Anchovy vs Jellyfish – The Battle for Supremacy in the California Current
Mentors & Lab: Dan Palance, Dr. Roxanne Beltran, & Dr. Elliott Hazen–Beltran Lab
Positions: 1 intern
Tentative dates: 6/23/25 – 8/29/25 (note at sea opportunity is before these dates)
Project Location: UCSC Coastal Campus
Project Background: The California Current is undergoing rapid changes as climate change intensifies. Among these is the composition of the forage community which many top predators including marine mammals, sea turtles, and larger predatory fish rely on when they visit the region each year. With warming waters, gelatinous species such as the Pacific sea nettle, a large jellyfish, and pyrosomes, a colonial tunicate, have seen unprecedented explosions in abundance. Prior research has suggested these gelatinous species may directly compete for resources with similar trophic level species such as Northern anchovy, a primary prey species for many predators, in turn modifying energy flow through the food web. Anchovy are a far more nutritious food for these predators, therefore the shift toward a more gelatinous community may affect where predators can be found along the coast as they search for food and may affect their overall health. The intern will use existing species distribution models (SDMs) for gelatinous prey species (either one or both species listed earlier) and northern anchovy projected out to 2100 on a daily time scale to predict potential changes in the distribution of key forage species and their overlap in the California Current. In addition to graduate student mentorship, the intern will also be connected with an international team of experts composed of post-docs, project scientists, and lead researchers from NOAA, CSIRO, EDF, and UCSC to understand the ecology of the species examined and methods underlying the habitat models. Prior to the start of the CAMINO program, and as long as ship capacity allows, the intern will have the opportunity to sail on a NOAA ship for up to 2 weeks during the Juvenile Rockfish Survey in May-June to gain an understanding of how the data for the models is collected and partake in science at sea. International students are welcome to apply, though it will require a bit more administrative work and some uncertainty in the ability of the student to participate in the NOAA ship survey and enter NOAA facilities.
Intern duties: The intern will primarily be working at the Coastal Science Campus with the graduate student mentor using R software to analyze over 100 years of projected habitat suitability data for northern anchovy and pacific sea nettle/pyrosomes. This analysis will include examining species distributions and their overlap over different temporal and spatial scales and climate scenarios. To do so, the intern will be plotting data in time series and map form, employing creative thinking to come up with ecologically meaningful analyses. The intern will also join regular meetings with collaborators from several institutions including NOAA, CSIRO, EDF, and UCSC several times throughout the internship to present their progress, discuss findings, and receive feedback and guidance on how to proceed forward. At sea, the intern will work night shifts of up to 12 hours from sunset to sunrise processing the catch from nightly trawls to include identifying and sorting catch by species and counting individuals, standing mammal watch on the ship’s bridge while the net is out, and learning how to conduct marine mammal and seabird observations during the day. In addition, the intern will be able to interact with various members of the ship’s crew and scientific party including NOAA Corps officers, civilian wage mariners, and federal, state, academic, and private research fisheries biologists. The intern is not expected to have prior experience at sea and will be trained on the job for this portion of work.
Intern qualifications: While there are no specific requirements, we prefer someone familiar with R and the tidyverse package (ggplot and dplyr specifically). The ability to work collaboratively with a diverse team, think creatively, and the desire to continue on as a senior thesis student within the Beltran lab for the following year are all very desirable. Because of this, we would prefer a 3rd year student given the graduate student mentor’s anticipated graduation date and senior thesis timeline for the intern. Sea sickness is a common ailment for many peoples’ first voyage, and medications and medical professionals are readily available on NOAA vessels to alleviate it, so this should not be a drawback to participating in at sea work.
Do you recommend the intern(s) volunteer in your lab during Spring quarter?
Not necessary and not advisable for this project except for sailing on a NOAA ship if desired.