I graduated from UC San Diego in 2014 with dual degrees in Environmental Systems: Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution (BS) and Economics (BA). As an undergraduate, I volunteered in Dr. Jennifer Smith's coral reef ecology lab at SIO and examined changes in benthic community composition in the Pacific Line Islands. I also worked with Dr. Junjie Zhang at the School of Global Policy & Strategy on his research concerning how environmental policy affects corresponding markets. My undergraduate experiences led me to a great interest in the coupled socio-ecological system.

In 2014, I began my graduate studies at SIO as a PIER (Program for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research) student. My current research focuses on ecosystem services in (1) the deep sea and (2) natural treatment systems. (1) Deep-sea regulation is still in development, which presents a unique opportunity to incorporate ecosystem services before any further environmental degradation. (2) Natural treatment systems are increasingly important as southern California, and other parts of the world, are subject to severe drought. Ecosystem services help us understand how changes in environmental conditions affect human well-being and can provide a tool for sustainable management and policy.

At SIO, I am involved in organizing the Interdisciplinary Forum on Environmental Research which provides a space for discussion across disciplines (e.g. economics, political theory, literature) and across national borders through our collaboration with El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. I also contribute to the efforts of Ocean Scientists for Informed Policy and Youth for Ocean, two student-led groups that are working towards incorporating current research into international climate policy. In addition, I work on social media for Squidtoons, a website that creates comics and infographics to communicate science to the broader public.

Publications:

Le JT, Levin LA, and Carson RT. In Review. Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental management of deep seabed mining. Deep-Sea Research II.

Levin LA, Baco AR, Bowden D, Calaco A, Cordes E, Cunha MR, Demopoulos A, Gobin J, Grupe B, Le J, Metaxas A, Netburn A, Rouse GW, Thurber AR, Tunnicliffe V, Van Dover C, Vanreusel A, and L Watling. 2016. Hydrothermal vents and methane seeps: Rethinking the sphere of influence. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00072.

Levin L, Girgius PR, German CR, Brennan ML, Tuzun S, Wagner J, Smart C, Kruger A, Inderbitzen K, Le J, Martinez M, Martinez C, Kappel E, Gallo N, and BM Grupe. 2016. Exploration and Discovery of Methane Seeps and Associated Communities in the California Borderland in New Frontiers in Ocean Exploration: The E/V Nautilus and NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer 2015 Field Season, eds KLC Bell, ML Brennan, J Flanders, NA Raineault, and K Wagner. (Rockville, MD: The Oceanography Society), 40-43.