Highlights from the Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems II

Alumni careers

Recent job placements include two CCME alumni from University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley: 

• Sandra Leal as a physical scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Rebekah Hernandez as a NOAA contractor supporting the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Marine Spatial Ecological Division, Biogeography Branch as a video annotator.

Conference presentations

CCME II scholars and faculty members presented at several meetings this quarter, ending March 2024. 

• Seven scholars presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting: 
  • Gabriella Lirio and Tristan Lam of Florida A&M University.
  • Destyn Brooks, Daija Green, Kambrial Love, and Reneisha Sweet of Jackson State University.
  • David de la Garza of University of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
• Three scholars presented at the Gulf of Mexico Conference: 
  • Christopher Olson of Florida A&M University.
  • Sonia Duran and Jose Cisneros of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. 
• Three scholars presented at the Indian River Lagoon Symposium:
  • Imani Ford, Lakean McGregor, and Jiyahna Price of Bethune Cookman University.
• Alyssa Anzalone of California State University at Monterey Bay presented research on microplastics at the Society for Freshwater Science Conference.

Other accomplishments

• Miranda White, a CCME II scholar at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, received first place for the best student oral presentation at the American Meteorological Society meeting. She was also featured in a local TV story for her work on artificial intelligence for marine science.
• Erin Easton, Ph.D., a faculty member at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, hosted a virtual “ship to shore” experience for CCME II in partnership with Schmidt Ocean Institute.
• Newly published Center peer-reviewed journal articles:
  • Contribution of the wind and Loop Current eddies to the circulation in the western Gulf of Mexico offsite link in Frontiers of Marine Science.
  • Developing a bioassessment framework to inform tidal stream management along a hydrologically variable coast offsite link in Ecological Indicators.

Highlights from the Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems II

Fall 2023 CCME II graduates included Summer (Martinez) Crescent (M.S. in biology – Florida A&M University), Miles Jordan (B.S. in environmental science – Florida A&M University), and Dr. Anthony Lima (Ph.D. in coastal and marine system science – Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi). Summer Crescent began an ORISE Fellowship with the NOAA National Ocean Science at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. CCME II undergraduate scholar Jose Cisneros completed the Ocean Exploration Trust  E/V Nautilus seafloor mapping internship. offsite link CCME II graduate scholars from Jackson State University (Kambrial Love, Dwan Jackson, and Reneisha Sweet) participated in a NOAA SEAMAPP Groundfish Survey offsite link between Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Galveston, Texas. CCME II released its quarterly newsletter offsite link in December that includes center highlights, presentations, student testimonials, and alumni updates. Center alumna Evelyn Roozee and faculty Owen Temby, Ph.D., recently published a peer-reviewed article in Marine Policy entitled, “Managing inter-organizational trust and risk perceptions in transboundary fisheries governance networks.” The newsletter also features research and media content related to coastal and marine ecosystems. From August to December, the center welcomed two bachelor’s, eight master’s, and four doctoral students scholars studying NOAA mission-aligned disciplines.

Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems II (CCME II) hosts Center Wide Core Competency Course

CCME II hosted its Center Wide Core Competency Course (CWCC) in July, 2023 at the Florida Institute of Oceanography in St. Petersburg, Florida. The CWCC is a biennial event during which students learn about NOAA focus areas and the cross-cutting theme of social science. Students participated in a problem-based learning activity, a citizen science (HabScope) demonstration, and a field sampling cruise. They also networked with NOAA staff and learned about potential careers.

This event and engaged personnel from across NOAA, including EPP/MSI Program, NOAA CCME-II Technical Advisor, John Cortinas, Ph.D, and co-Technical Monitors (Lonnie Gonsalves. Ph.D. and Chris Kelbe, Ph.D.) as well as representatives from the National Ocean Service (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science), NOAA Research (Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and Office of Research Transition and Application), NOAA Fisheries (Southeast Fisheries Science Center), and Office of Marine Aviation Operations. 

Read more in the CCME II newsletter offsite link and NOAA Office of Research, Transition, and Application’s article about CWCC.

Other CCME Spotlights

• Several CCME II summer graduates continued their education or transitioned into the NOAA workforce. This includes five new graduates (1 Ph.D., 3 M.S., and 1 B.S.); Three are beginning a graduate program, one is entering the NOAA workforce, and another is starting a job in the private sector.
• Five undergraduates completed internships. Three graduate students completed NERTO graduate internships and six students have started NERTOs.
• CNN en Espanol offsite link featured a CCME faculty member discussing warming ocean currents; 

More highlights and publications can be found in the quarterly newsletter offsite link