María Vila Duplá
Phycology Lab at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
I received my B.S. in Biological Science from San Diego State University in 2016. During my undergraduate studies, I worked as an intern in the statistical ecology lab and the kelp ecology lab, where I became extremely interested in phycology.
I am particularly interested in community ecology dynamics in estuarine ecosystems. For my thesis, I would like to study resource competition between primary producers Ulva sp. and Zostera marina in Elkhorn Slough. My goal is to describe a seasonal and spatial pattern based on the relative abundance of both species. Additionally, I want to identify the main abiotic factors that have an effect on this competitive interaction, as well as estimate the threshold nutrient levels leading to habitat shift and ecosystem transformation.