Jackelyn Garcia
Program: Master’s of Science, Marine and Estuarine Science, Fall 2021
Jackelyn Garcia grew up mostly in Washington, though her family originates from the Philippines. She earned her degree in B.S Biology from University of Washington Bothell in 2020, where her undergraduate research centered on studying phenotypic plasticity, and transgenerational epigenetics in thale cress plants in response to variable conditions predicted with climate change.
Jackelyn became a 2018 alumni of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. Through this program, she had the privilege of learning from diverse communities about local ecology, and people’s relationships to the environment, and this experience has continued to shape her interest in community-based work. Prior to joining the Coastal Communities and Ecology Lab at WWU, she also gained experience in conservation aquaculture, supporting the restoration of pinto abalone and Olympia oysters in the Puget Sound.
Currently, Jackelyn’s master’s thesis focuses on paralytic shellfish toxins in butter clams as they relate to the traditional preparation of shellfish by Indigenous peoples. The goal of this project is to understand how these algae toxins impact Indigenous shellfish harvest. Jackelyn is especially drawn to this work because of the connections she makes with the importance of having culturally relevant foods available, and her Filipino heritage.
In her pastime, she enjoys eating delicious food, cooking, aquarium keeping, and taking on varying craft projects.
Amy Rose Cline, Chukchansi Tribal member
Program: Masters of Science Candidate, Environmental Science, Marine and Estuarine Science, Fall 2017
Amy is a member of the Chukchansi Tribe located in central California and grew up on the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. She graduated from Northwest Indian College in June 2017 with her bachelor’s degree in Native Environmental Science, with a concentration in Ethnoecology. Her current research is focused on Coast Salish food availability in the intertidal zone on rocky beaches. She is interested in habitat complexity of intertidal beaches and marine invertebrates. Her future career goals include being a marine ecologist for local tribal communities.
Amy is performing her thesis field surveys from June until August 2018 (See summer 2018 tab for more updates). Amy will be mentoring an undergraduate student from Northwest Indian College this summer and guiding them through their undergraduate internship.
Amy is also mentoring an undergraduate student at Heritage University through the i-NATURE (Indigenous iNtegration of Aquatic sciences and Traditional-Ecological-Knowledge for Undergraduate culturally Responsive Education). This program partners Native American graduate students and undergraduates participating in research and earning degrees in the Environmental Sciences.
Octavio Cruz
Program: Masters of Science Candidate, Environmental Science, Fall 2018 – 2020
Thesis: Clam garden bivalve dietary responses and trophic shifts in relation to environment
Current employment: Pauquachin First Nation
Octavio Cruz joined the Coastal Communities and Ecology Lab for a Graduate Degree in Environmental Sciences Fall 2018, with an interest in the physical properties of clam garden rock walls and secondary prey species dynamics.
Previously, Octavio has worked in various wildlife ecology-based positions, surveying for sharks, Northern Goshawks, and various marine biology positions throughout the coast of British Columbia. His previous research experience involved working on stickleback aging techniques through histological sectioning of spine segments, contributing towards seawater sampling for ocean acidification buffers near oyster farms, and analysis of eulachon spawning rates in the Frasier River.
His previous undergraduate research involved possible climate change impacts on coastal root garden systems within Kingcome Inlet, where he completed a research paper on the subject within the VIPERG undergraduate journal at the University of Victoria. Octavio enjoys outreach and has previously managed a long-running Old Growth Conservation Club at the University of Victoria, as well as worked as a public outreach personnel for Old Growth Conservation and Marine Conservation non-profits based out of Victoria, British Columbia. He has a strong interest in ethnoecological research and hopes to participate in a community-based research restoration program in British Columbia after graduation.
In his spare time, Octavio enjoys bird watching and identification, as well as intertidal beachcombing, biking, and occasionally playing Dungeons and Dragons. He has a strong interest in increasing his taxonomic identification skills in both algal species and intertidal invertebrates and has volunteered for various intertidal identification events within Victoria in his spare time.