Shelby Bacus

Shelby Bacus

Ph.D. Student

Marine Biology


2150 Koyukuk Drive
236 Irving II
Fairbanks, AK 99775
scbacus@alaska.edu

 
Education

University of California, Davis
B.S. Marine and Coastal Science
2018

 

Thesis

Ocean change along an Alaskan shoreline: Examining the relationship between the Pacific plate limpet (Lottia scutum) and the mottled star (Evasterias troschelii)

 

Advisor

 

Biography

Shelby earned her B.S in Marine and Coastal Science with a focus in Ocean and Earth Systems from the University of California, Davis in 2018. She conducted her undergraduate research at Bodega Marine Laboratory in Dr. Brian Gaylord's ecomechanics lab, and was later hired on as laboratory technician in Dr. Tessa Hill's Paleoclimate Laboratory. While in California, Shelby worked extensively as a divemaster and animal care technician for California Academy of Sciences and Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, before moving to Alaska to attend graduate school.

 

Certifications

  • PADI Divemaster
  • AAUS Scientific Diver
  • NREMT-B

Specialties

  • Ocean acidification
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Multiple stressors

 

Research Overview

My graduate research focuses on how multiple stressors such as elevated temperature and decreased pH affect predator-prey interactions within the nearshore environment of the Gulf of Alaska. My research incorporates behavioral ecology, marine physiology, molecular biology, and neurobiology within its experimental design.

 

Current research projects

  • Predator-prey dynamics of the Pacific plate limpet and the mottled star

 

Community Service

  • Tsunami Bowl Judge 2019

 

Affiliations

  • NOAA Kasitsna Bay Laboratory
  • UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • Aquarium of the Bay

 

Links to Other Places