SES Research Symposium

The Marine Biological Laboratory's Semester in Environmental Science is proud to announce the 27th annual Student Independent Research Symposium. This event will be held in Cornelia Clapp Auditorium, as well as livestreamed and recorded.

Friday, December 13, 2024
9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Cornelia Clapp Auditorium

Students who have participated in the semester-long study abroad course will present the culmination of their independent research projects in 15-minute talks over the course of the day. Please join us in celebrating the hard work of these diligent students in this annual education event.

9:00-9:40: Coffee Break - Lillie Lobby

9:45-10:00: Dr. Linda Hyman, Director of Education - Welcome and introductory remarks

10:00-10:15: Elle Mader, Mt. Holyoke - Measured and Modeled Nitrogen Content of Bogsheds and a Vegetation Denitrification Assay to Prioritize Cranberry Bogs for Wetland Restoration

10:15-10:30: Jenna Moor, University of Chicago -  Effects of Salinity and Phosphorus Availability on the Seed Germination Typha angustifolia

10:30-10:45:  Sean Greeby, University of Chicago - Exploring the Effects of Event-Driven Sediment Deposition on Salt Marsh Resilience

10:45-11:00: Cameron Johnson, Bethune Cookman University - Identifying the Genetic Underpinnings of post-fire succession of soil microbiomes

11:00-11:15: Hoang Luu, Rhodes College - The Importance of Protists and Viruses in Bacterial Mortality Across Anaerobic and Aerobic Depth Levels in Sider Pond

11:15-11:30:  Alena Maes-Polan, Hampshire College - Identification of Microbial Biofilms Colonizing Macroplastics found in Freshwater Ecosystems

11:30-11:45:  Sophia Williams, Rhodes College - Evaluation of Microbial Abundance and Composition on Macroplastics from Coastal Ecosystems

11:45-12:00: Angelina Lopez Peinado, Oregon State University - Sinking Particles and Organic Matter Dynamics in the Deep Sargasso Sea: Seasonal and Interannual Variability

12:00 - 13:30: Luncheon – Main Dining Hall, Swope Center*

13:30 - 13:45: Anneka Johnson, Hampshire College - Microplastic Abundance in Fish Across Trophic Levels

13:45 - 14:00: Konoka Uematsu, Dickinson College - Characterization of Lipid Biomarkers during Temperature Stress in Sargassum (S. filipendula)

14:00 - 14:15: Kevin Solano, University of Chicago - Coral Recovery Rates in Astrangia Poculata

14:15 - 14:30: Mycreta Johnston, MIT - The Relationship Between Heat Stress, Reactive Oxygen Species Production and Bleaching in Astrangia Poculata

14:30 - 14:45:  Nathaniel Woods, Dickinson College - Discovering the Effects of Stressors on Euprymna berryi Embryonic Growth and Early Development

14:45 - 15:00: Emma Johnston, Dickinson College - Analysing How Diets of Longfin Squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) Differ in Relation to Size, Geographic Location, Decade, and Sex With Stable Isotopes and Stomach Contents

15:00 - 15:15:  Bryan Miranda, University of Chicago - Abundance of the Pea Crab Parasite in Scallops within Cape Cod and Potential Impacts on Scallops Respiration and Growth

Semester Retrospective (Mirta Teichberg, SES Program Director) 

There will be refreshments and a celebratory awards ceremony in the Meigs Room at Swope Center after the symposium.
*Students, parents and guests, faculty and instructors welcome who have indicated in advance that they will attend.