-Student Development Research Award for $1000 in 2004. Albert presented his research as a poster at the Western Society of Naturalists conference in 2005. He gave an oral presentation of his work at the Western Society of Malacologists in Seattle in 2006. Albert worked at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium as an Education Assistant. He was an MBRS-RISE M.S.to Ph.D. scholar in Biology in the M.S. program at CSU Los Angeles. Albert currently works for the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner as an Agricultural Biologist Inspector.
Melissa Romero (2004-2006), email: melissar20@aol.com
Melissa worked with faculty mentor Danielle Zacherl investigating the growth and development of Kellet’s Whelk. Melissa won a student award at the 2006 SACNAS meeting for her poster presentation on her SCERP research. She was an exchange student in the
CSUF-UConn FIPSE Brazil-U.S. Coastal Resource Management program in 2006. She was a summer intern in 2008 at Friday Harbor Laboratories and has a manuscript that will be published in Biological Bulletin entitled, "Capture of particles by direct interception by cilia during feeding of a gastropod veliger."Melissa was a CEA-CREST scholar in the M.S. program at Cal State University Los Angeles with advisor, Dr. Patrick J. Krug. She successfully defended her M.S. thesis, "Nitric oxide signaling regulates larval metamorposis in a host-specialized sea slug," in 2009. Melissa was awarded a Sally-Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship at CSULA. Melissa is currently a Ph.D. student in the Marine Environmental Bioogy Program at the University of Southern California working with Dr. Donal Manahan.
Lily worked with faculty mentor Danielle Zacherl exploring the larval settling ecology of the native Olympia oyster (Ostrea conchaphila). Lily received a CSUF Inter-Club Council travel award to attend and present group summer research at the annual meeting of the Western Society of Naturalists in 2005. Lily was a student intern at the Los Angeles Sanitation District. She is pursuing an M.S. degree in biology at Cal Poly Pomona.
Yareli worked with faculty mentor Amybeth Cohen. She is interested in the interface between genetics and conservation biology. She studied the population genetics of the endangered Santa Ana river woolly star (Eriasterum densifolia sanctorum) in San Bernardino County. Yareli won a best poster award in biology at the 2008 annual SACNAS conference in Salt Lake City, UT for her independent research. She is attending SDSU for her M.S. degree in Biology.
Erin works with faculty mentor Danielle Zacherl. She studies the factors influencing settlement in the native Olympia oyster (Ostrea conchaphila) in two southern California estuaries. She has received multiple scholarships including the CSUF Jewel Plummer Cobb Scholarship for $500 in 2006, the CSUF scholarly and creative activities undergraduate and faculty award for $1,000 in 2005 and the CSUF Department of Biological Science research award for $100 in 2005. Erin won an award for her poster presentation on her research at the 2006 SACNAS conference in Tampa, Florida. Erin worked during 2008 for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) in Oregon. Her SCERP research appeared in the Journal of Shellfish Research in 2009, "Seasonal settlement of Olympia oyster larvae,Ostrea lurida, in two southern California estuaries." She is also author on a recent paper in Fisheries Oceanography, "Effects of ontogeny, temperature, and light on vertical movements of larval Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)." Erin is currently preparing for graduate school.
Romeo worked with faculty mentor Sean Walker examining interactions among brittlebush, its pollinators and crab spiders. Romeo received the Best Student Poster award for his presentation at the 2004 Southern California Academy of Sciences meeting. He served as a field assistant for Drs. Jones and Walker sampling insects to determine pollinators of the San Fernando Valley Spineflower, Chorizanthe parryi in 2004.
Jeremy Smith (2005-2008), email:jjsmith2239@yahoo.com
Jeremy worked with faculty mentor Jochen Schenk. He studied axis splitting and hydraulic redistribution in three coastal sage scrub plant species, bush sunflower (Encelia californica), coyotebrush (Baccharis pilularis), and sagebrush (Artemisia californica).
Tracy works with faculty mentor Darren Sandquist. She is investigating the phylogeography of Joshua Trees (Yucca brevifolia). Tracy has presented her research at multiple conferences including the the 2005 Ecological Society of America meeting in Montreal, Canada. Her many scholarships include the CSUF Presch Memorial Desert Studies Center Scholarship in 2004, the CSUF David A. Walkington Memorial Scholarship for $700 in 2006, and the CSUF Boeing Scholarship for Biological Science for $1,000 in 2006. In 2006 she participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Tracy worked at the USGS in Menlo Park in 2007-2008 as a GIS technician. She is currently in the M.S. program in Geography at CSU Northridge.
Maria Worked with faculty mentor Bill Hoese and used benthic macroinvertebrates to assess the health of southern California streams. She was a student intern on the Los Angeles Water District Clean Water Team. Maria received the CSUF Dorothy M. Hagan and Juanita W. Hicks Achievement Scholarship for $1,000 in 2006.
Lauren Velasco (2006-2009), email: lmvelasco1985@yahoo.com
Lauren worked with faculty mentor Jochen Schenk studying differences in drought tolerance and embolism repair in two closely related Salvia species at Black Starr Canyon, Orange County, CA..
Lauren presented results of the summer field course research on the effects of a road on the productivity of creosote bush in the Mojave desert as a poster at 2006 SACNAS conference in Tampa, FL. Lauren worked at the Petrified Forest National Park during the summer of 2008. She received the best poster in plant biology award at the 2008 annual SACNAS conference in Salt Lake City, UT for her independent research. Lauren is currently preparing for graduate school.