From: Ben Ruttenbero
To: City Council
Subject: Comment for Outside Agency Meeting
Date: Tuesday,August 20,2024 1:10:24 PM
External Email
Hello,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with the City about support for our Pismo clam research program at Cal Poly.
I plan to request a speaking slot at the Outside Agency Meeting, and I have included my remarks below in case time runs out.
I appreciate the past support of the City of Pismo Beach and your consideration of this request. If there is interest, we have more information about the research program here:
https://www.marineconservationlab.org/pismoclams.html
Cheers,
Ben
My name is Ben Ruttenberg, and I am a marine science professor at Cal Poly. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today. My lab group started studying Pismo clams on Pismo Beach 10 years ago; as you know, the iconic Pismo clam is synonymous with Pismo Beach, so when representatives from Pismo Beach asked Cal Poly if we could help understand what happened to the Pismo clam population and how to bring them back, we were excited to start that work.
First, I'd like to thank the City for the initial support that kickstarted that project so many years ago; since then, my students and I have raised an additional $300k for this project. Those funds supported the master's research of several grad students and provided paid research experience for many dozens of undergraduates. It also provided research experience for hundreds of volunteers. Along the way, this great team of students has conducted some amazing research on Pismo clams, including understanding their age and growth, their reproductive cycles, the importance of sand as habitat, their key predators, what factors correlate with abundance across the state, and how poaching may impact recovery.
Importantly, we have also documented an incredible recovery of Pismo clam populations here on Pismo Beach. All of this work helps us to better understand what is needed to manage these important populations sustainably, but there is so much more work to do to ensure that Pismo clams continue to be abundance on Pismo Beach well into the future.
When we started this work, abundances were so low that I would often tell my students, 'Zeroes are still data.' Now, we find literally thousands of clams in a single sampling transect.
But as you can imagine, as the abundance has increased, the amount of effort needed to
continue the survey work has increased as well. With my increasing responsibilities at Cal Poly, I no longer have the time to manage the program as I did when it started. I've been fortunate to have had several fantastic grad students to help execute the project. While we have secured substantial funding to keep the project going for 10 years, that funding has been spent. To continue to recruit the best grad students, we need funding to support their tuition costs and stipend, which will provide them with the time they need to help continue to manage and advance this research program. The Cal Poly Marine Program recently received a significant donation that provides funding to support undergraduate participation in research, but it does not include funds for the graduate students that are essential for this project.
Therefore, I humbly request support from the City of Pismo Beach to support tuition and stipend for another graduate student who will help carry this project into the future to continue to increase our understanding of this iconic species. I appreciate your consideration.
Benjamin Ruttenberg, PhD (he/him; why pronouns matter)
Professor and Director, Center for Coastal Marine Sciences Biological Sciences Department
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0401
Lab website: https://www.marineconservationtab.ore/
http://www.marine.calpoly.edu/faculty/benjamin-ruttenberg