The Western Society of Naturalists (WSN) is a scientific society with a strong focus on ecology, evolution, marine biology, and the natural history of organisms in their environment. The society’s membership is concentrated on the Pacific coast of North America, and holds an annual meeting in November at locations ranging from Baja California to British Columbia. The society and the meetings have a strong focus on student mentorship and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The 105th annual meeting was held in Portland Oregon, with 647 attendees, 251 contributed oral presentations, and 217 posters. The meeting featured a workshop on science communication in social media, plenary symposia on ecological resilience, collaboration between indigenous and non-idigenous communities, and the interface between technology and marine ecology, and closed with an inspirational address by the Director of the National Nature Assessment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. As part of the meeting’s commitment to student mentorship, most of the attendees with advanced degrees contribute to an extensive program of judging and providing feedback on student presentations and posters that culminates in the awarding of ‘best talk’ awards in several disciplinary categories.
Maya Munstermann PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Maya Munstermann is currently a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley in the Integrative Biology department with research focusing on the effects of climate change and marine heatwave events on kelp forest ecosystems. Through a variety of methods, such as SCUBA field sampling, genomics, experimental, and statistical modeling, she is interested to uncover how warming oceans are playing a role in ecosystem shifts from kelp-dominated states to urchin barrens. Her studies focus on purple sea urchins from both the larval and benthic adult life history stage perspectives and how rising temperatures, food availability, and habitat of origin influence resilience or vulnerabilities to climate change. Her work directly relates to marine conservation and management practices along the California coastline