Coastal Wetlands StudiesJanet Walker
2017 The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies

Janet Walker is a PhD candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology at the University of California, Davis, and San Diego State University. Her research will focus on the role of burrowing crabs and how they structure California salt marsh plant communities. Crabs can burrow into soils surrounding marsh vegetation and thereby alleviate submergence and hypoxic stress for plants. The impacts of crabs may shape the distribution and abundance of plant species, which may be especially pronounced at lower latitudes where temperaturerelated stress is already high. Identifying factors that mitigate this environmental stress (e.g., the activities of burrowing crabs) will contribute to conservation strategies and acknowledge the resilience of these ecosystems in the face of climate change.
The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies
To promote, expand, and enrich the body of research concerning the coast by actively supporting graduate students in the field of coastal wetlands science.
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