PEOPLE
Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Packard Fellow in Science and Engineering
Sloan Fellow in Ocean Sciences
UC President's & UC Alianza MX Postdoctoral Fellow
I am a physiological ecologist interested in understanding how changing environmental conditions drive alterations in individual physiological responses that scale to influence higher-level ecological processes. My current research utilizes an integrative approach to investigate how physiological responses of red abalone change under ocean acidification, accelerated ocean warming, and marine heatwaves by leveraging collaborative efforts with aquaculture farmers, conservation experts, and international collaborators to inform critical management questions on adaptive physiological mechanisms. My research focuses on uncovering physiological mechanisms that are vital to understanding the vulnerability and resilience of ecosystem function and services that we as humans rely on within a changing ocean.
https://racinerangel.wixsite.com/racinerangel
Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
Hello! I'm Karolina Zabinski and am currently a postdoctoral researcher under the joint mentorship of Drs. Kathleen Kay, Kristy Kroeker and Ingrid Parker at UC Santa Cruz. Here, I study how microbial communities contribute to ecological regime shifts and what this means for ecosystem functioning as well as conservation. Before coming to UC Santa Cruz, I earned my Ph.D. in Population Biology from UC Davis under the advisement of Dr. Jay Stachowicz where I studied the microbial contributions to intraspecific variation, particularly in changing environments. To learn more about my research, check out my website here:
https://sites.google.com/view/karolinazabinski?usp=sharing
PhD Candidate, Shapiro/Kroeker Lab
I am a fourth year PhD student co-advised by Beth Shapiro and Kristy Kroeker. I study the ancient mammoth steppe ecosystem of Ice Age Alaska and Yukon using sedimentary ancient DNA (aDNA). My research focuses on ecological and genetic response to disturbance, community reconstruction of the Bering Land Bridge, and the impact of paleoclimate and habitat on animal distributions.
PhD candidate
I am a fifth year PhD student interested in the ecology underlying transitions between kelp forests and urchin barrens. My research focuses on tools for the protection and restoration of kelp forest habitat. I have a designated emphasis in the Coastal Science and Policy program, and hope that my work contributes to actionable solutions in the management and/or policy space.
PhD candidate
I’m a 5th year PhD candidate who’s interested in studying how environmental change alter key species interactions in kelp forest ecosystems. More specifically, I’m interested in purple sea urchin grazing and how that may change with environmental factors such as pH, temperature, oxygen, and nutrients. In addition to these projects I am interested in understanding the effects of introductory SCUBA experiences in major retention. I’m hoping that my research will contribute to kelp forest restoration efforts and provide information as to what we can do as educators to create safe spaces and opportunities for students to be curious and be challenged while feeling supported and seen.
PhD canidate
I am a 4th year PhD candidate and interested in understanding how ecological change impacts coastal communities in Southeastern Alaska. More specifically, I aim to understand how culturally-important species, like pinto abalone, might respond to global environmental change, as mediated through host-parasite interactions and ecosystem resource availability (e.g., macroalgae). In turn, I am interested in assessing the social and cultural benefits people derive from their local kelp forest and how these benefits and services contribute to peoples' well-being.
PhD Student
I am a third year PhD student. Some of my previous work focused on how storms change coral reef dynamics and how ocean acidification affects juvenile Dungeness crab behavior and fatty acid tissue composition. For future research I am interested in how mismatches in thermal tolerances between warm adapted predators and cold adapted prey effect their interactions strengths under warm ocean conditions.I am a NAUI Instructor and a member of the ACCESS SCUBA team at UCSC. We provide free Introduction to SCUBA courses to undergrads and are building a strong community to help breakdown the barriers to diving.
PhD student
I am a third year PhD student. I have been involved in Marine Sciences, particularly benthic ecology, for nearly twenty years. My masters work focused on Aleutian Island Kelp forest community dynamics. For my PhD, I am furthering this work by digging deeper into kelp forest communities of Southeast Alaska. My aim is to not only identify change, but also identify the drivers of that change and how it might differentially impact species or individuals within a species.
PhD Student
I am a first year PhD student with a background in kelp and coral restoration. I recently finished a year-long travel fellowship as the 2024 Our World-Underwater North American Scholar focused scientific diving and co-creating conservation solutions with coastal communities. I am broadly interested in restoration ecology and exploring how active restoration can be effective and scaled to support kelp forest conservation.
