Summary
Tessa Holzmann, a Ph.D. student in the Earth & Planetary Sciences Department advised by Distinguished Professor Paul Koch, has received $6,010 in seed funding for her project “Unlocking Ancient Marine Ecosystem Structure and Evolution through Calcium Stable Isotopes.” The research explores a novel use of calcium isotopes to map marine food webs. By analyzing tissues from California’s marine mammals and fish, the team aims to distinguish dietary patterns from physiological traits—advancing our ability to interpret ancient ecosystems using fossil records.