Off to Orono

This summer I am headed off to the University of Maine-Orono to work as a Research Assistant on a project studying ephemeral wetlands. The small bodies of water we will be studying are called vernal pools. They fill with snowmelt in spring and dry up at the end of the summer. In the time in between, they are important habitat for frogs and salamanders. The project is supported by a National Science Foundation grant for research on small-scale landscape features with an out-sized impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

The graduate student I am working with is focusing on biogeochemistry and the cycles of nutrients in the pools, including dissolved oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus. Keeping an eye on these chemical concentrations can give us a better idea of the quality of the habitat and how it is being affected by runoff from nearby human activity. That's my slapdash explanation before actually having seen any of these pools. I'll know much more soon.

As the ice is melting right about now, I will have to head off to Maine quickly after exams end. I'll be back in Saint Louis in mid-August.

This is my first experience on a biology project with national funding, so I'm very excited to start. In Orono, I will also be an hour from Acadia National Park. It will be a different kind of summer than I'm used to, but it should be very rewarding! I hope to keep some updates here throughout the summer.