KATE SCHWARZ
Staff Writer
Student research is a common ambition among the Natural Science Division at Pepperdine. Ranging from plant recovery after fire to the DNA composition of tiny fish, students and faculty are discovering things that they think could change the world.
One of those students is senior Phillip Johnson, a biology major focusing on environmental science. His research started in the summer after his freshman year.
“I was just looking for a job during the summer,” Johnson said. “But as I looked and asked around, I met Dr. (Karen) Martin and kind of fell into the research that I am doing now.”
Dr. Martin, Johnson’s faculty advisor, started the Grunion Greeter program and needed Johnson to help with data collection and organization.
“Phil has been fearless and tireless in his work with grunion,” Martin said. “ He explained beach ecology to lifeguards and park rangers and stopped an organized group of poachers with the help of local police and game wardens in Orange County.”
California grunion are a species of fish found only along the coast of Southern California and northern Baja California. Mostly known for their unique spawning behavior, grunion have become increasingly popular in the past five years, said Johnson.
Grunion are one of the few marine fish that spawn completely out of the water. They lay their eggs on many sandy beaches in California and then return to the water. Sometimes, sections of these sandy beaches are covered with thousands of shiny and luminescent grunion dancing around on the sand.
The Grunion Greeter program is a project involving hundreds of volunteers to study the spawning activity and habitat of grunion.
Volunteer “Greeters” are asked to witness the behavior of these small silver fish when they come ashore to spawn at night.
“These people are then asked to report what they observe through the website or a hotline phone number,” Johnson said. “It’s really an interesting program.”
Johnson said that his research of these tiny fish was inspired when a population of grunion was found in San Francisco in 2005.
“It was very uncommon for them to be up there,” Johnson said, “so I wanted to see if the two populations were genetically similar.”
The process of this research is not easily understood by just anyone. Johnson attempted to translate his findings into simpler terms.
“We are looking at the repetitive strands of DNA in each population and seeing if there are any mess-ups in the strands,” Johnson said. “This helps us compare and contrast both samples.”
Although he feels that his part in the research is done, Johnson says that there is a lot more that can be done on the overall project.
“I feel that I am at a spot now where I can stop my research and look back on it and be happy,” Johnson said. “But there are always things that can still be done.”
Johnson said he spent at least ten hours a week on his research over the school year. During the summer it was a full time job. His hard work paid off earlier this year.
The California Sea Grant College named Johnson a John D. Isaacs Undergraduate Research Scholar in 2006. He is one of only four students in the state of California to receive this prestigious award.
“It definitely felt good to be recognized,” Johnson said. “A lot of hard work went into my research and it’s nice to be rewarded for it.
Johnson plans to attend University of California Santa Barbara graduate school next year to study environmental science.
“My ultimate job would be to work in government or a non profit organization in environmental policy,” Johnson said.
Dr. Martin says that we can expect great things from Johnson’s research.
“Phil is someone who understands the big picture and sees how all the parts fit together to make the whole,” Martin said. “He will make an impact in this important field, and I believe he will make the world a better place.”
For more information on Grunion or the Grunion Greeters Project, visit: www.grunion.org OR email Dr. Karen Martin at kmartin@pepperdine.edu.
05-18-2007