Wheaton Projects
Algal Analysis
Many hours were spent looking through a microscope for this project! I worked with two peers in a course titled "Freshwater and Marine Botany" to study the algae in our campus pond. For our study, we looked to see if there was any variation in species richness between the two basins of the pond. We also utilized the common organisms observed as indicators of water quality. Although we did not find any significant difference in the species richness, the organisms did tell an interesting story about the pond. This was a really enjoyable project and I had a lot more fun working with the microscope than I anticipated. Although, I wish we had kept track of the number of strange looks we got from passerby's as we tossed the plankton net into the pond!
Invasive Species and Plant Diversity
For this project, I worked with two peers in an Ecology course to research how the prevalence of non-native plant species impacted native plants in plots of different disturbance types. This is the project that solidified my passion for research and ecology. I spent hours in the woods counting and identifying plants, and it has been one of the most gratifying experiences thus far in my college career. For most of my time at college I intended on becoming a high school science teacher, yet that never felt like the best fit for me but I didn't know what else I could do. It is difficult to put into words, but working on this project made me feel like I could pursue a field in research and I am so excited to see where this path takes me.
An undisturbed study plot that I was responsible for surveying- note the two pink flags near the edges of the image.
Cranberry Bog Restoration
This poster was a culminating project in a course titled "Wetlands Ecology, Hydrology, Restoration." I researched the processes involved in restoring cranberry bogs to form a wetland more reminiscent of its pre-agricultural form. Learning more about restoration was very rewarding as I am very interested in conservation practices. I got to present this research to my class and share what I learned about these bog restorations!
Effects of Acidity on Radish Growth
This was an independent research project for an introductory biology course and was quite the experiment, to say the least. My partner and I had an exciting initial hypothesis and design. We intended to measure growth differences in soybean plants with and without added Rhizobium bacteria. We wanted to look for differences in the cellular structures of the root tips as well as the overall growth of the plant. We had about three weeks to complete this project, but the first week was dedicated to germination and growth of the soybeans. Here is where this experiment fell apart. All of the seeds failed. We could not replant due to the tight schedule. We shifted quickly and used radishes as our research species as they germinated rapidly. We did not have time to use the rhizobium bacteria so we decided to mimic acid rain conditions. To do so, we subjected the seeds to vinegar. Things went wrong with this as well as we miscalculated the dilution of the vinegar. At the time, I was frustrated, but this project taught me a lot about research. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong, yet my partner and I were quick to pivot. While we did not get incredible data, we were still able to complete the project and share what we learned with our peers.
Radish seedlings on day one of acid treatment.
Writing Projects
Mock NSF GRFP Grant Proposal for Harvard Forest SRPE - "Fungal taxa diversity in response to multiple global change stressors"
Mock NSF GRFP Grant Proposal - "Pollination of Orchids by Euglossine Bees in Disturbed Habitats"
Economic Botany Course Research Paper - "Root Beer: A Medicinal Brew"
Tropical Biology Course Research Paper - "American Leaf-Nosed Bats: Carollinae and Piper Specialization"