Heather Kelley

Heather Kelley

Ms. Kelley is pursuing an M.S. in applied marine science at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Working at CSUMB's Institute for Applied Marine Ecology (IfAME), her master's thesis will characterize the deep sub-tidal communities inside and outside of newly designated marine protected areas (MPAs) along the north central coast of California. Ms. Kelley has participated in several research cruises along California's coast using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to collect video and still imagery of different seafloor habitats and the fishes and invertebrates associated with them. In addition to providing science data to support management decisions, this research provides exceptional opportunities to engage audiences beyond the scientific community. Training from CSUMB/IfAME, with a focus on science communication and management-driven science will allow her to better interpret the research of scientists and engage public audiences in ocean conservation. Previously, Ms. Kelley completed her B.S. degree in Marine Biology at the University of California Los Angeles, and worked in the education department at the Long Beach Aquarium. She also worked in marketing and as a marketing manager for five years, honing communication skills, producing engaging websites and professional marketing collateral. After completion of her thesis, she expects to continue work on applied marine conservation issues as a scientific advisor, writer or outreach coordinator to bridge the gap between scientific and public communities. Ms. Kelley promotes science communications through volunteer work at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and participation in local and regional scientific symposiums. She is especially interested in fish-habitat associations, marine pollution, invertebrates and diving in the greater Monterey Bay area.

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Shannon Lyday

Shannon Lyday

Shannon Lyday is pursuing a Master's degree in Marine Science from Hawaii Pacific University. She attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Business Administration. Before coming to HPU, Shannon worked for eight years at the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association in San Francisco, the non-profit partner of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Shannon managed Beach Watch, a long-term monitoring program that utilizes the expertise of over 100 citizen scientists to collect data on 41 beaches along the central California coast. Beach Watch documents the distribution and abundance of live and dead marine birds and mammals and the patterns of oil and tarball deposition. Shannon also assisted with designing methodologies for at-sea surveys in the Sanctuary in partnership with PRBO Conservation Science. The ACCESS (Applied California Current Ecosystem Studies) cruises collect data to evaluate the trends in the distribution and abundance of seabirds and marine mammals relative to changes in ocean conditions. These cruises stimulated Shannon's interest in pursuing a graduate degree to investigate the associations of seabirds with biological and physical processes in the ocean. Shannon's thesis will analyze seabird distribution and abundance data collected from vessel-based surveys in the California Current in collaboration with NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Her goal is to create a multivariate index utilizing shearwater and environmental data that can predict commercial fish catch. In addition to her thesis project, Shannon is leading a study of marine debris ingestion in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters in collaboration with Oikonos.

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