Climate Warming Effects on Marine Mussels: VIDEO

Loyola Marymount University Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering brings together faculty and student researchers to explore the world's big, prescient questions. One of those, climate change, led to the cross-discipline research project in this new video.

Made possible by a generous Interdisciplinary Project Seed Grant, the featured project explored the impacts of climate change on marine mussel physiology, while enriching our students' learning experience. The video below takes you to the off-campus sites around Los Angeles where biologists collected mussel data, as well as into the labs of electrical engineers and computer scientists.

Hear from principal investigator Maria Christina Vasquez, associate professor of biology, who led the project titled "An Interdisciplinary Approach to Addressing Climate Warming Effects on Marine Mussels." Student researchers Adrian Wasylewski '24, and Makari Green '26, both electrical engineering majors, detail the project and their role as researchers.

The team's co-investigators include their mentor Barbara Marino, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Andrew Forney, associate professor of computer science, who both appear in the video.

"This project was really made for student researchers because very rarely do you actually get to work with people outside your discipline in your actual coursework. So to come together with people, you know, speak different languages than what you do or have different expertise, and also get a feel for what's possible when you work in a team with complementary skills. I think those are really invaluable experiences for our students," Forney says in the video.

Also featured are a number of other bright Seaver STEM students who work with these faculty in the classroom. The 2023 - 2024 Interdisciplinary Project Seed Grants for projects addressing climate change were supported by a generous gift from Timi Sobrato.