Seagrasses form vast underwater meadows that provide habitat for countless other organisms and directly influence key ecosystem processes like carbon storage and erosion control.  But seagrasses are also under threat from human-caused changes in the environment such as warming temperature and cloudy water. Jay Stachowicz seeks to understand how genetic diversity within eelgrass, a seagrass found throughout the northern hemisphere, provides resilience to this species and the ecosystems it supports.

The European green crab wreaks havoc in California estuaries by damaging eelgrass beds, preying upon native species, and competing with other invertebrates for space. In 2009, UC Davis faculty member and EERREC trainer Ted Grosholz and colleagues began an intensive four-year eradication campaign that resulted in removal of 90% of the green crabs in the study area. However, a year later, the population rebounded to nearly triple the pre-eradication population size.

Jennifer Funk studies how plant traits influence ecological processes including drought response, plant invasion, and ecological restoration. Students involved in this work would engage in greenhouse and field projects, with coupled physiological and community-level measurements in a variety of plant communities, from California grasslands to tropical forest understories. 

note: not accepting students in Summer 2023

Around the world, climate change has caused differences in mean temperature and precipitation, but also variation in the scale and timing of climatic events. The timing of weather events, such as germination-triggering rains, the melting of snowpack, and freeze or thaw cycles often have major effects on organisms that must synchronize birth, growth, and reproduction with favorable conditions. The timing of these events -- phenology -- in turn affects how individuals interact with their abiotic and biotic environment.