Décima Lab

Dr. Décima's interests include zooplankton ecology, marine pelagic food-webs, gelatinous zooplankton, and carbon and nutrient cycling. The Décima lab is currently focusing on:

• Quantifying trophic pathways within the lower pelagic food-web using experiments, stable isotopes, pigment-based estimates, and modelling approaches.
• Understanding the effects of crustacean zooplankton and pelagic tunicates on the marine food-web and biogeochemistry.
• Assessing the effects of climate change, including warming, acidification, and extreme events like wildfires and marine heatwaves, on marine plankton assemblages.

These research areas are investigated in various regions of the world, including: the California Current, the Southwest Pacific, the Ross Sea, the Indian Ocean, the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and the Eastern Equatorial Pacific. Dr. Décima is also the curator of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Pelagic Invertebrate Collection (SIO- PIC), one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of pelagic invertebrates in the world.

Danielle, a Fulbright Scholar from Sydney, Australia, is pursuing her MS in Biological Oceanography. She completed her BS in Marine Biology at James Cook University in Townsville before moving into a graduate role at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). During her time at AIMS, Danielle focused on analyzing BRUVs (Baited Remote Underwater Video) data to assess fish population health within Sea Country, working with Traditional Owner groups across northern Australia. She is passionate about advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in research as a means to address environmental challenges.

In the Décima Lab, Danielle studies the interactions between zooplankton and phytoplankton populations, exploring how nutrient availability affects these interactions and, in turn, influences the structure and functioning of marine food webs in the Californian ecosystem. Outside of her studies, Danielle leads an active lifestyle, enjoying running, diving, and recently taking up rollerblading after moving to California.

Dante is a 5th year PhD Student in Biological Oceanography hailing from Sebastopol in Northern California. He earned a BS in Earth Sciences-Ocean Sciences concentration and a BS in Marine Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz. After spending his final quarter studying abroad at the University of Queensland he returned to Sebastopol to work in the Coastal Oceanography Group at the Bodega Bay Marine Lab.

The intense California wildfires during Dante's first research cruise in August 2020 inspired his research interests in the effects of the wildfires on the marine environment. For his dissertation research Dante is examining how smoke and ash from wildfires may impact the carbon cycle and the pelagic planktonic community in the California Current Ecosystem. Dante is also a member of the Program for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research (PIER), seeking to collaborate with non-scientist experts, especially artists to make findings more accessible. Dante is also interested in integrating emerging molecular DNA metabarcoding methods with morphological and image-based methods of zooplankton through advanced statistical and machine-learning techniques, and using these tools to resolve environmental diversity patterns in the CCE.

Outside of research Dante enjoys physical activity especially running, yoga, skateboarding, cycling, and swimming and is a member of the Lane Zero Athletics Club where he competes in distances from 5k-marathon. Dante also likes to work his creative side through sourdough bread baking and art-primarily through pen and ink drawing. After a long lab day at SIO, Dante's go to refreshment is a dip in the Pacific ocean.

Anya Štajner is a 4th year PhD student in the Biological Oceanography program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She completed her undergraduate’s degree at the University of California, Davis where she studied Marine and Coastal Sciences with an Emphasis in Organismal Biology and Ecology.

Anya studies zooplankton ecology focusing on pteropods (aka "sea butterflies) in the Southern California Current System as bioindicators for ocean acidification. Additionally, she is a co-coordinator and tour guide for Scripps Community Outreach for Public Education (SCOPE) and enjoys posting on her science-focused instagram account (@PlanktonPrincess).