Christine Whitcraft

Marine Biodiversity: Understanding Threats & Providing Solutions IGERT
University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography


I am currently a third year graduate student in the Biological Oceanography curricular group and in Lisa Levin's lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. My research focuses on biodiversity of plants and infauna and how this diversity affects the ecological functioning of salt marshes. Specifically, I am interested in how changes in plant community composition following anthropogenic alterations, such as reduced flushing or species invasion, result in a shift in the sediment faunal community structure. Using three wetlands in San Diego County (Mission Bay, San Dieguito Lagoon, and Tijuana Estuary), my research will examine the mechanisms by which this occurs including a) modification of abiotic soil properties, b) modification of microalgal and microbial systems, and c) direct supply of food.

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