Coast to Classroom: Research Opportunties

The Big Question: How does predation by protists shape the evolution, genotypes, and biogeography of Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic cells on the planet?

The Research: This project addresses a major gap in our understanding of how microbial predator-prey interactions influence global biogeochemical cycles and oxygen production. You will use model bacteriovores and picocyanobacteria to answer how selective feeding by predators shapes bacterial community structure.

In the Lab: You will gain experience in classic microbiological and molecular techniques, including cell culturing, making media, microscopy, and flow cytometry.

Classroom Connection: This project aligns with curriculum units on ecology, evolution, and the global carbon cycle.

The Big Question: How are environmental changes and warming temperatures influencing the timing (phenology) and community composition of crab larvae in the Pacific Northwest?

The Research: Leveraging the Dungeness crab larval monitoring network, this project investigates how temperature shifts lead to changes in peak larval abundance and the detection of invasive species, such as the European green crab. This work is crucial for managing culturally and economically significant fisheries.

In the Field & Lab: You will participate in deploying standardized light traps in estuarine habitats, sorting and identifying larvae using dichotomous keys and microscopes, and conducting data analysis in R.

Classroom Connection: This project is ideal for teaching climate change impacts, phenology, and invasive species management.

The Big Question: Which restoration practices best minimize methane emissions while increasing carbon storage in the freshwater wetlands of the Columbia River Estuary?

The Research: The Columbia River Estuary has lost 50% of its historical wetlands. This project monitors greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes—including methane and carbon—at multiple restoration sites to determine how site age and restoration techniques impact climate mitigation potential .

In the Field & Lab: You will visit field sites to collect air, water, and soil samples and use soil chambers to estimate GHG emissions before performing laboratory analysis for carbon content .

Classroom Connection: This research bridges Earth science and chemistry, focusing on the carbon cycle and climate change mitigation.

The Big Question: Can small, often-overlooked predators like sea slugs and chitons provide "biotic resistance" against invasive species that foul boat hulls and marinas?

The Research: You will test the hypothesis that small, bottom-dwelling consumers exert significant predation pressure on introduced sessile invertebrates (the fouling community) and explore how this resistance is affected by larger invasive predators like the green crab.

In the Field & Lab: You will assist in field collection trips to local marinas and conduct controlled laboratory experiments in saltwater tanks, observing consumption rates and animal behavior.

Classroom Connection: This project focuses on interspecific interactions, trophic cascades, and biodiversity within human-modified environments.