By: Racine Rangel

Hello All! My name is Racine Rangel and I am a second year PhD student working with Cascade Sorte at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Our lab investigates the impacts of global change on marine coastal communities over large geographic ranges using integrative approaches including physiology, ecology, and biology. My journey to Catalina has been a winding trail! I am originally from Nebraska – You read that right; I am a marine ecologist from the middle of the country! I moved to California to complete my Master’s degree at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) where I first landed on Catalina. I was studying the physiology of the brightly colored Blue-banded goby! If you take a snorkel around Big Fisherman’s Cove, you’ll see them darting all over the rocky reefs. After graduating from CSULB I started my Ph.D. program at UCI where I left Southern California and headed north to a different island, Sitka, Alaska.

A Bluebanded goby from Catalina in a clear oxygen measuring chamber at CSULB.

In Sitka, I helped set up and maintain a large field study where we manipulated tide pools to simulate future climate change conditions. We increased the temperatures of the tide pools as well as the acidification. During this manipulation I looked at how the physiology/metabolism of marine snails, mussels, and hermit crabs were impacted by alterations in living conditions. I also analyzed how the shell-building skills of mussels and snails responded to those same changes. While in Sitka, one of the key things I was told to look for in my snails were trematode parasites. However, I never found any parasites at my study sites and so after finishing my Sitka projects I wanted to look closer to home for parasites in snails.

At one of my field sites – John Brown’s Beach in Sitka, Alaska.

This brings me back to Catalina Island, because one-way marine snails get parasitized is by birds – and lots and lots of bird poop! In Sitka, my field sites did not have a strong bird presence, but right next to Wrigley is the best place I could think of to look for parasites, Bird Rock! Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 my explorations for parasites on Bird Rock and around Catalina Island have been halted. When I am able to come out to Wrigley, I will be investigating how changing climate conditions can impact the relationship between the Eroded Periwinkle snail (Littorina keenae) and their trematode parasites. Working at Wrigley allows me to closely study how parasite prevalence may change over time on a seasonal timescale as well as study the importance conservation areas, such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) might be able to buffer from new parasite invasions. I will also be running grazing trials to see whether changing temperature affects the rate at which snails munch on their favorite algal snacks.

Bird Rock at Catalina Island from February 2020 fieldwork.

Until I can get to Wrigley, I’m staying busy by writing up the first half of my dissertation. As well as investigating ocean areas close to Irvine like Corona Del Mar State Beach and Crystal Cove State Park where I am looking for parasitized snails. Being close to Irvine, I can maintain social distancing guidelines by wearing a mask in the field and hitting the beaches early in the morning before the crowds.