June 2026. The Tomales Bay Foundation Student Research Grants Program is pleased to award 3 grants for research projects in the Tomales Bay Watershed.
Sia Agarwal and Paige Thionnet have been awarded a grant for investigative study of “Eelgrass Microbial Diversity as a Function of Freshwater Flow Exposure in Tomales Bay, California”. Page and Sia are students at UC Berkeley.
Saul Cervantes, a student at Sonoma State University School of Science and Technology, will investigate “Does eelgrass mitigate the predatory effects of invasive European green crab on juvenile Dungeness crab?”. Saul will be studying eelgrass at 3 locations in Tomales Bay. This research has potential to help further understand and protect naïve crab nursery populations.
Ana Roden , a graduate student at UC Davis Marine Labe in Bodega Bay has been awarded a grant for her study entitled “Exploring the role of benthic primary production on sedimentary alkalinity release in Tomales Bay, California”. Alkalinity is a driver of oceanic carbon cycling . Ana seeks to understand whether benthic microalgae contribute to alkalinity production through enhanced organic matter, possibly affecting oyster and seaweed production in Tomales Bay.
The Tomales Bay Foundation funds annual research grants with the objective of increasing the scientific and public understanding of Tomales Bay and its watershed as it begins to experience climate change and sea level rise. The Tomales Bay Foundation is planning webinars in which the grant recipients can describe their research and their findings.
The Tomales Bay Foundation has funded 17 research projects on Tomales Bay in the past 5 years. The Foundation encourages contributions to our scholarship fund. The Inverness Garden Club, and local residents have contributed to support research grants in 2026.