Marine Biologist Studies Climate Change Effect on Local Sea Life

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Date: March 6, 2015
Contact: Yvonne Menard, 805-658-5725

Marine Biologist Lydia Kapsenberg will discuss her research project monitoring ocean acidification at Channel Islands National Park during the March From Shore to Sea lecture.

Changing water chemistry in our oceans is threatening some marine species, especially shell-forming organisms. Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are being absorbed into sea water causing an increase in acidity (pH) levels of the world's oceans.

Kapsenberg will describe how biological processes, including photosynthesis in the kelp forest, affect pH levels in park waters. Understanding this natural pH variability helps further knowledge about how marine life adapts to changes in ocean acidity levels. Kapsenberg's research will allow for better local management of this global issue in order to minimize the effects of ocean acidification and climate change at the Channel Islands.

Kapsenberg is a PhD Candidate PhD Candidate at the Gretchen Hoffman Lab at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She has been studying coastal pH dynamics at the Channel Islands and in Antarctica. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Oregon State University in 2009.

The talk will be held on March 12, 2015. The From Shore to Sea lecture series is sponsored by Channel Islands National Park to further the understanding of current research on the Channel Islands and surrounding marine waters. The lectures occur at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of March, April, May, September, October, and November at the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor. The programs are free and open to the public.

 



Last updated: March 6, 2015

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