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New paper out in titled “Burrowing crabs and physical factors hasten marsh recovery at panne edges” —this two-year study tracked in salt marshes. This research helped improved our understanding of West Coast salt panne dynamics, which have been named by others as the “Achilles heel of marsh resilience”. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249330

Big news!!!! I am thrilled to share that, effective January 1, 2022, I will be joining as an Assistant Researcher in the Marine Science Institute working with the incredible team running the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Mitigation Monitoring Program. My time will be split between both and mitigation projects—my dream job, I can’t wait to get started! 😆

One last thing! I couldn’t be more appreciative to and for this past year. My experience as a California Sea Grant State Fellow at OPC helped propel me forward into this next phase of my career, and for that (and many other reasons) I am forever grateful.

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"Nothing to see here! Just making Swiss cheese 🧀 of this salt marsh" --Lined Shore Crab 🦀

This little crustacean, native to Pacific coastlines, may look unassuming...but like the wizard behind the curtain in Oz, he (and ZILLIONS of his kin) are actually running the show in West Coast salt marshes! 💪

A recent study from CA's Elkhorn Slough found that between pockmarking the salt marsh with their burrows 🕳️🕳️🕳️ and munching on the roots of salt marsh plants, these little crabs have BIG effects on the vegetation and soil. More crabs ➡️ fewer plants and less solid, more porous substrate 🧽

Why does this matter? Think about this: How well do you think a thinly-vegetated marsh growing on sponge-y soil will fare under climate change? 🌊🌱

Check out the study here: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3703

📸 by Kathryn Beheshti ()