Taking a water sample Checking hydrophone at pier 2002 intern Emily Locke 1999 intern James Douglas 2001 intern Liz Davis 2002 intern Emily Locke 2001 intern Liz Davis

Past Internships

 

2012

Melissa Breeden
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Junior, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences

Research Title: Last Glacial Maximum ocean circulation simulated by PMIP3 climate models

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Andreas Schmittner, Associate Professor, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Rachel Danielson
University of California Irvine
Junior, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Research Title: Do the biological fields of a 3km resolution model of the Oregon Shelf correlate well with observational data?

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Hal Batchelder and Yvette Spitz, Professors, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Charlie Dean
Hood College
Senior, Biology and History

Research Title: Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios and uptake in the blue mud shrimp, (Upogebia pugettensis), in their burrow linings and in adjacent sediments

Research Summary: The geochemical processes of Upogebia burrows and their likely adaptive values have remained unclear. In particular, the mechanisms controlling microbially mediated geochemical reactions between burrowing shrimp and their burrow linings is understudied and the interactions of Upogebia and the structure and diversity of their burrow microorganisms is all but unknown. We examined the trophic dependence of U. pugettensis on its tube lining by a carbon and nitrogen isotope tracer experiment and tested whether microbial communities inhabiting the inside of the U. pugettensis burrow are consumed by the shrimp.

Mentors: John Chapman, Research Associate, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Brett Dumbauld, Courtesy Professor & USDA ARS Researcher and Andrew Thurber, Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Kathryn Doering
University of Miami
Sophomore, Marine Science and Biology

Research Title: Comparison of juvenile English sole condition in coastal and estuarine nursery habitats using gas chromatography lipid analysis

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Lorenzo Ciannelli, Associate Professor, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Alejandra Dominguez
Columbia University
Junior, Environmental Science

Research Title: Observing diagenesis on the Oregon Margin through a paleomagnetic lens

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Joe Stoner, Associate Professor, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Erick Dowell
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Junior, Biology

Research Title: Characterization of the microbial community of a hydrothermal vent system at the Chilean triple junction

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Rick Colwell, Professor and Andrew Thurber, Postdoc College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Adrian Gonzalez
Oregon State University
Junior, Fisheries

Research Title: Effects associated with exposure to PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in juvenile chinook salmon

Research Summary: PBDEs are a fire retardant found in many household and commercial products. PBDEs are a cause for concern because they are a readily found pollutant in both freshwater and marine habitats. PBDEs are found in many fish species and specifically salmonids. PBDEs can be linked to higher rates of infectious disease and a reduction in immune response. In addition, these pollutants bioaccumulate passing on their negative effects to other organisms. My summer research project focused on investigating the effects of PBDEs on the immune system of juvenile Chinook salmon as well as the effects on the endocrine and immune function.

Mentor: Mary Arkoosh, Assistant Professor (Courtesy), Microbiologyy; NOAA – Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Joseph Dietrich, CIMRS, Oregon State University, HMSC
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Samuel Haugland
Kansas State University
Senior, Physics

Research Title: Spatial and temporal structure of fluxes between a lateral embayment and the Columbia River estuary channel

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Jim Lerczak, Associate Professor, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Drew Hill
Portland Community College
Junior, Associate of Science

Research Title: Interannual and interdecadal dietary analysis of pelagic forage fishes in the northern California Current Ecosystem

Research Summary: The waters of the Pacific Northwest are characterized by fluctuating ocean environments that are driven in large part by environmental forcing (Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño Southern Oscillation). Linked to this environmental variation is the abundance of forage fish, which are a critical link in the food-web that supports many of our commercially and ecologically important fisheries. This summer I will be analyzing the diets of major forage fishes such as sardines, anchovy, smelts, and herring from the Pacific Northwest and comparing the results to similar studies done in the 1980s and 2000s, looking for trends over time and possible linkages to the changing ocean environment.

Mentor: Richard Brodeur, Fisheries Ecology Division, NWFSC, NOAA and Elizabeth Daly, CIMRS, Oregon State University, HMSC
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Conor Maginn
Bates College
Freshman, Geology

Research Title: Characterization of the microbial community of a hydrothermal vent system at the Chilean triple junction

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Jennifer McKay, Assistant Professor and Alan Mix, Professor College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Thomas Martin
University of California, San Diego
Junior, Earth Sciences

Research Title: Magnetotelluric investigation of Newberry Volcano and implications for enhanced geothermal systems

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Adam Schultz, Professor College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Emma Nelson
University of Massachussetts Amherst
Senior, Natural Resources Conservation

Research Title: The Hunger Games: Provisioning rates and implications for survival of common murre (Uria aalge) chicks

Research Summary: For common murres, variation in nestling provisioning rates reflect differences in prey availability and foraging efficiency and has direct effects on nestling survival. I am studying the provisioning rates of common murre chicks at three different time and space scales to determine extrinsic (environmental) and intrinsic (parent quality) factors affecting differences in nestling provision rates. This study is at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, where data on provisioning rates is limited compared to other common murre colonies along the western coast. This study will help produce an inference on oceanographical changes, as well as its influence on marine ecosystems.

Mentor: Rob Suryan, Associate Professor (Sr Res), OSU/Hatfield Marine Science Center
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Brynn Perales
California State University, Monterey Bay
Junior, Environmental Science

Research Title: An evaluation of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) jack mate choice based on immune-relevant genes

Research Summary: My summer research project was studying how coho salmon jacks discriminate at immune-relevant genes when choosing their mates. The objectives were to investigate mate pairs that involve jacks and determine if they are non-random according to immune-relevant genes (Major Histocompatibility Complex and other immune-relevant genes) and specifically to evaluate the type of preference: dissimilar or intermediate. I also investigated whether that preference was correlated with increased Reproductive Success.

Mentor: Kathleen O'Malley, Assistant Professor (Sr Res), OSU/Hatfield Marine Science Center
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Gail Schweiterman
Oberlin College
Junior, Biology

Research Title: Dietary Lipid Composition’s Effects on Tanner Crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) growth rates

Research Summary: Although Tanner crabs compose a locally important fishery in the northeast Pacific and Bering Sea, little is known concerning their life history, especially in terms of juvenile habitat use. Juvenile crabs of drastically different sizes were observed in several bays on Kodiac Island, Alaska. My summer study attempted to explain these observed differences through diet manipulation. By providing crabs diets with different levels of total lipid, and different ratios of key fatty acids, I investigated what was the optimal diet for juvenile tanner crabs. I determined growth data from measuring intermolt period and molt increment. Additionally, I conducted lipid extraction and analysis of these crabs to determine storage fat levels and fatty acid ratios within the organisms.

Mentor: Cliff Ryer, Assistant Professor, Fisheries and Wildlife (Courtesy), NOAA  Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Louise Copeman, Postdoctoral researcher, CIMRS
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Diana Sokoly
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Senior, Environmental Science

Research Title: The Effects of N:P Ratios on Nutrient Uptake in Salt Marshes in Oregon Estuaries

Research Summary: My project is to examine how differences in the elemental ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus affect nutrient uptake in salt marshes. The capacity for salt marshes to remove nutrients from surface water is becoming increasingly important as an ecosystem service by maintaining water quality in estuaries. I am focusing on a salt marsh in Yaquina Bay where we use steel cylindrical chambers to isolate a portion of the marsh and supply it with seawater with a certain ratio and concentration of nutrients. Observed changes in concentration allows for calculation of nutrient flux. By comparing the fluxes observed in the marsh under the baseline (natural) ratio, a ratio with elevated nitrogen, and a ratio with elevated phosphorus, the limiting or stimulating effect that altered ratios may have can be determined. The resulting fluxes will be included when quantifying the value of nutrient removal as an ecosystem service in Oregon estuaries.

Mentor: Ted DeWitt, Ecologist, US EPA-Pacific Coastal Ecology
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


MaryKate Swenarton
Rutgers University
Senior, Ecology

Research Title: Behavior of Age-0 Northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) in a Stratified Water Column Research

Research Summary: Settlement is a behavioral and ecological process in flatfish development, as opposed to the physiological development of metamorphosis, that is controlled by multiple abiotic and biotic variables. Temperature has been recognized as a vital component to larval growth, considering its’ importance, it seems reasonable that Northern rock sole larvae could be behaviorally avoiding the swift changes in temperature associated with stratified water in deeper ocean zones, and instead choose to settle in the warmer, mixed coastal areas where they could experience higher growth rates. In my summer research study, I investigated Northern rock sole larvae in response to laboratory constructed thermal stratification as a possible mechanism in juvenile flat fish early settlement.

Mentor: Ben Laurel, Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA - Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Kali Turner
University of Idaho
Senior, Biology

Research Title: The effects of ocean acidification on the behavioral responsiveness of juvenile walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) to olfactory cues

Research Summary: My summer research project was investigating behavioral sensitivity thresholds to olfactory cues in juvenile walleye pollock (~50mm TL) and measuring baseline swimming activity in the absence of prey scent cues at pH 7.2 (to simulate ocean acidification) and pH 8.0 (ambient conditions). In addition I got to measure the behavioral responsiveness at each pH treatment as changes in swimming activity from baseline activity levels when prey scent was introduced to a single linear flume. My project was focused on understanding the behavioral responsiveness of juvenile walleye pollock to olfactory cues under predicted CO2 conditions, and determine if ocean acidification-induced disruption of olfactory ability is common in marine fishes.

Mentor: Tom Hurst, Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA - Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


Trevor Waldien
Oregon State University
Junior, Geology

Research Title: Active tectonics of the northwestern tip of Walker Lane in southern Oregon

Research Area and Group: CEOAS REU projects

Mentors: Andrew Meigs, Professor College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - CEOAS


Star Zimmerman
Oregon State University
Senior, Marine Biology

Research Title: Dispersal of newly settled juvenile northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra)

Research Summary: This summer I studied several factors that might be limiting post settlement movement in norther rock sole. In the case of larval rock sole, I studied temperature and development to determine if either was a limiting factor. Age-0 conspecifics were studied to determine if preferred habitat modifies dispersal behavior and if the presence of a predator altered dispersal behavior.

Mentor: Ben Laurel, Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA - Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Internship Site: NSF/DoD supported REU - HMSC


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