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NOAA Hollings Scholars
NOAA Hollings Scholars
| NOAA Hollings Scholars from colleges around the nation work with NWFSC mentors to engage in cutting-edge fisheries research. |
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| Learn more about their hands-on, multi-disciplinary experiences in the field and in the laboratory, below. |
2008 Scholars
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Britta Baechler, a student from Lewis and Clark College, examined effects of a self-regulating tide gate on habitat use by Chinook salmon rearing in the Skagit River estuary. Self-regulating tide gates function by partially opening and closing with the tide, thereby potentially offering opportunity for fish to use habitat behind the gate. Britta helped tag juvenile salmon and release them behind the tide gate, just outside the tide gate, and 300 meters along the shoreline from the tide gate entrance. Her findings suggest that self-regulating tide gates represent a significant connectivity barrier, despite their improvements compared to other tide gate designs. Britta won second place for her related scientific poster at the 2008 NOAA Student Scholarship Presentation. (Mentor: Correigh Greene, EC Division)
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| Emma Hiolski is a marine and aquatic sciences student from Eckerd College. At the NWFSC, Emma conducted a literature review and set up an assay based on the work of other neurobehavior researchers to test response time and choice discrimination in zebrafish exposed to algal toxins. The assay was designed to see if low level algal toxin exposure impacts learning ability in fish. (Mentor: Kathi Lefebvre, EC Division) |
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| Rachel Hovel, a student from Marquette College, used stable isotopes to study diet overlap between juvenile wild and hatchery Chinook salmon rearing in Skagit Bay. She found strong size-dependent shifts toward marine enrichment in wild salmon but not hatchery salmon, which were uniformly enriched regardless of size. This finding probably reflects their diet during residency in the hatchery. Isotope signals of hatchery and wild fish became similar only after wild fish obtained sizes greater than 100 mm, and suggest a broad diet overlap between wild and hatchery fish during early marine residency. Rachel received third place for her poster describing this research at the 2008 NOAA Student Scholarship Presentation. (Mentor: Correigh Greene, EC Division) |
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| Kyle Molton, a student from the University of Maine, worked with the Center’s groundfish survey team during the first pass of the 2008 West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey. His oral presentation, "Determining Growth Parameters for the Greenstriped Rockfish (Sebastes elongates) along the U.S. West Coast" took second place at the 2008 NOAA Student Scholarship Presentation. (Mentor: Aimee Keller, FRAM Division) |
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| Ann Nowinski is a chemical engineering student from University of Nevada-Reno. Her scientific poster took first place at the 2008 NOAA Student Scholarship Presentation. (Mentor: David Hermann, EC Division) |
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| Jared Siegel is a geography student from Vassar College. (Mentor: Kurt Fresh, FE Division) |
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| Samuel Snow is an environmental science student from Georgia Institute of Technology. While at the Center, Sam investigated spatial patterns of habitat suitability for Pacific salmonids in freshwater streams using geographic information system analyses. He also provided field assistance to multiple projects investigating the relationship between salmon and their habitats. Following graduation, Sam hopes to pursue graduate school in environmental engineering. (Mentor: Aimee Fullerton, EC Division) |
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| Caroline Storer, a genetics student from Eckerd College, contributed to a multi-year microsatellite dataset for the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens in the Pacific Northwest. She also investigated the use of other molecular tools to obtain information about the genetic diversity of this species. In addition, Caroline was an integral part of our research cruise aboard the NOAA vessel McArthur II, where she processed water samples for our survey of Pseudo-nitzschia off the coasts of Vancouver Island, Washington State and Oregon. (Mentor: Nicolaus Adams, EC Division) |
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| Lauren Van Thiel, a marine and aquatic sciences student from University of South Carolina-Columbia, spent her internship at the NWFSC's field station in Newport, Oregon, studying the ecology of juvenile salmon in the Columbia River estuary. Lauren's internship included both field (sampling salmon in the Columbia estuary) and lab work (determining food habits of juvenile Chinook salmon immediately before they enter the ocean). (Mentor: Laurie Weitkamp, CB Division) |
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| David Wilkinson’s, a chemistry student from University of Alaska-Fairbanks, assisted in extraction and analyses of paired muscle and ovary samples of English sole, lingcod and various species of rockfish collected in Puget Sound, WA for concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). He found that the maternal transfer of these contaminants had occurred in the fish, with ovaries containing higher concentrations of POPs (based on wet weight) than the corresponding muscle samples. Lipid-normalization of the results minimized the discrepancy between muscle and ovary concentrations, indicating that maternal transfer of these lipophilic compounds is strongly associated with lipid content. PCB patterns in paired muscle and ovary samples of all fish species were similar, further supporting the concept that maternal transfer of POPs is strongly associated with lipid content. David received second place for his presentation describing this research at the 2008 NOAA Student Scholarship Presentation. (Mentors: Bernie Anulacion, Daryle Boyd, Ron Pearce and Gina Ylitalo, EC Division) |
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last modified
08/15/2008
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