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| Arley Muth As a student in the Moss Landing phycology lab, I am interested
in processes that effect kelp recruitment and distribution. Geological
processes that shape vertical relief and bathymetry, for the most
part explain where kelps can be found within the zones they occur.
This scale of geology effects kelps on an ecosystem scale while
other geological properties, such as friability or the stability
of the rock type would play a role in kelp forests and individual
adults. My study focuses on the substrate surface roughness and
how differences on a micron scale influence kelp spore settlement
environments, fertilization and recruitment. Stillwater Cove in
Central California is the site of my field experiments and has two
dominant rock types that occur and support kelp forests, the Carmelo
Formation and Santa Lucia granodiorite. These two rock types exhibit
different micro-rugosities and my field studies focus on how these
differences may in turn influence kelp recruitment. My lab work
explores kelp spore settlement spatial arrangements and fertilization
success as spore densities and settlement surfaces change. Contact info: Arley Muth
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