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About Melissa
Melissa graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Environmental Science, emphasizing in Biology. As an undergraduate she assisted with stream bioassessments and benthic macroinvertebrate identification in Dr. Vincent Resh’s lab. For her senior thesis, she conducted her own biological assessment of several Bay Area watersheds, to assess the effect of urbanization on water quality, using benthic macroinvertebrates as biological indicators. In 2011, she graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management, specializing in coastal marine resources. Her thesis involved working with managers at the Bureau of Land Management to determine the best strategies to control mercury pollution in the Cache Creek Basin.
Since 2012, Melissa has worked at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in the Suisun Marsh Program. At CDFW, Melissa works on a multidisciplinary team researching and monitoring a variety of sensitive fish and wildlife species, including Western Pond Turtles and endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mice. For her dissertation research, Melissa will continue to collaborate with CDFW, focusing on Western Pond Turtle habitat use and demography in Suisun Marsh. She is especially interested in studying the effects of tidal restoration and varying land management strategies on turtle populations.