UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute

10/06/2026

09/25/2026

Congratulations to DOCTOR Keira Monuki, who recently delivered her doctoral dissertation! 🎉🎓

Keira graduated with her PhD in Population Biology. Her dissertation research combined field surveys, laboratory experiments and genomics to investigate the processes facilitating species range shift in our changing oceans.

One of the best parts of her PhD experience was working with students at Bodega Marine Laboratory - UC Davis to spark their curiosity and passion for marine science. She is excited to continue her career as a postdoctoral scholar for the White Abalone Captive Breeding Program, working with national, state and local partners to restore white abalone populations.

Image description: A portrait of Keira Monuki wearing a beanie and jacket, standing on a rocky coastline and smiling at the camera.

07/02/2026

Congratulations to DOCTOR Karolina Zabinski, who recently delivered her doctoral dissertation! 🎉🎓

"When I applied to UC Davis, I wrote, 'It takes a department to raise a scientist,' in my application essay. As a graduate from UC Davis, BML, and CMSI, I reflect on the community I've found throughout this institution in addition to the ones I've found at other UCs (UC Merced, UC San Diego), institutions (WHOI, Denmark Technical University), and conferences. What I realize is that it takes a whole scientific village to raise a scientist! I'm grateful for all the experiences I've had at UC Davis, which leave me more empowered to learn about and serve our oceans than when I started.

Looking forward, I'm excited to continue expanding my village as a Moore Foundation Fellow at UC Santa Cruz within the labs of Drs. Kathleen Kay, Kristy Kroeker, and Ingrid Parker. Stay tuned to see what we'll find! Go Aggies and Fiat Slug! With gratitude, Karolcha"

Image descriptions: A collection of four photos celebrating Dr. Karolina Zabinski's doctoral graduation and marine research milestones. The first two images feature formal academic portraits of Karolina in her blue and gold UC Davis doctoral regalia amidst a redwood forest setting. The last two images capture candid, celebratory moments: one indoors alongside Professor Jay Stachowicz, and the other showing her working directly in the field, standing waist-deep in ocean water while holding a strand of seagrass.

06/26/2026

Please join us in con-GRAD-ulating UC Davis Marine and Coastal Science major Mikaila Hishaw! 🎓

"I really enjoyed being a marine science major at Davis and I chose Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology as my focus area. My favorite memory in the major is visiting the Bodega Head trail at night with friends during summer session 2 to go stargazing and seeing the Milky Way for the first time while listening to the waves crash. Despite growing up in the desert in Arizona, I've always been fascinated with aquatic animals and I'm continuing to explore that interest now as a combined DVM-PhD student at Cornell University."

-Mikaila Hishaw,


Image description: A commencement photo of Mikaila Hishaw standing against a blurred backdrop of a road with rows of trees on both sides. Mikaila is wearing a white dress and a blue and gold UC Davis stole and holding a dark blue graduation cap.

06/23/2026

Congratulations to DOCTOR Claire Murphy, who recently delivered her doctoral dissertation! 🎉🎓

Dr. Murphy's research in the Stachowicz Lab at UC Davis focused on seasonal variation in predator-prey interactions, using amphipods and their fish predators in seagrass beds as a model system. She says, "I have loved getting to work with such a supportive and kind community at Bodega Marine Lab. I am especially grateful to have been able to conduct so much local fieldwork in Bodega Harbor and Tomales Bay, and to have worked with so many brilliant undergrad researchers! In my next steps, I will be a postdoc at UCSB, working with data from the Santa Barbara Coastal long-term ecological research site (LTER) to study how macroalgal traits influence their communities at different depths."

Image description: A portrait of Claire Murphy, wearing a brightly patterned shirt, standing in front of the entrance doors to the Bodega Marine Laboratory, where a flyer is taped to the door advertising her exit seminar.

06/12/2026

Please join us in con-GRAD-ulating UC Davis Marine and Coastal Science major Ava Luenenborg! 🎓

"Growing up in the Bay Area, my weekends were spent with my mom and brother exploring the California coast. From tide pooling to kayaking to hiking up on the cliffs, my love for the ocean deepened with every adventure. This passion led me to choose Marine and Coastal Science as my undergraduate major, with an emphasis in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology. As I reflect on my time at UC Davis and as an officer of the Marine Science Club, I am extremely grateful for four years surrounded by like-minded peers and mentors who love the ocean as much as I do.

I am especially grateful for my time in the Wainwright Lab, where I discovered that I love the ocean as a system to study larger themes of evolution and ecology. Throughout my three years in the lab, I have had the amazing opportunity to author two peer-reviewed papers as an undergraduate. UC Davis provides so many opportunities for undergraduates to perform research without any prior experience, and I am forever thankful for the supportive research community here on campus.

I am so excited to share that I will be continuing my education and research at the University of California, Irvine, this fall to pursue a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the Martinez Lab! Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, and I look forward to seeing what’s to come."

-Ava Luenenborg, Class of 2026

06/08/2026

The ocean inspires us, but the people who study it give us hope. 💙🧑‍🔬🌊

This , we want to celebrate the scientists, students, and community members at CMSI who dedicate their days to understanding and protecting our marine environments. Whether they are in the lab, in the field, or in the classroom, their work is charting a course toward a resilient future.

Image descriptions: A collage of four images highlighting hands-on marine science and education at the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute. The photos showcase diverse research activities: a student examining a specimen with a hand net, a team measuring a leopard shark on a boat, a researcher working with glowing light in a dark lab, and a group of scientists in lab coats studying sea stars in an indoor seawater tank.

05/13/2026

The secret to saving seagrass might be microscopic. 🌊🌱🔬

UC Davis Population Biology PhD student Karolina Zabinski is discovering how microbes help eelgrass adapt to its environment. Her research at the Bodega Marine Laboratory - UC Davis shows that "matching" plants with the right bacteria can be vital to successful restoration efforts and protecting blue carbon reservoirs: https://biology.ucdavis.edu/news/what-makes-seagrass-survive-look-microbes

📸: Karolina Zabinski (front), Maggie Sogin (back left), and Sophie MacVittie (back right) sampling for seagrass-associated microbes in Tomales Bay, California. (Courtesy photo)

Image description: Three researchers, Karolina Zabinski, Maggie Sogin, and Sophie MacVittie, wade through a shallow, muddy tidal flat during low tide. They are wearing chest-high waterproof waders and carrying colorful buckets and sampling equipment. The background shows a vast, shimmering seagrass meadow under bright daylight.

05/11/2026

Updated link: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07663

Exciting Opportunity: New CMSI Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the CMSI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, designed for early-career scientists eager to develop innovative research at the intersection of marine and coastal science.

Fellowship Highlights:
- Interdisciplinary: Work with at least two UC Davis faculty mentors. Prospective fellows are encouraged to explore the research of CMSI faculty and reach out to prospective mentors to discuss potential collaborations
- Unique Access: Dual residency at the Davis campus and the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML).
- Support: Two years of salary/benefits + up to $15,000 in research and engagement funds.

Join a vibrant community dedicated to marine science excellence.

05/05/2026

While they cover less than 1% of the ocean's surface, the four major upwelling zones in California, Chile, Portugal, and South Africa are biological powerhouses. 💨🌊🦀🐟

Thanks to grants from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and UC Davis Global Affairs, the Valdovinos Lab is leading a global, collaborative effort to understand how these vital ecosystems will adapt to a shifting climate: https://marinescience.ucdavis.edu/blog/global-effort-decode-oceans-most-productive-hotspots

Image description: A group of people at the Cape of Good Hope sign on a rocky coast, posing for the camera, some with arms raised.