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RemotePacific Group Members from Left to Right: Shannon Boyle, Vanessa De Anda, Monique Schafer, Kara Koenig, and Erin O'Reilly. Photo Credit: Desmond Ho
The team consists of a passionate group of graduate student researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Hailing from a unique range of environmental degrees including Marine Affairs, Environmental Biology, Environmental Science, Conservation Biology, and Marine Biology, and graduate school specializations including Coastal Marine Resources Management, Conservation Planning, and Water Resources Management, this group is determined to help protect the marine environment, and more specifically coral reef ecosystems, through their project research.
Erin is a first year MESM student specializing in Coastal Marine Resources Management with a focus in Strategic Environmental Communications and Media. She graduated from the University of Miami in 2015 with a B.A. in Marine Affairs and Ecosystem Science and Policy. During her undergraduate career, she explored the many aspects of science and management, especially those relating to marine protected areas and coastal management. She completed intensive course and field work in marine protected area management techniques and policies while studying abroad in Turks and Caicos. She also interned with Heal the Bay’s MPA Watch Program and performed over 200 beach surveys highlighting the consumptive and non-consumptive uses inside and outside marine protected areas in Southern California. In her free time Erin enjoys swimming, scuba diving, hiking, and spending time at the beach.
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Shannon is a first year MESM student specializing in Coastal Marine Resources Management with a focus on Conservation Planning. Shannon received her Bachelor’s degree in 2014 from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in Environmental Biology with minors in Applied Ecology and Wildlife Biology. For her thesis Shannon studied the impacts of water level fluctuations and hydroelectric dam operation on lake fish community structure in the Northeastern USA. After graduating from McGill, Shannon worked on removing invasive lake trout from Yellowstone Lake in efforts to restore the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Since January of 2015 she has been working with the Smithsonian Institution on investigating patterns of coral reef biodiversity across the Pacific. She continues to work on her research project with the Smithsonian investigating cryptic eukaryotic diversity associated with sessile invertebrates. Although there isn’t much of it, in her free time Shannon loves to travel, cook, and be outside as much as possible.
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Monique is a first year MESM student specializing in Conservation Planning with a focus in Strategic Environmental Communications and Media. She graduated in 2015 from Hawai‘i Pacific University with a B.S. in Environmental Science. As an undergraduate student, Monique conducted research on the economic implications and ecosystem service impacts of various invasive species in Hawai‘i. Using this information, she helped to write a portion of the State of Hawaii’s Environmental Council Annual report. She also worked on a project that involved assessing the reef health and coral species diversity around the Island of O‘ahu. Growing up in the Colorado Mountains, she developed an appreciation for open spaces and the outdoors at a young age. While studying in Hawai‘i, she fell in love with the ocean and all of its wonders. Outside of school, Monique enjoys swimming, hiking, snorkeling, yoga, and exploring the beautiful environment around her.
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Vanessa is a first year MESM student specializing in Water Resources Management. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Conservation Biology. For her senior thesis, she worked with the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation under the guidance of a faculty advisor to complete the Baseline Assessment Program of the Ballona Wetlands by determining the phytoplankton distribution and composition in the wetlands. She spent the following year serving for Americorps and working on water quality for the Knox County Stormwater Department in Tennessee. Vanessa hopes to continue working on water quality and management in the future. In her free time, Vanessa loves hiking, spending time outdoors, and going on adventures.
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Kara is a first year MESM student specializing in Coastal Marine Resources Management. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2014 with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a minor in Environmental Conservation Studies. As an undergraduate she worked as a limnology laboratory assistant where she collected freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate larvae from local New Hampshire streams and rivers, and used these collections to help create an image-based key for freshwater stream insects. She also worked as a student at Shoals Marine Laboratory off the coast of Maine where she conducted an independent project on sea turtle flippers, and was an aquarist intern at the National Aquarium prior to her senior year of college. Post bachelor’s degree she was involved in sea turtle conservation research both in Florida and Texas at Mote Marine Laboratory and Sea Turtle, Inc. In her free time Kara loves to spend time at the beach, travel, play the piano, and whip up delicious vegan food recipes.
Headline Photo Source: Kydd Pollock, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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