About the Blog

Founded in 2008 by a small group of MLML students looking for a platform to candidly talk about their experiences as grad students, The Drop-In now has over 600 posts written by Moss grad students past and present. Here you will find everything from thesis research updates to whale facts to stories of adventures in the field!

The Drop-In Blog is currently managed by grad student editors Lauren Cooley, Emily Montgomery, and Kali Prescott. If you have questions or comments about the blog, please feel free to send us an email at socialmedia@mlml.calstate.edu.

The Pets of Moss Landing Marine Labs
February 26, 2021
By Lauren Cooley, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab At this point in the pandemic, I think we all know that working from home is a real drag, but for many of …Read More »
Nine students defend thesis research in 2020!
January 22, 2021
By June Shrestha, MLML Ichthyology Lab 2020 was a big year. We saw a global pandemic, protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and wildfires raging across the state. …Read More »
COVID-19 Vaccine Resources & Links
January 19, 2021
By Kali Prescott & Lauren Cooley Hello from The Drop-in Blog team! It's been almost a year since the first COVID-19 shutdowns and with the roll out of the COVID-19 …Read More »
Marine science snapshots: Fieldwork, wildlife, and community at Moss Landing Marine Labs
December 17, 2020
By Lauren Cooley, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab While working on the latest Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Annual Report, my friend and fellow MLML student employee Caroline Rodriguez collected a bunch …Read More »
Grad school: pandemic edition
November 10, 2020
By Lauren Cooley, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab I think it’s safe to say that before the start of this year, no one could have possibly predicted the truly wild twists …Read More »
How 4Ocean Made Recycling Economically Sustainable
November 9, 2020
By Kali Prescott, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab An estimated 5.25 trillion tons of plastic is currently adrift in the ocean having extensive deleterious effects on wildlife (Erikson et al., 2014). Reduce, …Read More »
Marine snow & climate change
October 28, 2020
By Annie Bodel, Plankton Ecology & Biogeochemistry Lab Endings are Beginnings In a forest when something dies--a leaf, a plant, an animal-- it likely settles onto the ground where it …Read More »
Shifting Foundations
October 21, 2020
By Acy Wood, MLML Phycology Lab When I was a child, I used to be mesmerized by seaweed swaying in the surf when I went tidepooling or kelp flowing back …Read More »
Holly visits Cawthron!
October 9, 2020
Blog post from the MLML Environmental Biotechnology Lab Dr. Holly Bowers had an awesome experience as a visiting researcher at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand in 2020! Although she has previously …Read More »
The case of the sea lion: stranding events linked to domoic acid outbreaks
September 29, 2020
By Sophie Bernstein, MLML Ichthyology Lab When I moved to the Monterey Bay area for graduate school, I found myself most excited to be immersed in a new ecosystem. I couldn’t wait …Read More »