Research Scholarships Past Recipients

2022
1st place -Jordan Sims- Ph.D (George Mason University), Comparing genotypic diversity of two coral restoration programs to wild populations in Roatán, Honduras
2nd place - Yifan Li - Ph.D (Pennsylvania State University), Assessing microbiome influences on coral stress tolerance on a highly polluted, turbid Caribbean reef

1st place - Cheyne Springbett - Masters (Walla Walla University), Digging in: an investigation of burrowing behavior in Muusoctopus leioderma
2nd place -  Keenan Guillas - Masters (San Jose State University), The behaviour and energetics of demosponges in response to suspended sediments



2021
1st place -Aurora Giorgi - Ph.D (The University of Alabama), Settlement preferences of Porites astreoides larvae in response to crustose coralline algae and their surface bacterial community
2nd place - Mohammad Sedarat - Ph.D (Scripps Institute of Oceanography), Development of a kelp recovery program at SIO: design, establishment and implementation of research

1st place - Melissa Gutterman - Masters (California State University, Northridge), Management-based differences in the dietary niches of California reef fishes
2nd place -  Ashley Carrerio - Masters (Florida Atlantic University), Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)
 

2020
1st place - Kira Turnham - Ph.D (Penn State University), Examining thermal tolerance in Palauan coral reefs
2nd place - Bobbi Renfro - Ph.D (Florida State University), The Effects of Anthropogenic Nutrient Enrichment on Coral Reef Sponges
Honorable Mention - Ethan Cissell (Florida State University)

1st place - William Nassif - Masters (East Carolina University), Documenting World War II-era submerged archaeological sites in the lagoon at Kwajalein Atoll (Republic of the Marshall Islands)
2nd place -  Nika Blank - Masters (Florida State University), Investigating Latitudinal Changes in Hardbottom Communities of the West Florida Shelf
Honorable Mention - Bryant Grady (Arizona State University)
 
2019
1st place - Gabriele Keeler-May - Ph.D (University of Otago), Distribution and analysis of Undaria pinnatifida haplotypes in New Zealand harbors and a control project to assess effects of large-scale removal on native kelp communities.
2nd place - Katelyn Gould - Ph.D (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Coral Restoration Transplantation and Conservation Genetics Approach: Implications for Orbicella annularis in the Florida Keys
Honorable Mention - Joseph Klein - Ph.D (University of California, Santa Cruz)

1st place - Max Liebergesell - Masters (San Diego State University), Investigating predation on purple urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) within kelp forests and urchin barrens
2nd place - Demetra Panos - Masters ( California State University, Northridge), Community contribution to benthic biogeochemical variability in kelp forests
Honorable Mention - Rachel Best (Florida State University)
Honorable Mention - Liv Wheeler (University of Hawaii)

2018
1st place -  Austin Greene - Ph.D (University of Hawaii,  Manoa/HIMB). Predation on coral recruits differs among species and across depth gradients, driving differences in community structure between shallow and mesophotic coral reefs.
2nd place - Marta Gómez-Buckley - Ph.D (University of Washington). Assessing biodiversity, community structure, and reef connectivity of cryptic coral reef fishes in two central south Pacific archipelagos
Honorable Mention - Katelyn Gould - Ph.D (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
1st place -  Billie Beckley - Masters (San Diego State University). The mechanisms leading to recruitment inhibition of Macrocystis pyrifera by the understory alga, Desmarestia herbacea
2nd place - Danielle Becker - Mastes (California State University, Northridge). Investigating the effects of local stressors on the life cycle of a brooding coral, Pocillopora acuta, in Maunalua Bay, Hawai‘i'
Honorable Mention - Karli Hollister - Masters (University of the Virgin Islands)
Honorable Mention - Kathryn Scafidi - Masters (California State University, Northridge)

2017

1st place -Amelia K. Weiss - Ph.D. (Cornell University). Resource stability and chemosynthesis in underwater cave communities.
2nd place -Kathryn Lesneski - Ph.D. (Boston University). Identifying heat-stress/bleaching resistant colonies of the endangered staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) in Turneffe Atoll, Belize for active restoration projects.

1st place -George Jarvis - Masters (California State University Northridge). Evaluating the effects of predation risk on prey reproduction
2nd place -Tracie Grimes - Masters (San Diego State University). Assessing the potential impact of southern sea otter predation on juvenile Dungeness crab in California estuaries.

2016
1st place - Corinne Fuchs - Ph.D. (University of California, Santa Barbara).  Effects of a nutrient loading gradient and size-selective fishing on coral reef resilience.
2nd place - Jacquelyn Cresswell - Ph.D. (Texas A&M University Galveston). Modern ecology and primary succession of benthic foraminifera in Bermuda’s underwater caves.

1st place -  Madelyn Roycroft - Masters (California Polytechnic State). Investigating the Impacts of Overfishing on Parrotfish Feeding Behavior in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
2nd place - Claire Spitzer - Masters (San Diego State University). Parasite-Mediated Predator-Prey Interactions in California Coastal Fishes.

2015
1st place - Amalia Harrington - Ph.D. (University of Maine) Impacts of abrupt climate change on the American lobster: using diver-based experiments to explore local adaptations to predation risk across New England
2nd place - Chelsea Counsell - Ph.D. (University of Hawaii Manoa) Spatial patterns in biodiversity of semi-cryptic reef communities

1st place - Miranda Brett - Masters (San Diego State University) The consumptive and non-consumptive effects of a microcarnivorous fish, a kelp-grazing limpet, and the feather boa kelp, Egregia menziessi in a tri-trophic interaction
2nd place - Genoa Sullaway - Masters (San Diego State University) Assessing the consequences of an invasive marine alga on ecosystem functioning

2014
1st place - Marissa D. McMahan- Ph.D. (Northeastern University) Ecological implications of a northern range expansion of black sea bass, Centropristis striata
2nd place - Allison Tracy - Ph.D. (Cornell University) An old battle on a new stage: The consequences of environmental change for coral disease

1st place - Caitlin Hanley - Masters (Florida Atlantic University) Biodiversity of Micro Benthos on Natural and Artificial Reefs off Southeastern Florida
2nd place - Katie Davis - Masters (University of California, Santa Barbara) A comparative study of parrotfish movement and indirect effects of fishing on spatial patterns of foraging in Chlorurus sordidus

2013
1st place - Lillian Tuttle -Ph.D. (Oregon State University) Effects of the invasive Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans) on native Atlantic goby cleaning mutualisms.
2nd place- Darcey Bradley -Ph.D. (UC Santa Barbara) Incorporating behavior into an estimate of reef shark population abundance at a pristine coral reef.

1st place - Scott Gabara - Masters (Moss Landing Marine Labs) Drift kelp retention, habitat complexity, and macroinvertebrate species richness of coralline agal rhodolith beds at Santa Catalina Island, CA.
2nd place- Danielle Claar -Masters  (University of Hawaii) Macroecology of microorganisms: Symbiodinium diversity across a gradient of anthropogenic stress and implications for coral reef resilience.

2012
1st place - Julia L. Stevens -Ph.D (University of Alabama) Disease resistance of an invasive species: testing lionfish mucus and associated bacterial communities for pathogen inhibition.
2nd place - Jennifer Hellmann -Ph.D (The Ohio State University) Social networking and spatial structure within colonies of a cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher.

1st place - Alexander B. Modys - Masters (Florida Atlantic University) Morphology and Paleoecology of the Northernmost Holocene Coral Reef in North America: Implications on the Decline of South Florida’s Coral Reefs
2nd place - Katie Sievers- Masters (San Diego State University) Influence of Abiotic and Biotic Habitat Structure on Reef Fish Assemblages in a Temperate Coastal Ecosystem

2011
1st place - Ryan Jenkinson - Ph.D. (San Diego State University)  Biogeographical variation in trophic interactions on temperate reefs of the Southern California Bight.
2nd place -  Ashlee Lillis - Ph.D. (North Carolina State University)  Can you hear me now? Habitat-associated sound as a larval settlement cue for estuarine benthic invertebrates.

1st place - Thomas TinHan - Masters (California State University, Long Beach)  Long-term horizontal and vertical movement patterns of yellow snapper (Lutjanus argentiventris) and leopard grouper (Mycteroperca rosacea) at the Los Islotes reserve, Gulf of California.
2nd place - Michael Fox - Masters (Moss Landing Marine Laboratories)  Effects of oceanographic climate on growth and resource physiology of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, in a central California kelp forest.

2010
1st place - Aaron Galloway -Ph.D. (Friday Harbor Laboratories and School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington)  Subsidy of macroalgal derived essential fatty acids to subtidal food webs: molecular characterization of source material and aging effects.
2nd place - Kimberly Tenggardjaja -Ph.D (Long Marine Lab, University of California Santa Cruz) A Genetic Comparison of Endemic and Non-Endemic Damselfishes in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

1st place - Scott Toews -Masters (Division of Science and Environmental Policy, California State University Monterey Bay) Linking habitat heterogeneity to genetic partitioning in the rocky subtidal using black surfperch (Embiotoca jacksoni).
2nd place - Tania Eskin -Masters (Three Seas Professional Masters in Marine Science Program at Northeastern University) Assessing the effects of chronic and acute exposure to ship noise on plasma cortisol levels in the lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus.

2009
1st place - Lauren Garske - Ph.D. - (Bodega Marine Lab, University of California, Davis) Integrating oceanographic, chemical and ecological processes to identify 'zones of impact' for runoff in coastal waters.
2nd place - Katherine Grablow - Ph.D. (Department of Biology,  University of Central Florida) Recruitment and dispersal of the long-spined urchin, Diadema antillarum. Note:  K. Grablow declined the scholarship.  
2nd place - Robin Elahi - Ph.D. (University of Washinton, Friday Harbor Labs) Identifying ecological and phylogenetic factors underlying the distribution of exotic tunicates in the subtidal rocky habitats of Washington.

1st place - Alecia Adamson - Masters - (Fisheries and Aquatics Sciences, University of Florida) Do sanctuary preservation areas provide hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) significant protection against exploitation?
2nd place - Arley Muth - Masters (Moss Landing Marine Lab) - Substrate rugosity effects on kelp spore aggregation and fertilization success.

2008
1st place - Zy Biesinger - Ph.D (Dept of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida) Linking gag grouper performance to habitat and density.
2nd place - Mary Hart - Ph.D (Dept of Biology, University of Kentucky) Environmental effects on mating strategy in a simultaneously hermaphroditic fish.

1st place - Bonnie Rogers - Masters (California State University Long Beach) The effects of fishing-related barotrauma on the visual acuity of black-and-yellow rockfish (Sebastes crysomelas).
2nd place - Joshua Copus - Masters (Northern Arizona University) Population Structure of Chaetodon trichrous: Does genetic differentiation exist?

2007
Suzanne Arnold -Ph.D. - (U. of Maine;Department of Oceanography, Marine Biology and Marine Policy) Coral Recruitment in the gardens of good and evil: a regional look at the role of herbivory (Bonaire and Belize).
Kendra Karr  - Masters -(UC, Santa Cruz;Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) Ecological role of Macrocystis pyrifera canopy for kelp forest community dynamics (Northern California).

2006
Jodi Pirtle: - Ph.D. - The Influence of Living Habitat in Structuring Nearshore Fish and Invertebrate Communities in Southeast Alaska.
Karl Mueller: - Masters - Shelter Competition Between Native Signal Crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) and Invasive Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkia (Girard, 1852) in Pine Lake, Washington, USA: The Role of Size and Sex.

2005
Nicole Fogarty: Florida State University, Ph.D.  Primary: The Significance of Hybridization in Depauperate Caribbean Acropora Populations.
Dan Warren: University of California, Davis, Ph.D.  Secondary: Ecological Speciation and Gamete Compatibility in Caribbean Wrasses.
Cyndi Dawson: Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Masters  Primary: Movements, Habitat Use, and Seasonal Abundance of the Prickly Shark, Echinorhinus cookiei, in the Vicinity of the Monterey Submarine Canyon.
Joshua Bouma: University of Washington, Masters - Secondary Juvenile Recruitment Dynamics of the Pinto Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) in the San Juan Islands, Washington State.

2004
Luis Vinueza, Oregon State University  Ph.D. Bottom Up and Top Down, Factors in the Regulation of Rocky Shore Communities in the Galapagos Islands: Implications for Marine reserve design and conservation
Andrew Weispfenning, Western Washington University  Masters Assessment of Nearshore Bottom Fishes and Rocky Reef Habitat within Eight Candidate Marine Reserves in Skagit County, Washington.

2003
Chad McNutt- Ph.D.(University of Houston) Population Genetic Structure and Connectivity of Montastraea faveolata Across the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
James Dimond -Masters (University of Rhode Island) A field investigation of facultative symbiosis in the temperate coral Astrangia poculata.

2002
Kerri Scolardi - Masters (University of South Florida) Distribution, Abundance and Predatory Impact of Atlantic Ctenophores.
Peter B. McIntyre- Ph.D. (Cornell University)  Tropic ecology of benthic herbivores in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa.

2001
Salvador Jorgensen - Masters (University of California, Davis ) Pelagic fish assemblages: Implications for Marine Reserve Design.
Irene Tetreault Beers-Ph.D. (University of California, Los Angeles)  A test of the spillover effect from no-take marine reserves using California Sheepshead in Southern California.

2000
Robin Willoughby- Ph.D. (Florida Institute of Technology) Stress Induced Gene Expression in Marine Sponges.

1999
Mathew Edwards-Ph.D. (University of California at Santa Cruz)  The impact of the 1997-98 El Nino on coastal marine ecosystems of California and Mexico.

1998
Diana Stellar -Ph.D. (University of California, Santa Cruz)  Importance of rhodolith beds as shellfish recruitment habitat for the catarina scallop, Argopecten ventricosus, along the coasts of Baja California peninsula, Mexico.

1997
Helen Fox (University of California, Berkeley) Coral Reef Rehabilitation in Komodo National Park, Indonesia.

1996
Rebecca Beavers -Ph.D. (Duke University Marine Laboratory) Documenting Storm Sedimentation with Diver-Collected boxcores and Acoustic Altimeters Offshore of Duck, NC.