May 15, 2024

Roxanne Beltran Dives into Seal Research

She might look out at the ocean, ask big-picture concerns, and figure out how finest to respond to them.As a trainee, Beltran “was simply remarkably inspired,” remembers Chris Reeves, who was then the programs manager of UCSCs Seymour Marine Discovery Center, where Beltran completed a work-study program overseeing the training of volunteers. In 2017, Beltran and her spouse, a fellow UCSC marine biologist, published A Seal Named Patches, a childrens book describing their Antarctic research study, and included the book into a K-12 outreach program that has actually reached more than 4,000 students.After completing her PhD in 2018, Beltran accepted a faculty position at UCSC, however delayed for a year and a half to complete a postdoc under Dan Costa, a marine mammal biologist at the university. For her job, she pursued comparable concerns about reproducing and molting in Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at nearby Año Nuevo State Park.Today, as the head of her own laboratory, Beltran still teams up with Costa to investigate how size distinctions between young male and female elephant seals affect their diving habits, and whether males and females react differently when threatened with hunger or predation.

She might look out at the ocean, ask big-picture questions, and figure out how best to respond to them.As a trainee, Beltran “was just remarkably motivated,” recalls Chris Reeves, who was then the programs manager of UCSCs Seymour Marine Discovery Center, where Beltran completed a work-study program managing the training of volunteers. In 2017, Beltran and her hubby, a fellow UCSC marine biologist, published A Seal Named Patches, a kidss book describing their Antarctic research study, and integrated the book into a K-12 outreach program that has actually reached more than 4,000 students.After finishing her PhD in 2018, Beltran accepted a faculty position at UCSC, but postponed for a year and a half to finish a postdoc under Dan Costa, a marine mammal biologist at the university. For her job, she pursued comparable concerns about breeding and molting in Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at nearby Año Nuevo State Park.Today, as the head of her own lab, Beltran still teams up with Costa to investigate how size differences in between young male and female elephant seals impact their diving behavior, and whether males and females react differently when threatened with hunger or predation. When Costa retires, hell be passing leadership of the universitys elephant seal program to Beltran, he tells The Scientist. Roxanne Beltran and her hubby Patrick Robinson working with northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at Año Nuevo State Park, one of the largest mainland reproducing colonies in the world.