Author: smcarlson

Dr. Parsa Saffarinia is a new postdoc in the #BerkeleyFreshwater labs, and will be co-advised by Stephanie and Albert. Parsa was an undergraduate at Cal and we’re thrilled to welcome him back and to have a chance to work together on longfin smelt dynamics together with our research partner, Dr. Jim Hobbs, at CDFW!

Hana Moidu defended her dissertation today (!) on: “Never the same river twice: On the causes and consequences of intermittent stream drying across space and time”. Hana was the first co-advised student in our growing #BerkeleyFreshwater multi-lab! Here she is with her proud PIs.

Our #BerkeleyFreshwater team came together today for our fall retreat, which included a mix of life updates, science, visioning, and re-connecting after the summer field season. A highlight was learning from biologists with the East Bay Regional Park District about monitoring aquatic habitats in the 74 #EastBayRegionalParks. Fun & important conversations with a great group!

Thrilled to wrap up our first experiment of the MacLIFE International Laboratories effort, led by Dr. Charlotte Evangelista together with collaborators Mat Buoro from INRAE and Albert Ruhi and Kyle Leathers from the #BerkeleyFreshwater group. We used the experimental stream system at SNARL and manipulated flows to explore how early snowmelt influences insect emergence and top-down control by brown trout.

You can learn more about Hana Moidu’s first dissertation chapter at her new California Water Blog post “Between a rock and a dry place: effects of drought on stream drying patterns in California’s intermittent streams”

Mariska Obedzinski is a new grad student in the #BerkeleyFreshwater group, and will be co-advised by Ted and Stephanie. Mariska is a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist and has been leading a large-scale monitoring effort focused on endangered coho salmon in the Russian River. Mariska’s dissertation work will leverage the long-term monitoring data to explore the influence of hydroclimatic variation on coho distribution and abundance across years with different rainfall patterns.

Several members of the Carlson Lab provided leadership in organizing the 2021 Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes conference, together with partners at UCSC. It was a ton of work but also a ton of fun, and we heard about a lot of great science through the presentations and small group discussions. Thank you to Kasey, Rachael, and Emily for helping make the conference a resounding success!

Amy Fingerle is a new grad student in the #BerkeleyFreshwater group, and will be co-advised by Stephanie and Ted. Before starting graduate school, Amy worked for the Salmon River Restoration Council. Amy dissertation research will focus on identifying spring Chinook strongholds in the Salmon River and strategies for conserving spring Chinook in the Salmon River and beyond.

Dr. Denise Colombano is a new postdoc in the #BerkeleyFreshwater group, and will be co-advised by Stephanie and Albert. Denise received a Delta Science Postdoctoral Fellowship to explore fish community responses to variable climate regimes, flows, and habitats along an estuarine gradient. Welcome, Denise!