Student Research and Travel Grants
Cultivating future bryologists is crucial to the mission of the CNPS Bryophyte Chapter. We offer small grants to support undergraduate and graduate students conducting research on California mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Learn about our past recipients and their contributions to the understanding and conservation of bryophytes below. We thank the generous donors who have made these grants possible.
Student Research Grants: Next cycle application due January 31, 2027.
Check back early 2027 for travel scholarships.
Bryophyte Chapter Grant Recipients
2024
Matthew Yamamoto, M.S. student in Botany, California Botanic Garden, Claremont Graduate University
Project Title: The Vascular and Nonvascular Flora of the McGee Creek Watershed, Mono County, California
2024
Zane Walker, Botany Major, Oregon State University, Honors College
Project Title: A Bryoflora of the Marble Mountain Wilderness
2023
Peri Lee Pipkin, M.S. student in Botany, California Botanic Garden, Claremont Graduate University
Project Title: A Floristic Inventory of the Silver Peak Range, Esmeralda County, NV
Project Results: Peri Lee made 68 collections of bryophytes representing 26 minimum rank taxa across 14 families, which included 16 county records new to Esmeralda County. Of note was Amblyodon dealbatus, a moss collected only a couple of times in the entire state of Nevada.
2021
Javier Jauregui-Lazo, PhD student, University of California, Berkeley
Project Title: The Moss Syntrichia: a non-vascular plant with efficient external water conduction
Project Results: Syntrichia is an ectohydric moss capable of externally transporting and storing water through capillary action. In our research, we used an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and confocal microscopy to reveal how small chambers and capillary spaces within the moss fill up and retain water in specialized cell types. As Syntrichia absorbed a minimal amount of water, we observed significant changes, ranging from modifications in its overall morphology to extensive cell shape alterations, enhancing its ability to store water efficiently and release it gradually into the atmosphere. Different species exhibited varying capabilities to conduct water and retain water, likely influenced by their ontogeny and habitat requirements.
The dynamics of external water conduction in the dryland moss Syntrichia
2021, 2022
John McLaughlin, MS student in Biology, San Jose State University
Project Title: Bryophyte Flora of Henry W. Coe State Park
In Search of Fissidens fontanus
Project Results: My work documented a total of 179 bryophyte species, including one state record (Aloina rigida), and three previously undescribed species. This marks Henry W. Coe State Park as the most diverse area for bryophytes in the Diablo Range and provides further support for the area’s preservation.
2019
Charles Gibbons, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Environmental Management and Protection major with concentration in botanical studies and minor in Land Rehabilitation and Restoration Ecology
Project Title: Alpine Bryophyte Inventory for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Project Results: My project resulted in the beginning of collection data for bryophytes at National Resource Inventory Plots in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, numerous photo observations uploaded to CalFlora, and 67 collections, of which 40 were deposited into the Hoover Herbarium at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
2019, 2021
Martin Purdy, M.S. Student in Botany, California Botanic Garden (formerly Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden), Claremont, CA
Project Title: Vascular and Nonvascular Flora of Coyote Ridge, Inyo County, California
Project Results: Fieldwork and herbarium searches conducted for this project between July 2019 and August 2021 documented a total of 543 minimum-rank taxa, 273 of which were not previously known to the area. Nonvascular plants are documented by 69 species (12.7% of the flora), composed of 66 mosses, three liverworts, and no hornworts. New collections and examination of historical specimens yielded occurrences of 13 new rare plants for the area including new records for the Sierra Nevada mountains, Inyo County, and one new moss species (Amblyodon dealbatus) for the state of California.
Bryophytes of Coyote Ridge and Flat, Inyo County, California
2019
Jenna Ekwealor, PhD student, University of California, Berkeley
Project Title: UV tolerance in Mojave Desert mosses
Project Results: Desert moss, Syntrichia caninervis, is dark brown in natural, high light settings, but is bright green when grown in low light conditions, suggesting the dark pigmentation may be a photoprotective sunscreen. My study aimed to test the hypothesis that UV radiation induces dark coloration in S. caninervis, and that removal of UV radiation will result in greener, less-stressed plants. Surprisingly, I found that UV radiation did induce the dark coloration, but the greener UV-free plants were in fact more stressed.
