Join us Thursday April 10th & Friday April 11th in Costa Mesa, CA at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project for a meeting filled with presentations and discussions about the estuaries and coasts of California and Baja California, Mexico.

Meeting Schedule

Thursday April 10th
8:00 am  - 1:00 pm   Registration

11:30 am - 11:35 am  Welcome address

11:35 am - 1:00 pm   Coastal litter pollution solutions panel

1:00 pm  - 1:20 pm   Opening remarks

1:20 pm  - 2:30 pm   Contributed talks
2:30 pm  - 2:50 pm   Break
2:50 pm  - 3:40 pm   Contributed talks
3:40 pm  - 4:00 pm   Break

4:00 pm  - 4:50 pm   Contributed talks

4:50 pm  - 6:30 pm   Poster session  

Friday April 11th
8:00 am  - 8:30 am   Registration
8:30 am  - 9:20 am   Plenary talks
9:20 am  - 10:10 am  Contributed talks
10:10 am - 10:30 am  Break
10:30 am - 11:20 am  Contributed talks
11:20 am - 11:40 am  Break
11:40 am - 12:30 pm  Contributed talks
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm   CAERS business meeting (open to all, please drop in) and Closing remarks
1:00 pm  - 2:30 pm   Lunch
3:00 pm  - 5:00 pm   Field trip (Newport Bay)

Key Dates:
March 22 – Early registration deadline
March 30 – Abstract deadline

We are pleased to announce our CAERS 2025 plenary speakers,

Dr. Christine Whitcraft and Dr. Danielle Zacherl!

Dr. Christine Whitcraft is professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). Her major area of interest is coastal wetland ecology, focused on the impact of anthropogenic activities on functioning of brackish and salt marshes. Specifically, she investigates restoration strategies, impacts of invasive plants, and climate change-related impacts. Additional research interests include development of living shorelines and foraging behavior of California Least Terns.

She received her B.A. in Biology from Williams College, Williamstown MA, and Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her postdoctoral research was a CALFED position at San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve until she started at CSULB in 2008.

Dr. Danielle Zacherl is a marine ecologist and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University Fullerton. She has initiated several efforts to restore Olympia oysters into southern California estuaries, has explored use of living shorelines (restored native habitats) to increase shoreline resiliency, and has been studying the population biology and ecology of Olympia oysters and non-indigenous Japanese oysters for more than two decades. Dr. Zacherl has served as President of the Western Society of Naturalists and Western Society of Malacologists and is a founding member of NOOC (Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative), a North American coast-wide collaborative of oyster scientists, practitioners, educators and aquaculturists who envision resilient native oyster populations in bays and estuaries from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. She is deeply committed to mentoring undergraduate and master’s students in field ecology.

Dr. Zacherl earned her BA in Biology from Brown University, her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology from University of California Santa Barbara in 2002, and held a post-doctoral research position at UCLA for a year before joining the faculty at CSU Fullerton in 2003.

CAERS Meeting Registration Information 

Registration includes coffee, tea, and snacks/appetizers on both days, light breakfast and lunch on the second day. Early registration ends 11:59 pm PT on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

• Student early registration: $85, late & on-site: $110 

• Member early registration: $135, late & on-site: $185

• Non-member registration: $150, late & on-site: $200

Want the discounted rate and the ability to stay in touch with coastal and estuarine scientists in your region?

Become a member of CAERS ($20, $10 for students) before registering by clicking here.

Register for CAERS 2025 here!

Student Travel Awards

Thanks to California Sea Grant for help with our student travel awards- thanks to them, we were able to provide eight awards. This opportunity is now closed.

Student travel awards are available based on needed. Send an email to caestuarineresearchsociety@gmail.com with a statement of need (include affiliation, advisor, contact information, and statement of need). Awards will be distributed on a rolling basis until gone.

CAERS Presenter Information

·       All topics relevant to the estuaries and coasts of the Pacific Coast of North America are welcome.  

·       Please submit your presentation abstract by 5 pm PT March 30 2025 using this:

CAERS 2025 Abstract submission form

·       Abstract format example is here. (*= presenting author):

Understanding the role of California killifish in making salt marshes pretty kick-ass

Sally Cornia^1*, Frank Ennia¹, Gary Baldi² and Perry Lichthys¹

¹Universidad de las Marismas, Ensenada, Mexico; ²Kelp Forest College, Monterey, CA

Abstract. Please put your ≤ 250-word abstract here. Use sentence cases and italicize scientific names. Include an indication of the issue being addressed, project goals, general type of methods used, a sneak peek of results and broader implications of the work. You know the drill.

·       Oral presentations will be ~12 min long with 3 min for questions (15 min total time). Please practice your talk; time limits will be strictly enforced.

·       Posters dimensions may be 48" x 36" in either landscape or portrait. Posters will be taped or pinned to poster holders, which will be provided.

Travel and Lodging Information

Holiday Inn: Santa Ana-Orange County Airport

2726 S Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705

Host hotel is the Holiday Inn: Santa Ana-Orange County Airport. A discounted block of rooms is available. The discount applies for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night stays (arrive as early as the April 9th, leave as late as April 12th).

To book a room for the CAERS conference, please use the link below.

Book a room here to receive our group's preferred rate

All rooms (1 King or 2 Queen) are $121 per night + fees.