Ambrose Lab

Richard F. Ambrose is Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. He received his B.S. from UC Irvine and his Ph.D. from UCLA. He spent seven years at the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara before returning to UCLA in 1992. He served as Director of the Environmental Science and Engineering Program for 13 years and continues to be an active participant in this IoES graduate program. In addition to teaching and research, he has extensive interactions with resource managers. He chairs the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission’s Technical Advisory Panel and the Scientific Advisory Panel for the California Coastal Commission’s SONGS mitigation project, and he serves on scientific advisory panels for many organizations, including the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project. He has provided advice about environmental restoration and management issues to a wide variety of organizations, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Navy, California State Water Resources Control Board, California Coastal Commission, California Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Malibu, and private organizations.
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Brandon Winfrey's research focuses on the functional and ecological aspects of green infrastructure. Currently, he is investigating the effects that pruning rain garden plants has on the improvement of stormwater runoff water quality, the presence and roles of mycorrhiza in rain gardens, and the provision of ecosystem services by rain gardens and other green infrastructure. His current work is based on systems in Southern California and Australia.

Postdoc Alumni

Peter Raimondi (1991-92) Website
Kevin Lafferty (1993-94) Website
Monique Myers (2004) Website
Raphael Sagarin (2004-06)

Jordan Rosencratz is a doctoral candidate in the Environmental Science and Engineering program in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. His current research focuses on the impacts of sea level rise on salt marsh wildlife in the Mediterranean-climate zone marshes of southern California and SF Bay Area. He is also interested in sediment dynamics within these marshes and in the tide channels that can contribute to stability or instability of the system. His objective is to provide managers with downscaled information about within marsh and regional scenarios so that they can mitigate and adapt to the anticipated effects of sea level rise.

Yareli Sanchez is working on understanding the impact of inundation on salt marsh plant performance using eco-physiological methods. Understanding the impact of inundation on salt marsh plants is critical to predicting the viability of salt marsh ecosystems to current and future rates of sea level rise. Eco-physiological methods, including gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence, can capture the impact of inundation on plant productivity and stress before effects become visible. Yareli will then attempt to couple eco-physiological measurements with reflectance data in order to identify specific reflectance regions that can be used to detect inundation stress at the ecosystem scale using remote sensing platforms.

Setal Prabhu is interested in the urban-natural interface and interactions between the two brought on by development. Her dissertation research conducted at Southern California Edison Company (SCE) focuses on the effects of transmission line construction on soil and vegetation in the deserts of southern California.

Lisa Fong is an aquatic biologist who is broadly interested in environmental management using an ecological framework. Her current research focuses on developing ecological recovery trajectories of restored streams that managers can use to gauge project progress and evaluating compensatory mitigation required by the Clean Water Act in southern California. She has also conducted research in infectious disease and marine ecology. During her time as an ESE student in the Ambrose lab, Lisa has worked as a researcher at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project in Costa Mesa, CA, and as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Washington, DC area.

Glenn Sias received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and his M.S. degree in Environmental Health Sciences from UCLA. Glenn’s ESE dissertation research focuses on utilizing life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental impacts and benefits of smart meter deployment at Californian electric utilities.
Glenn currently works as Manager of Safety Initiatives in Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) Corporate Environmental Health and Safety Department and has previously specialized in electric and magnetic fields (EMF) as the manager of SCE’s EMF and Energy Group.
In his spare time, Glenn enjoys hiking, biking by the LA River, playing beach volleyball and composing and playing music.

Doctoral Student Alumni

Eric Stein, 1995

“Assessment of the Cumulative Impacts of Section 404 Clean Water Act Permitting on the Ecology of the Santa Margarita, Ca. Watershed.” (current employer: Southern California Coastal Water Research Project)

Alice Kwan, 1996

“Evaluation of a Decision Making Method Utilizing Spatial, Stakeholder, and Multi-Attribute Analyses: Application to a Conflict between Habitat Preservation and Development.” (current employer: Hong Kong Airport Authority)

Douglas Meffert, 1996

“The Effectiveness of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act in Achieving Louisiana’s Coastal Restoration Objectives.” (current employer: Tulane University)

Arent (Barry) Schuyler, 1996

“The Risks of Marine Traffic and Oil Operations in the Santa Barbara Channel and the Santa Maria Basin.”

Mark Sudol, 1996

“Success of Riparian Mitigation as Compensation for Impacts due to Permits Issued through Section 404 of the Clean Water Act in Orange County, California.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Chuck Rairdan, 1998

“Regional Restoration Goals for Wetland Resources in the Greater Los Angeles Drainage Area: A Landscape-Level Comparison of Recent Historic and Current Conditions Using Geographic Information Systems.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Travis Longcore, 1999

(Geography, co-chair with M. Savage). “Terrestrial Arthropods as Indicators of Restoration Success in Coastal Sage Scrub.” (current employer: USC and UCLA)

Ben Schwegler, 1999

“Engineering Ecosystems: an Ecosystem Function, Ecosystem Service Model for the Analysis of Private Sector Development Opportunities.” (current employer: Walt Disney Imagineering)

Whitman Miller, 2000

“Assessing the Importance of Biological Attributes for Invasion Success: Easter Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Introductions and Associated Molluscan Invasions of Pacific and Atlantic Coastal Systems.” (current employer: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)

Jonathan Lilien, 2001

“Cumulative Impacts to Riparian Habitat in the Malibu Creek Watershed.” (current employer: Chevron)

Spencer MacNeil, 2001

“Hydrogeomorphic Assessment of Aliso Creek Watershed Streams: Developing a Foundation for Holistic Permitting and Management.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Petra Pless, 2001

“Technical and Environmental Assessment of Thermal Insulation Materials from Bast Fiber Crops.” (current employer: Lesos Consulting)

Cindy Lin, 2002

“Effects of Landscape Modification on Stream Ecology and Structure in a Mixed-Use Watershed in Mediterranean Southern California.” (current employer: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

W. Mark Hanna, 2003

(Civil and Environmental Engineering, co-chair with J. Dracup). “Real-time Adaptive Wetland Water Quality Management.” (current employer: Geosyntec)

Shelley Luce, 2003

“Urbanization and Aquatic Ecosystem Health in Malibu Creek, California: Impacts on Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, and Environmental Policy.” (current employer: Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission)

Monique Myers, 2003

“Coral Reef Monitoring for Management Purposes and the Effect of Marine Protected Areas on Benthic Communities on the Great Barrier Reef.” (current employer: University of California Sea Grant and Cooperative Extension)

Craig Shuman, 2003

“The Marine Aquarium Trade in the Phillippines: Balancing Ecological Impacts with Livelihood Opportunities.” (current employer: California Fish and Game Commission; self-employed)

Michelle Anghera, 2004

“Detecting Contaminant Impacts to the Benthic Community in a Coastal Wetland.” (current employer: QEA Anchor Environmental)

Joshua Burnam (co-chair with Tony Orme, Geography), 2004

“Impacts of Low Water Crossings on Aquatic Resources under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit Program.” (current employer: QEA Anchor Environmental)

Jayson Smith, 2005

(Ecology and Evolutionary Biology [EEB], co-chair with P. Fong). “Factors Affecting Geographic Patterns and Long-Term Change of Mussel Abundances (Mytilus californianus Conrad) and Bed-Associated Community Composition along the California Coast.” (current position: Assistant Professor, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona)

Dan Swenson, 2005

“Habitat Loss, Cumulative Impacts, and the Clean Water Act Section 404 Program: A Spatial Analysis.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Irene Tetreault Miranda, 2006

“The effects of marine reserves on fish inhabiting temperate rocky reefs.” (current position: independent consultant)

Jae Chung, 2006

“Cumulative Impacts to Riparian Wetlands in the Aliso Creek and San Juan Creek Watersheds.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Erik Larsen, 2006

“Regulation, Characterization, and Assessment of Riparian Habitat in Federal and State Jurisdiction, Orange County, CA.” (current employer: P & D Consultants)

Matthew Vandersande (co-chair with L. Pendleton, ESE), 2006

“Regulation of non-wetland riparian areas in the arid and semi-arid southwest: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, bank stabilization, and a policy recommendation.” (current employer: National Marine Fisheries Service)

Vada Yoon (co-chair with M. Stenstrom, CEE), 2006

“Quantification of Metals, Nutrients, and Solids from Natural Areas During Wet and Dry Weather in Southern California.” (current employer: QEA Anchor Environmental)

Gretchen Coffman, 2007

“Factors influencing invasion of Giant Reed (Arundo donax) in riparian ecosystems of Mediterranean-type climates.” (current position: Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco)

Sarah Rothenberg (co-chair with Jenny Jay, Civil and Environmental Engineering), 2007

“Mercury Cycling in a Coastal Estuary: Implications for Maximum Total Daily Loads.” (current employer: University of South Carolina)

Perla Atiyah, 2009

(Acting as chair for Linwood Pendleton). “Non-Market Valuation and Marine Management: Using Panel Data Analysis to Measure Policy Impacts on Coastal Resources.” (current position: Assistant Professor, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi)

Robert Gilbert, 2009

“A multi-method approach for the characterization of urban stream quality and algal dynamics.” (current employer: UCLA)

Matthew Buffleben (co-chair with Stan Trimble, Geography), 2009

“Assessment of Soil Creep for Total Maximum Daily Load Development in a Northern Coastal California Watershed.” (current employer: North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board)

Melissa Evanson, 2009

“Chinook Salmon Population Dynamics and Life History Strategies in the Squamish River Watershed, BC, Canada.” (current employer: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

Felicia Federico, 2009

“Managing Hydromodification Impacts due to Urbanization through Regulation of New Development and Re-Development in Southern California.” (current employer: UCLA)

Demian Willette, 2010

“The description of Caribbean seagrass communities in Dominica, West Indies and their response to anthropogenic and natural disturbances.” (current position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Old Dominion University, Virginia)

Leila Lackey, 2012

“Design of an Aquatic Resource Status and Trends Monitoring Program for California.” (current employer: Food and Drug Administration)

Chad Nelsen, 2012

(Acting as chair for Linwood Pendleton). “Collecting and Using Economic Information to Guide the Management of Coastal Recreational Resources in California.” (current employer: Surfrider Foundation)

Forrest Vanderbilt, 2013

“Protecting and Restoring our Nation’s Waters: The Effects of Science, Law, and Policy on Clean Water Act Jurisdiction with a focus on the Arid West.” (current employer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Donna Ferguson (co-chair with J. Jay), 2014

“Genetic Characterization of Enterococcus in California Coastal Environments.”

Valerie Chan, 2014

“Examining Management Issues for Incidentally Caught Species in Highly Migratory Species Fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.” (current employer: National Marine Fisheries Service)

Wendy Greene is currently working towards her M.S. in Environmental Health Sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health. She received her B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution with a minor in Environmental Systems and Society from UCLA. Her interests are in the relationships between ecosystem health, human health, and urban design. More specifically, she is interested in developing a valuation system for certain ecosystem services in order to assist in the development of environmental protection and management strategies. Incorporating these aspects into policy and design practices is especially important in the wake of the increasing effects of urbanization and climate change.

Clifford Shum is currently a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) student in the Environmental Health Sciences department. He is interested in watershed management, including water quality issues, mitigation, and restoration. Previously, he worked with the San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy in dealing with these issues within the San Gabriel River watershed. He is currently conducting biological water monitoring for the County of Orange Environmental Resources division in order to quantify the success of fecal contamination remediation efforts in their local watersheds.

Masters Student Alumni

Whitman Miller (co-chair with Dr. R.R. Vance, Biology), 1994
Tamira Cohen, 1995

“Trace metals in three California coastal wetland regions: Mugu Lagoon, Malibu Lagoon and Ballona Wetlands.”

Sharon Landau, 1996
Lesley Dobalian, 1999

“Can wetland restoration meet compensatory mitigation goals of overall no net loss?”

John Howe, 2001
Laurie Ikuta, 2002

“Do fences protect birds from human disturbance?”

Lena Maun, 2002

“Marine Reserves: Effective answers to the coral reef crisis or only part of the solution in the Caribbean Region?”

Shannon Pankratz, 2003

“Effects of Mycorrhizal Infection and Salinity Stress on the Growth Performance of Three Salt Marsh Plant Species (Frankenia grandifolia, Jaumea carnosa and Salicornia virginica).”

Terry Young, 2005

“An assessment of tiger beetle populations at Mugu Lagoon, Ventura, California in 2003-04 compared to 1982 populations.”

Shanti Abichandani Santuli, 2007

“The Potential Impact of the Invasive Species Arundo donax on Water Resources along the Santa Clara River: Seasonal and Diurnal Transpiration.”

Glenn Sias, 2007

“A Comparison of Soil Salinity between Areas Dominated by Native Vegetation and Non-native Vegetation in a Tidal Wetland.”

Janel Marie Augello, 2008

“Development of a Bioassay to Detect Variations in Freshwater Nutrient Conditions.”

Melissa McMeechan, 2009

“Remote Sensing Evaluation of Compensatory Wetland Mitigation Regulated under the Clean Water Actin California, USA”

Jackie Prange, 2009
Tiffany Yap, 2009
John Prokup, 2010
Kate Elgin, 2012

“Soil Organic Matter of Natural and Restored Coastal Wetland Soils in Southern California”

Jordan Rosencranz, 2012

“Accretion, Sediment Deposition and Suspended Sediment Dynamics in Mugu Lagoon, a Southern California Coastal Estuary

Brendan Sullivan, 2012
Brianna Tarnower, 2012

“Quantification of Leptospira in Artificial Microcosms Mimicking Fresh and Brackish Waters Using Propidium Monoazide and qPCR (PMA-qPCR).”

Amy Zimmer-Faust, 2012

“Evaluation of Approaches to Quantify Total Residual Oxidants for use in Monitoring Ballast Water Management Systems.”

Justin Yee is compiling an inventory of biofilters in Los Angeles, to characterize these BMPs for treating storm water runoff. This project involves contacting city officials, obtaining engineering/construction plans, and researching the variety of biofilters currently in use by a variety of agencies. The inventory will assist further research on the effectiveness of planted biofiltration systems as viable means to treat stormwater and urban runoff in Southern California.