Abel Santana

Senior Research Technician
Biology

Abel Santana is a Senior Research Technician in the Biology Department at SCCWRP, specializing in Geospatial Data Analysis, Cartography and Network Administration. His current projects include database design and management, geospatial data visualization and analysis, as well as development of field data collection tools.

He received his B.A. in geography in 2012, and his M.S. in geography with an emphasis on GIS in 2016, both from California State University, Long Beach. He joined SCCWRP in 2012.

Education

M.S., Geography, California State University, Long Beach, 2016

B.A., Geography, California State University, Long Beach, 2012

Certificate (Geographic Information Systems), Cypress College, 2009

Professional Experience

Senior Research Technician, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA. Present

Research Technician, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA. 2013-2017

Lab Assistant, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA. 2012-2013

Internship, RedHill Group. Irvine, CA. 2011

Internship, Geography Department, CSULB, CA. 2011

Teaching, Supplemental Instruction, CSULB, CA. 2011-2012

Geography Tutor, Learning Center, CSULB, CA. 2011

Internship, Landata Airborne Systems, Inc. Irvine, CA. 2003

Internship, Cypress College, CA. 2002-2004

Teaching Assistant, Cypress College, CA. 2002-2004

Professional Appointments

Geography Student Association, Vice President (2012)

Explorers Club, President (2010)

Progressive Students for Change, President and Co-founder (2010)

Honors and Awards

Burton Anderson Scholarship Recipient (2012)

Publications


Journal Articles

Irving, K., K.T. Taniguchi-Quan, A. Santana, M.L. Treglia, R.N. Fisher, J. Haas, C. Loflen, C. Brown, E.D. Stein. 2025. Vulnerability of an Endangered Amphibian to Climate-Change Induced Hydrologic Change. River Research and Applications DOI:10.1002/rra.4455.

Technical Reports

Mazor, R.D., K. Irving, D.J. Gillett, J.S. Brown, A. Santana. 2025. Improving biointegrity in engineered channels. Technical Report 1437. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

Mazor, R.D., A. Santana, C. Endris, K. O'Connor. 2020. Assessing the representativeness of bioassessment samples using spatial statistical networks (SSNs) for watersheds in California: A guide for aquatic resource managers. Technical Report 1143. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.