SES Students & Projects

The structured laboratory experiences and techniques of the core courses and electives set the stage for what many students consider to be the most rewarding part of the SES program, the independent research projects. During the last five weeks of the course, students are able to devote full time to a project of their choosing. The project gives students a chance to work independently, although they are supported by a main advisor, a Principal Investigator (PI) at the MBL Ecosystems Center or MBL Josephine Bay Paul Center. Many students collaborate with their peers on their projects and may have the opportunity to work with a PI at other Woods Hole research institutions such as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) or Woodwell Climate Research Center. Students have access to Ecosystems Center facilities and equipment as well as access to MBL field sites such as the Harvard Forest LTER or Plum Island Ecosystems LTER.

Depending on their interests and background, students may have the opportunity to work jointly with local conservation organizations and government agencies on environmental studies that effect our local land, water and coastal ecosystems on Cape Cod. Some projects, like Wheaton College student Kristy Sullivan’s 2016 project on toxic algae in Falmouth waters make the local headlines.

In December, SES students present their research projects in a formal videotaped symposium before their classmates, mentors and guests, and the Ecosystems Center’s and MBL’s scientific staff.

This event is open to the general public as well as local project collaborators and represents the culmination of the students last five weeks of independent field and laboratory research, observations and data analysis. For many it is the first time they have ever given a formal public presentation and a great introduction into communicating and defending scientific study and discoveries in front of a local friendly scientific community.

SES Class of 2024

Video: 2024 Semester in Environmental Science Presentations

2024 SES Student College  Project
Sean Greeby University of Chicago Exploring the Effects of Event-Driven Sediment Deposition on Salt Marsh Resilience
Anneka Johnson Hampshire College Contaminants in Organisms Across Trophic Levels, Microplastics and Metals
Cameron Johnson Bethune Cookman University Examining Wildfire Survivorship & Post-Fire Metabolism Within Forest Soil Biomes
Emma Johnston Dickinson College Diets of Longfin Squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) in Relation to Size, Geographic Location and Time
Mycreta Johnston Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production and Bleaching in Astrangia Poculata Exposed to Heat and Oxidative Stress
Angelina Lopez Peinado Oregon State University Characterization of Grain Size Distribution and Carbon Content of Deep-Sea Floor Sediments in the Deep Sargasso Sea
Hoang Luu Rhodes College The Importance of Protists and Viruses in Bacterial Mortality Across Anaerobic and Aerobic Environments in Siders Pond
Elle Mader Mt. Holyoke College Measured and Modeled Nutrients of Cranberry Bogsheds and a Vegetation Denitrification Assay to Prioritize Cranberry Bogs for Wetland Restoration
Alena Maes-Polan Hampshire College Investigations of Microbial Biofilms Colonizing Macroplastics found in Freshwater Ecosystems
Bryan Miranda University of Chicago Friend or Foe:Investigating the Impact of Pea Crab Presence on Scallop Respiration, Behavior and Condition
Jenna Moor University of Chicago Effects of Salinity on Typha angustifolia Growth and Modeled Seeding Competition with Algae
Kevin Solano University of Chicago A Comparison of the Short-Term Recovery Rates of Astrangia poculata
Konoka Uematsu Dickinson College Characterization of Lipid Biomarkers during Temperature Stress in Sargassum
Sophia Williams Rhodes College Evaluation of Microbial Abundance and Composition on Macroplastics from Coastal Ecosystems
Nathaniel Woods Dickinson College Discovering the Effects of Stressors on Euprymna berryi Embryonic Growth and Early Development

SES Class of 2023

Video: 2023 Semester in Environmental Science Presentations

2023 SES Student College  Project
Jaslin Aguirre University of Chicago Why all this N2O and CH4? Microbially Derived Gas in Trunk River
Danial Arad University of Chicago Nitrogen Cycling Under Different Plant Species in the Great Sippewissett Marsh
Chanda Cragnotti The New School Lichen-Substrate Effect on Tardigrade Community Composition in Woods Hole, MA
Lillian Cusa Dickinson College Bioaccumulation of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPSPs) in Astrangia Poculata from Ingested PPCP-incubated Bring Shrimp and Macroplastics
Natalie Davis Ripon College Whose Producing all this oxygen? A Quest to Discover What Microbe is Making Oxygen without Light in Trunk River
Kayla Garcia St. Mary's University The Impact of Sea Level Rise on Great Sippewissett Marsh Plant Communities and How it Affects Organic Matter Storage
Elena Gdula University of Chicago Crepidula fornicata Growth and Feeding Rate Response to Temperature and Environmental Variability
Andrew Huffman University of Chicago Coral-Seaweed Cocultures:How Sargassum and Gracilaria mammillaris Affect Astrangia poculata in Field and Laboratory Settings
Alexander Jones Dickinson College Investigating Geospatial Variations in Groundwater C-DOM Content Between Different Watersheds Leading into Waquoit Bay
Ruby Krasnow Clark University Improving Models of Kelp (Saccharina latissima) Aquaculture by Accounting for Regional Variation in Thermal Tolerance
Nyah Lues University of Chicago The Physiological and Biochemical Effects of Salinity Stress on Typha angustifolia
Aaron MacDonald University of Toronto The Effects of Beech Leaf Disease
Audrey Maxim-Rumley Wesleyan University Nitrogen Cycling, Sediment Respiration, and Oxygen Dynamics in Little Pond Sediments
Jessalin Nyguyen University of Chicago Sargassum (S. fililpendula) Growth, Photosynthesis, and Biochemical Response to Temperature Increase
AJ Paprocki Oberlin College Interactions between Crabs and the seagrass Zostera marina in West Falmouth Harbor
Anne Qian University of Chicago Impact of Cranberry Bog Restoration on Nutrient Uptake and Channel Structure in the Coonamessett River
Calliope Saban Lake Forest College Effects of Elevated Temperature on Epiphytic Communities of Zostera marina
Alexandria Schmidt University of Chicago Competition of Sulfate Reducers and Methanogens in Siders Pond
Samantha Schmidt University of Evansville The Impact of Microplastics on Astrangia poculata Feeding Behavior and Oxygen Consumption
Samantha Supan Rhodes College The Effect of Antibiotic Contaminants on the Life History and Trophic Dynamics of Brachionus manjavacas
Ellen Warmerdam Oberlin College Impact of Phragmites australis Invasion on Carbon and Nitrogen Storage in Salt Marsh Sediments
Anna Watson University of Chicago Effect of Urban-Development on the Concentration and Lability of Organic Nitrogen Inputs to Esturaries

SES Class of 2022

Video: 2022 Semester in Environmental Science Presentations

2022 SES Student College  Project
Jake Ackerman Rhodes College Bioaccumulation of Microplastics Along a Gradient Of Urbanization And Potential Effects on Ribbed Mussel Respiration And Feeding Rates
Mackenzie Allinson Grinnell College Tracing Groundwater Contamination in Little Sippewissett Marsh Using Nutrient Analysis of Groundwater and Stable N-isotope Analysis in Biomass
Kristen Beach Dickinson College Effects of Environmental Stressors on Sargassum
Olivia Grobmyer University of Chicago The Effect of Wetland Restoration on Nitrogen Removal
Danya Hammoudeh Xavier University of Louisiana Desiccation Tolerance and Reactive Oxygen Species in Nostoc Cyanobacteria
Catherine Updegraff Northwestern University Toxicological Effects of Oxybenzone on Two species of Stony Corals and Their Endosymbionts
Eleanor Meng Lawrence University Variability of Zostera marina Traits Across a Wastewater Pollution Nutrient Gradient
Ellie Sangree Hamilton College Modeling Nitrogen Transformation and Oxygen Dynamics in an Intermittently Drained Floating Treatment Wetland in a Mesocosm Saltwater Experiment
A Jordan     Colorado College Little Pond Sediment Cores: A Primary Productivity Peer through Time
Yuyang Wang Mount Holyoke College Understanding the Outcome of Competition Between Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis using a Model and Field Collected Data
Grady Welsh Middlebury College Simulating Salt Marsh Drought Conditions: Effects of Salinity on Sporobolus alterniflorus in a Greenhouse Environment
Keiona Williams Colgate University Geomorphological Responses to Sea Level Rise and the Impacts on Carbon Burial in Cape Cod Salt Marsh

SES Class of 2021

Video: 2021 Semester in Environmental Science Presentations

2021 SES Student College  Project
Lily Agnacian University of Chicago Effects of Temperature on Bioreactor Denitrification Technology for Effluent Wastewater and Algal Growth Response
Dena Ahmed     Amherst College Little Pond Project: Assessing Municipal Sewering Impacts on a Coastal Estuary
Meg Alberding Wesleyan University Life Cycle Responses of Brachionus Rotifers to Nitrogen Loading Scenarios
Alice Ball Connecticut College Investigating Feeding Rates of the Northern Star Coral, Astrangia poculata, on Microplastics
Nick Beltramini     Oberlin College The Role of Alosa pseudoharengus in Methylmercury Bioaccumulation within Cape Cod Kettle Pond
Lilja Carden University of Chicago Historical Effects of Nitrogen Eutrophication on Mollusk Communities
Gwyneth Crossman Oberlin College Nitrogen Up the Food Chain: Examining the Effects of Nitrogen Loading on Dietary Nitrogen of Branta canadensis bogs
Dianna Gagnon Wheaton College Determining Whether or Not Property Value is Indicative of Nitrogen Runoff from Fertilizer Application
Elizabeth Greebon Rhodes College Potential Dietary overlap between Native Blue Crabs and Invasive Green Crabs
Alex Hochroth University of Chicago Sediment Limitation for Seagrasses and Possible Solutions for Restoration
James Hu University of Chicago Petrol, Pellets, Paint: Sourcing Anthropogenic Lead Pollution in Plum Island Sediments via Stable-Isotope Analysis
Ella Lemley-Fry Lawrence University Investigating Dynamic Association of Soil Minerals with Organic Matter: Implications for Carbon Storage and Nutrient Cycling
Courtney Leung University of Chicago The Effect of Land Use on Soil Respiration
Marcus Mekhail Colgate University How does the Biogeochemical Cycling of Mercury in Aquatic Sediment dictate the Bioaccumulation of Methylmercury in the Lower Trophic Levels of Cape Cod Kettle Ponds?
Nora O’Keefe Trinity College Abundance and Composition of Plastics Found in and nearby Coral Ecosystems on Cape Cod
Leah Pendl-Robinson Mount Holyoke College Assessing Methane Concentrations and Methanogenic Microorganisms in a Wetland Ecosystem
Sydney Russo Clarkson University Physiological impacts on Astrangia poculata: Stresses of microplastics on the Northern Star Coral
Sunniva Sheffield Oberlin College The Interaction of Pharmaceutical & Personal Care Products (PPCPs) with Plastics & Associated Aquatic Biofilms Grown in Different Environments of Sider’s Pond
Brianna Stevens Connecticut College Biofilm Formation on 5 Different Plastic Types in Contrasted Environments of Siders Pond Water Column
Khanh Ton     Rhodes College Cape Cod Heathland Community Response to Disturbances and Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
Anna Warsaw University of Chicago Assessing Methane Concentrations and Methanotrophic Bacteria in Beaver Ponds
Tiantian Zhu Colorado College The Roles of DNRA and Denitrification in Nitrogen Reduction Pathways in Coastal Sediment with the Presence/Absence of Eel Grass in Falmouth, MA

SES Class of 2019

Video: 2019 Semester in Environmental Science Presentations

2019 SES Student

College

Project

Olivia Blasdel
University of Evansville
Variation in Natural Abundance 15N Isotopes in Groundwater and Sentinel Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Wastewater Pollution in Estuaries
Kathryn Hulleman
Earlham College
Carbon Loss and Nitrogen Availability After Cessation of a Long Term Till and Corn Silage Management Experiment
Lauren Johnson
Trinity University
Effects of Excess Nutrients on the Carbon Metabolism of the Macroalga Ulva
Kyra Madunich
Pomona College
Examining the Synergistic Effect of Temperature and pH on the Competitive Dynamics of Native and Invasive Tunicates
Grant McKnight
Northwestern University
Effects of Iron, Nickel and Nutrient Supply on Pyrite Crystal Formation in Marsh Sediments
Khashiff Miranda
University of Chicago
Impact of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Loading on Diazotrophic Communities in the New England Salt Marshes
Cody Pham
Pomona College
Habitat Selection in Birds Across Fragmented Landscapes
Miriam Ritchie
Wheaton College
Do Microplastic Concentrations in Salt Marshes Increase with Human Population Density?
Olivia Shao
University of Chicago
How Does the Chemistry of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) Affect Bioaccumulation in the Estuarine Blue Mussel Mytilus Edulis?
Marguerite Tate
Harvey Mudd College
The Effects of Beaver Dams on Nutrient Cycling in Cart Creek, A Tributary of the Plum Island Estuary

SES Class of 2018

2018 SES Student

College

Project

Maggie Anderson
Lawrence University
Effects of Chronic Nitrogen Addition on Soils Along an Urban-to-Rural Gradient
Casey Beidelman
Northwestern University
Plastic Beach (The Spread): Microplastic Distribution and Composition Across the Tidal Range of Cape Cod Beaches
Ariela Buxbaum Grice
Connecticut College
A Genomics-Based Study of Gracilaria Species Around Falmouth, Cape Cod
Emma Conrad-Rooney
Wellseley College
Mycorrhizal Colonization Across an Urban to Rural Gradient: Interactions with Nitrogen and Calcium Cycles
Boya “Twiggy” Cui
Dickinson College
Algal Carbon Stable Isotopes as Indicators of Coastal Eutrophication
Emory Ellis
Hamsphire College
Predicting the Impacts of Senescence on Carbon Storage and Water Movement in New England Forests
Gracie Gavazzi
Kenyon College
High Nitrogen Content in Spartina Alterniflora as a Feeding Cue for Invertebrates in New England Salt Marshes
Emily Hays
Northwestern University
Effects of Oil Exposure on Nitrogen Cycling in Salt Marsh Sediments
Michael Howard
Clarkson University
Effects of Differing Agricultural Practices on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks
Ali McGarigal
Colorado College
A Marsh Against Tide
Claire McGuire
Rhodes College
Plastic Marsh (The Tenacity): A Look Back at the Varying Anthropogenic Impacts on Estuary Systems Through Microplastic Pollution and Stable Isotopes
Talia Michaud
Mount Holyoke College
Impacts of Urbanization and Nitrogen Addition on Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities
Briana Moore
University of Chicago
Eutrophication in Little Pond: Algal Growth Response to Nutrients and Immediate Effects on Sewer Systems on Enrichment
Rudy Mueller-Schrader
Lawrence University
Understanding Sea Turtle Foraging Through the Stable Isotopes of Their Prey Items
Rachel Murray
University of Lynchburg
Metal Contaminants in Local Harbors
Abigail Rec
Gettysburg College
Nutritional and Physiological Status in Cold-Stunned Juvenile Sea Turtles
Hector Ricardo Salazar
Connecticut College
Plastic Beach (The Arrival): Spatial Heterogeneity of Microplastic
Eva Schneiderman
Mount Holyoke College
Pollution on Cape Cod Beaches and the Impacts of Different Hydrographic Sources
Lauren Skinnion
Trinity College
Differential Responses of Invasive and Native Species of Gracilaria During Exposure and Recovery from Salinity Stress
Wenzhuo Yang
Allegheny College
Are Microbial Community Inherently Safe?

SES Class of 2017

2017 SES Student

College

Project

Lois Anderson
University of Chicago
The role of physical protection of carbon in soil aggregates in sites of land use change
Jonah Benning-Shorb
University of Chicago
Nutrient budget in a eutrophic Cape Cod estuary
Paul Max Black
Franklin and Marshall College
Effects of Schizachyrium scoparium coverage on soil and food web structure in coastal plain grasslands
Luis Cartagena
Northwestern University
Effects of long-term soil warming on aggregate mass and physical protection of organic matter
Marta De Giuli
University of Chicago
Controls on seed bank biodiversity in the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area
Emily DeFelippis
Eugene Lang College of The New School
Lipids and stable isotope profiles in cold stunned juvenile sea turtles of Cape Cod
Lucero Flores
Northwestern University
Effects of temperature and nutrient variation on bleached and unbleached Astrangia poculata
Lydia Fox
Dickinson College
Salinity tolerances and nitrogen requirements of native and invasive Gracilaria species in New England
Lauren Hamm
Rhodes College
Biogeography of Gracilaria species in Waquoit Bay
Ben Hoekstra
Grinnell College
Spatial distribution of soil properties in a chronosequence of abandoned New England cranberry bogs
Augusta Hollers
Amherst College
Visual stimuli that control adaptive camouflage in cuttlefish
Charlotte Hovland
University of Chicago
Sex, drugs, and rotifers: Endocrine disrupting water contaminants and rotifer reproductive cycling
Emi Lemberg
University of Chicago
Microbial fuel cells for improved bioremediation
Caitlyn Linehan
Trinity College
Measuring NSC, carbon, nitrogen and relative greenness of Quercus coccinea and Ilex opaca during senescence
Chloe Omelchuck
Hampshire College
Plant and insect communities in a chronosequence of abandoned cranberry bogs
Sarah Pope
Wheaton College (IL)
FISHing for sulfate reducing microbes in Siders Pond, a meromictic lake
Peter Puleo
Northwestern University
Using sediment geochemical indicators to understand nutrient loading and salinity changes in Siders Pond
Alondra Soto
Pomona College
Decomposition and DOC availability during leach phase of decomposition in early and late successional leaves
Emma Sullivan
Dickinson College
Measuring nitrogen attenuation in septic-contaminated coastal groundwater