Coastal Ecology and Conservation Lab

CECL had a productive summer continuing our surveys of withing the seagrass (Zostera marina) meadow of Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro CA. This was our third summer of monitoring which includes assessing: shoot density, presence of seagrass associated organisms, and analysis of carbon stored in seagrass sediments. LMU students were funded by the Seaver Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR), Coastal Research Institute (CRI), and Summer Undergraduate Research programs.

Group photo L to R: Dr. Shayna Sura (Environmental Science), Georgie (baby), Dr. Sarah Joy Bittick (Biology, CRI), Kirra Engbrecht (Biology Major, SOAR), Stephen Cummings (Environmental Science Major, CRI), Logan Nguyen (Biology Major, SURP), Casey Curtis (Environmental Science Major, CRI), and Olivia Schafer (Environmental Science Major).

Congratulations to our 2025 graduates! From left to right: Samantha Daniels, Tessa Devine, Mia Vafadari, and Sophie Henkenmeier. I know you will all go on to do great things!

CECL’s first student led paper was published recently in PeerJ! Congrats to co-authors Hannah Lyford (LMU grad ’20, UCSB), Emma Guerrini Romano (LMU grad ’24, UW), and Shayna Sura (NCEAS UCSB, Environmental Science LMU).

Lyford HR, Guerrini Romano E, Sura SA, Bittick SJ. 2025. Understanding trends in Zostera research, stressors, and response variables: a global systematic review of the seagrass genus. PeerJ 13:e19209 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19209

During March and April 2025, CECL seniors presented at three different conferences: the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium, the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (held at CSU San Marcos), and the Southern California Academy of Sciences meeting (at UC Irvine). Congrats to Sammi Daniels, Tessa Devine, Sophie Henkenmeier, and Andrea Klishevich! They all did a wonderful job presenting their Capstone Research.

(Left) Andrea, Tessa, and Sammi at SCAS 2025 (Right) Sophie and Sarah Joy at WCBSURC.

In collaboration with partners from the Hakai Institute, McGill University, and many other US and Canadian partners, CECL participates in the Pacific eDNA Coastal Observatory (PECO) project (https://peco-project.weebly.com/) each summer. Project collaborators along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Baja California sample seagrass habitats yearly to assess fish biodiversity using environmental DNA. CECL is the regional hub for LA and Orange counties and students are actively collecting samples!

5 students, Dr. Bittick, and little George participated in the Coastal Research Institute summer internship program. The lab surveyed seagrass (Zostera marina) meadows and sediment characteristics in San Pedro Marsh.

Another cohort of lab members graduated from LMU on May 4, 2024!

A team of 6 CECL students participated in field and lab work this summer with funding through LMU and Seaver College programs for undergraduate research.

Top Photo: L to R Tessa Devine, Anna LaGuardia, Emma Guerrini Romano, and Andrea Klishevich standing next to their posters presentations as a part of the Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) and Coastal Research Institute (CRI) summer research programs. Not pictured: Nolan Abi-Hanna who participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP).

Middle Photo: Emma Guerrini Romano happily holding a sediment sample from San Pedro Marsh.

Bottom Photo: L to R Tessa Devine and Sarah O’Riordan sampling seagrass density in San Pedro Marsh using transect line and quadrat method.

Congrats CECL members Lo Quesada, Carolina Salcedo, Suraj Patel , Ahmad Mersaghian, and Sadie Kenny (not pictured) on their epic graduation from Biology at LMU. These seniors are the cohort Dr. Bittick started these first four crazy years of a faculty position with! Also pictured is Emma Guerrini Romano (c/o 2024, bottom right).