Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration recently obtained a series of sea sponge samples, including several new species, collected in Santa Barbara County by Dr. Thomas Turner (EEMB Faculty member). These sponges were curated and digitized. The specimens were accessioned into the Cheadle Center's Invertebrate Zoology Collection and their data was published on Ecdysis and made publicly available through Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). There are now over 140 sponges in the Cheadle Center's Collection. A publication for the Biodiversity Data Journal and an article for the Cheadle Center's Newsletter, which will make information about these sponges more accessible, are in progress. This poster was presented at the UCSB Undergraduate Research Colloquium 2026.