Breadcrumb
Achievements
Find out what our students, faculty, and staff are being recognized for.
Brian Tissot, Sean Craig
Biological Sciences
Drs. Brian Tissot and Sean Craig received funding to continue ongoing monitoring research in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the California coastline. MPAs are regions designated and managed for the long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystems services, or cultural heritage. Specifically, he and his team are looking at underwater kelp forests, collecting ecological and environmental data that will inform the evaluation and adaptive management of California’s network of MPAs. The project includes collaborators from UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, and Occidental College. Funding comes as a subaward from UC Santa Cruz, with the primary funder being California Sea Grant.
Dr. Oscar Vargas
Biological Sciences
Dr. Oscar Vargas collaborated in the assemblage and annotation of a spiral ginger genome. Authors sequenced the nuclear genome of two species of plants in the family Costaceae. The study provides a draft annotation for the genome by mapping the transcriptome (RNA, expressed DNA) of one species to its draft genome. This study provides useful genetic resources for the study of non-model organisms. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esad018
Dr. Oscar Vargas
Biological Sciences
Dr. Oscar Vargas collaborated in the description of a new species of spiral gingers from the mountains of Costa Rica. The paper examines the possible causes of speciation by comparing the genetics and climate preference of the new species to its closest relative. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364423X16758877666039
Silvia Pavan
Biological Sciences
Dr. Silvia Pavan received a grant from the National Science Foundation to implement a project that will digitize and georeference Cal Poly Humboldt’s mammal collection. The project will be part of a collaborative effort under the Ranges Thematic Collections Network (Ranges TCN), an initiative lead by the University of North Carolina, to digitize and mobilize trait data from mammalian museum specimens from across the American West, including standard external morphological measurements, reproductive and life history observations, and information on ecological associations. Resulting trait datasets will support next-generation anatomical and evolutionary research, and provide baselines for future population monitoring efforts.
Erik S. Jules
Biological Sciences
Erik Jules (Biological Sciences) published a paper with ten Humboldt student co-authors in the American Journal of Botany (doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16112). The study -- titled "Genotype accounts for intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of life cycle events" -- was an experimental study of willows covering an area approximately the size of a football field. The results showed that the timing of key life events, such as leaf emergence, flowering, and fruit set, are all heritable traits, indicating that natural selection could favor some individuals under changing climate conditions. Of the ten students, six went onto graduate school after leaving Humboldt.
Pedro Peloso
Biological Sciences
Research Associate Dr. Pedro Peloso and collaborators have discovered and described a new species of frog from South America (Brazil and French Guiana). They revealed this discovery in a paper titled "A new Chiasmocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the eastern Guiana Shield with an amended definition of C. haddadi", published in the Journal Zootaxa.
Dr. Oscar M. Vargas-Hernandez
Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor Dr. Oscar Vargas and collaborators published a paper titled "Evolutionary history constrains heat tolerance of native and exotic tropical Zingiberales." The paper studies the thermal tolerance of native and wild gingers in Costa Rica, discussing its implications to conservation and the biology of invasive species.
Pedro Peloso and Brandice Guerra
Biological Sciences
Dr. Pedro Peloso and Brandice Guerra, M.F.A., received a $10,000 grant from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation to support a scientific illustration residency program at Cal Poly Humboldt. The program will recruit a student or recent graduate from anywhere in the world to work with faculty from the departments of Art+Film and Biology. The intern will create a series of illustrations of recently extinct Brazilian frogs, and share their work and artistic process through a lecture or exhibition on campus.
Matthew D Johnson, Amy Sprowles, Steven Margel, Kat Goldenberg, Raven Palomera
Biological Sciences
Matt Johnson, Amy Sprowles, Steven Margell, Kat Goldenberg, and Raven Palomera recently published a paper entitled, “Impact of a first‑year place‑based learning community on STEM students’ academic achievement in their second, third, and fourth years” in the journal Innovative Higher Education. The paper reports the effects of the first three cohorts of the Klamath Connection PBLC made possible by contributions from all across the university and funding from the campus’s HSI STEM grant from the US Dept of Education.
Melody Tew, Nicole Rahman-Garnier, Jordyn Neal
Biological Sciences
Several Cal Poly Humboldt students were recognized at the annual conference for the American Society of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists.
Biology Graduate Student Melody Tew received the Raney and Hubbs awards and presented her research on the developmental origins of White Sturgeon scales.
Biology Graduate Student Nicole Rahman-Garnier received the Cashner and Raney awards and presented her research on the olfactory (scent-sensing) anatomy of local Rainbow Trout.
Recent Marine Biology graduate Jordyn Neal received the Clark Hubbs award and presented her research on the comparative anatomy of the skulls and inner ears of sharks, using high-resolution CT scanning.