As always, thank you for joining me in my reminiscence of this past week of the REU program. Unfortunately, I do not have any quirky or amusing stories from last weekend to share with you, as everyone was busy working on their presentations for this week (more on that later). However, Sherlyn, Victoria, and I kept the movie night tradition alive; sadly, Annika was not feeling well and was unable to join in the merriment. Nevertheless, we watched Aquamarine, which is about a mermaid who befriends two girls that are struggling with the fact that one of them is moving away. I have adored this movie ever since I was little and have rewatched it multiple times, so it was nice to share the experience of rewatching it again and discussing certain parts of the movie with my fellow REUs.
The spring low tides take place next week, so this week has mainly involved office and lab work. On Monday, I worked on entering recently collected eelgrass monitoring data for Valino Island and Danger Point into the South Slough database that dates back to 2004. Additionally, I finished processed some flowering shoots that were collected from Collver Point back in June before my arrival at OIMB and before finalizing the logistics of my project, so anyways, that means these shoots have been sitting in the tanks for a little while. Needless to say, I was quietly (but not so subtly) gagging and trying to protect my nose from the putrefying stench of decaying eelgrass leaves, so I was definitely grateful when I finished processing the shoots. Then, I began analyzing the data that we have collected for my project thus far on Tuesday. I have some experience with Excel but not with larger datasets like the ones for my project since my research at my home institution involves analyzing DNA sequences. Hence, I am also fairly unfamiliar with PivotTables, so this REU program has most certainly been a learning event for me to expand my knowledge and an outlet for me to refine my technical skills. As of right now, Excel and I are still on questionable grounds sometimes, but we are learning to better understand and appreciate each other. Once I finally finished creating a graph, I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction at having the opportunity to see the data that we have collected so far in a more visual and interpretable manner. For our professional development session this week, we were asked to present an overview of our projects, so the presentation was essentially an encapsulation of last week’s research proposal. I was extremely anxious about presenting my project to my peers, so I completed the presentation over the weekend that way I had more time to practice going over it. The experience of silently mouthing my presentation in my dorm as I practiced (since the walls do not go all the way to the ceiling and every sound carries throughout the hall) was definitely strange and unconventional, but all in all, I feel as if the presentation went better than I expected. As part of the REU program, all of the REUs are required to attend OIMB’s weekly summer seminars. For this week’s seminar, Dr. Alexandra (Alex) McInturf gave a talk on basking sharks titled, “A transoceanic perspective on behavior, population dynamics, and conservation of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus)”. Dr. McInturf was very passionate about her research, as demonstrated by her involvement in the conservation-based organization known as the Irish Basking Shark Group, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about such an interesting organism for which I have limited knowledge. Just to give you some quick fun facts that I learned during the presentation: Basking sharks are the world’s second largest living fish and shark species, typically reaching up to 8 m in length but up to 10 m historically, and basking sharks secrete a black, slimy mucus that can be sampled for genetic research. Additionally, I attended a Bio Breakfast, which is simply an informal gathering of local scientists seeking to hear about the current research and projects of other scientists in the area or elsewhere, at the Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC). During this breakfast, I listened to a presentation by Dr. Aaron Galloway, which involved discussions of kelp forests and even whales. Earlier in this program, the other REUs had lunch with Dr. Galloway, and they have sung his praises since. Nevertheless, I was unable to participate in the lunch because of fieldwork, so I certainly appreciated the chance to listen about his fascinating research and view some high-definition videos taken during his diving adventures for research. Now that week five is over, we only have four more weeks remaining in the program, which seems surreal, and I am definitely starting to feel the growing pressure (and excitement) of the upcoming poster presentation. (Also, as a heads up, I realize that the photos are sparse this week, so I apologize in advance.)
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Welcome back everyone. If you are a tidy tide tracker, you would remember that this week featured some really nice low tides, which, for obvious reasons, were advantageous for fieldwork. However, before I start weaving tales about the abundance of fieldwork this week, I would like to reflect on this past weekend. On Saturday, my fellow REUs and I went on a scheduled boat trip aboard OIMB’s boat named the R/V Pluteus. In many ways, this excursion was an experience that I will never forget. To paint a picture for you, it was a beautiful, somewhat windy Oregon day that began with smooth, calm ocean waters, but as the trip progressed, the water started becoming choppy. In case you do not know this about me, I get motion sick very easily, so prior to our departure, I took some medicine, hoping that would be enough to prevent me from getting sick. Nevertheless, the water had other plans for me. Anyways, despite my miserable state at the beginning of the trip, I really enjoyed seeing all of the interesting organisms that we dredged from the ocean floor. We caught numerous sea stars, basket stars, gorgonians, and sea cucumbers. Since we decided to make Saturday night our movie night, Annika, Sherlyn, Victoria, and I watched She’s All That later that day. Don’t worry. I know that you are all biting your nails in anticipation of hearing about our movie nights, so I will make sure to keep you updated each week.
Like I previously alluded to, every day this week has involved fieldwork and data collection for my project, which has been really fun and fascinating as I have been delving deeper into my research; I am beyond appreciative that South Slough offers so many field opportunities. On Monday, Ali and I kayaked to Hidden Creek, which is located near the treacherous waist-deep mud of Danger Point, in order to complete an eelgrass presence/absence survey to determine if eelgrass had returned to the monitoring site located there. My kayaking skills are still lacking, but I feel like I am starting to learn, thanks to Ali’s patience. After a rough beginning, paddling down the channel was peaceful once I got the hang of being in the kayak a little more, and the afternoon was gorgeous as we paddled back from Hidden Creek. On Tuesday, Lara came back down from Corvallis to continue working on her thesis project, and I was excited to work with her again throughout this week. Aside from Hidden Creek, we also visited Fossil Point, Clam Island, Collver Point, and Valino Island, so it was uplifting to explore some sites with more abundant eelgrass compared to the barrenness of Hidden Creek. Additionally, we collected some reproductive shoots for processing in the lab, which has taken up most of my time after fieldwork. However, I like being able to take my time examining each shoot without worrying about the incoming tide, especially since I have found some spadices containing mature seeds close to release (stage five of development) from the shoots we collected this week. This means that we will hopefully be able to record seed metric data soon, which is super exciting. On a side note, we just completed the mid-program survey for the REU this week. I still cannot fathom the fact that this is week four and that the program is almost halfway over. The time is flying by, but my gratitude for being chosen for this incredible opportunity continues to grow. If you have been keeping up with my blog, then you might know that this past weekend was Fourth of July weekend. Even though I did not partake in the typical holiday activity of watching fireworks, I did spend some time with some of the other REU students (specifically Sherlyn, Victoria, and Annika), and we just hung out and got to know each other better. Sherlyn had an awesome idea to do a movie night, so we came up with a list of potential movies to watch. Then, on Saturday, we watched A Cinderella Story in the group room in the library, which was super fun, and I sincerely hope that we can plan some more movie nights for the weeks ahead. On the day of the Fourth, the dining hall hosted a picnic where both the faculty and cafeteria staff worked laboriously to cook an abundance of delicious food for us, and the weather was perfect for a picnic. I also found out that day that OIMB has a tradition where an egg toss is hosted every year on the Fourth. I had never heard of an egg toss before, so in case you have not either, the goal of the activity is to toss a raw egg to your partner for him/her to catch it. If your partner fails to catch the egg and the egg busts, you lose the game. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and amusing experience to watch as eggs busted on OIMB students and other REUs. Finally, I got the chance to check out the Charleston Marine Life Center (CMLC) with Sherlyn and Victoria this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount and diversity of organisms housed there.
In terms of project work, since the spring low tides occur next week, this week has been somewhat relaxed, especially in comparison to the intensity of fieldwork last week. Nevertheless, I am also eager to get back in the field next week to complete more eelgrass data collection for my project. Anyways, that means that this week has primarily consisted of me finalizing the research proposal for my project, which is due next week. I do not have any experience writing research proposals, so the process of writing one for the first time was certainly stressful. Luckily, Ali was kind enough to take the time to read through my rough draft and make some edits and suggestions, which was really helpful. Also, Ali has been great about inviting me to other fieldwork opportunities at South Slough, so on Wednesday, I went out with Jenni and a few other interns to participate in marsh biomonitoring at Valino Island. The biomonitoring involved recording an array of data measurements for various marsh species, including the presence and abundance of species such as sea lavender (Limonium californicum) and pickleweed (Sarcocornia perennis). Being able to go out to the marsh and examine the biodiversity there was definitely a nice, fun change of pace. Also, I am excited to survey an endangered angiosperm known as the Western lily (Lilium occidentale) near the end of this week. To begin, thank you for returning to my blog. As you know, I arrived at OIMB last week and am ecstatic to be researching the reproductive phenology of eelgrass (Zostera marina) during the course of this REU program. To give you a little background information, eelgrass is a marine angiosperm that commonly grows in shallow waters of areas such as bays and estuaries. The beds and meadows formed by this flowering plant create highly productive ecosystems that support a myriad of organisms. For instance, eelgrass beds act as nurseries and spawning areas for numerous commercially important species, such as salmon and Dungeness crabs; they also serve as shelter for many fish and invertebrates and as a source of food for a variety of waterfowl. Furthermore, eelgrass beds decrease coastal erosion and improve water quality.
Interestingly, eelgrass can reproduce both asexually, which involves the creation of new vegetative shoots via elongation of the plant’s rhizome, and sexually, which entails the production of flowers and seeds. I will largely be focusing on aspects of eelgrass sexual reproduction this summer, especially since there is limited information available about eelgrass flowering shoots in the South Slough estuary. Unfortunately, eelgrass populations at many sites throughout South Slough have been experiencing significant declines since 2015 and 2016; thus, the data collected from my project will hopefully be applied to future seeding restoration projects with the goal of increasing eelgrass abundance in the estuary. The low tide series this week afforded me the remarkable opportunity to gain some experience in the field, so every day this week has mainly consisted of exciting fieldwork and, in turn, data collection for my project. In many ways, being able to see my research organism in person for the first time and having the chance to actually examine everything that I have been reading about was awe-inspiring. Ali is very knowledgeable, and she has been really patient as I have been learning many new things this week. Additionally, I finally met Lara Breitkreutz in person this week, who is a graduate research fellow that I will be working closely with this summer since she is also interested in eelgrass reproductive ecology. Both her and her advisor Fiona have been great resources for learning more information about eelgrass and for advice on my project. To give a quick summary of the specifics of my week, all of the REU students went camping at Sunset Bay State Park this past weekend. During the trip, we all went hiking, and we hung out on the beach for a few hours enjoying some unusually warm weather by Oregon standards. This was actually my first time going camping, so sharing this unique experience with my fellow REUs was pretty fun. During the week, I visited Valino Island, Danger Point, Clam Island, and Fossil Point for some data sampling. For reference, Danger Point derives its name from the fact that you can sink almost waist deep in the mudflats there, so I quickly learned that I am not adept at walking through the mud. I ended up having to army crawl across the mudflat because I kept getting stuck, which was probably pretty comical to watch, and I ended up being absolutely covered in the unpleasant smelling muck. Finally, near the end of the week, Lara and I completed some initial eelgrass flowering shoot processing, which took a while, but it was fun working with her and looking at the different parts of the shoot. |
AuthorHi everyone! My name is Chloe Cummins, and I am from Loretto, Tennessee. I am a rising senior at the University of Tennessee Southern where I am pursuing a B.S. degree in Biology (with a concentration in Wildlife Biology and Ecology) and a minor in Sustainability. I’m super excited to be researching the reproductive ecology of eelgrass with my mentor Ali Helms at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve during my time here at OIMB! Archives
August 2022
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