During the summers of 2024 and 2025, I worked with Dr. Erin de Leon Sanchez, Dr. Gretchen Hofmann, and local science teachers at the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER at UCSB. The Hofmann Lab was studying the effects of marine heat waves on the kelp forest, and Erin’s project focused on acclimation of sea urchins in warmer waters. In 2024, we observed the feeding behaviors of sea urchins at normal and marine heat wave temperatures. The next year we determined the germination rate of kelp spores at different temperatures. During the school year, I modified procedures from UCSB and conducted similar experiments with my marine science students at Lompoc High School. My students tested whether urchins kept indoors or outdoors consumed more kelp. The students got a taste of real, locally-relevant research directly connected to the work of the Hofmann Lab at UCSB.
Read more about how Melissa has applied her experience in her Lompoc classroom in her blog post, “Returning home to California’s kelp forests.”
Melissa also developed two lesson plans based on her time with the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER, one on kelp recruitment and one on kelp deposition:
