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2012
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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