Rasmuson Fellows 2009 Award Recipients

•Patrick Lane, M.S. Marine Biology
Advisor: Brenda Konar

•Terril Efird, M.S. Marine Biology
Advisor: Brenda Konar

Terril Efird is working towards his M.S. in Marine Biology. His research is focused on how nearshore fishes stratify in kelp forest habitats. Specifically, how the size and algal composition of a kelp forest effects the fish species found there. Terril has worked in kelp forests for many years. While obtaining his B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz he worked on several projects as a research diver that motivated him to pursue his field of study. Seeing the fish biodiversity that these highly productive ecosystems can support inspired Terril to investigate what habitat characteristics enabled this diversity and resource partitioning. Terril grew up in Oakhurst, California, a small community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's. He is now firmly planted here in Alaska where his enthusiasm for marine ecology and exciting field work is joined with the supportive faculty and research facilities that drew him to UAF.

Christy Gleason

•Christy Gleason, M.S. Oceanography
Advisor: Brenda Norcross

Christine Gleason is a M.S. student focusing on Fisheries Oceanography at UAF. She graduated from UAF with a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and has worked throughout Alaskan and Russian waters doing fisheries fieldwork. Her thesis title is Otolith chemistry of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and Arctic staghorn sculpin (Gymnocanthus tricuspis) in the Chukchi Sea. The Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea to the Arctic Ocean which supports forage fish for apex predators. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and Arctic staghorn sculpin (Gymnocanthus tricuspis) are the dominant forage fish, though their geographic distribution and movement within the Chukchi Sea is understudied. Her research focuses on the application of otolith chemistry as tool to learn about Arctic marine fish.

Elena Fernandez

•Elena Fernandez, M.S. Oceanography
Advisor: Jeremy Mathis

My interest in marine organisms' physiological response to ocean acidification started with a few college courses, and was reaffirmed with a Research Experience for Undergraduates fellowship at University of Alaska Southeast with Dr. Sherry Tamone. In the UAS REU program, I focused on the metabolic response, both in terms of standard metabolic rate and enzyme activity, of lyre crabs (Hyas lyratus) to ocean acidification. This interdisciplinary approach to looking at a problem fascinated me, and my developing curiosity in commercially harvested species was combined with my wide variety of existing interests: resource sustainability, physiological ecology, classical physiological techniques, marine biology, and nature's chemical cycles.

After finishing a B.A. in Biology at Kenyon College (Ohio), I knew that I had to be back in Alaska. I was accepted to UAF's Oceanography program in the fall of 2008, and plans were developed to take my REU project one step further. Working in collaboration with Dr. Jeremy Mathis (UAF) and Dr. Tom Hurst (NOAA) at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, I will study the effects of ocean acidification on larval and juvenile walleye Pollock. An interdisciplinary approach is at the heart of the project: simulating an oceanographic phenomenon and studying the resulting physiological parameters of growth, stress, and metabolism in this commercially fished species. This novel series of incubations and experiments will provide a snapshot of how these organisms will respond to changing ocean conditions on various levels. These results should also provide a glimpse as to the fate of this multi-billion dollar industry in response to the projected changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Laurinda Marcello

•Laurinda Marcello, M.S. Fisheries
Advisor: Franz Mueter

Laurinda Marcello is pursuing a M.S. in fisheries at UAF in Juneau. Her thesis is entitled "Effects of Climate Variability and Fishing on Gadid-Crustacean Interactions in Subarctic Ecosystems." In order to identify the most important factors regulating interactions between gadoids and crustaceans and their population dynamics, she is conducting comparative analyses within and among a number of subarctic ecosystems. Before coming to UAF, she completed her undergraduate degree at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, receiving a B.A. in biology with a minor in mathematics. Laurinda spent her childhood in Sitka, one of Alaska's most important commercial fishing ports, and chose to return to her home state for her graduate education.