Wading Through Research

by Luca Marazzi* Rhopalodia gibba belongs to the epithemioid group , that is to say it has v alves symmetric about a line (bilateral symmetry), but asymmetrical to the apical (longitudinal) axis, the raphe system is well developed, enclosed within a canal, and positioned near the valve margin 1 . It is longer and more slender than other species such as the lunate R. gibberula , and the more arched R. musculus ; it is found in the benthos, attached to substrata such as plant (epiphytic), or gliding more freely and opportunistically 2 . Interestingly, R. gibba seems to have declined significantly in the United Kingdom due to agricultural intensification and associated large use of nitrogen fertilizers. In fact, t his pennate ( bilaterally symmetric) diatom species lives in nitrogen poor habitats, but it has evolved an endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria that fix nitrogen 3 . So it does not like when there is too much nitrogen around, and loses its competitive edge against other fellow...

This post was written by first-time blogger, grad student Edward Linden, of Dr. Rene Price's of hydrology at FIU ( http://www2.fiu.edu/~pricer/ ). ____________________________________________________________________________           Less than a year ago, all that I knew about Everglades was its general location in Florida and the presence of alligators. Through numerous scientific talks given at FIU, my classes, and my research, I have gained a great deal of knowledge about the history of the Everglades as it relates to my field of study. The Saturday that I spent in Gainesville at UF opened my eyes to an entirely new aspect of the Everglades that I had not previously considered; the political side.

The following link is to an article written by Jessica Lee, FIU graduate student in Dr. Jennifer Rehage's aquatic biology lab ( http://www2.fiu.edu/~rehagej/index.html ). __________________________________________________________________________      In February I had an opportunity to fish with my favorite group of anglers from the Keys. For the past 30 years this group of fishermen has faithfully made it every month to the backcountry to fish. They were the inspiration for the Coastal Angler Science Team (CAST), the “original-members” before CAST officially came to be.  For the past two years they have been regularly scanning their catches for “recaptures” (previous fish we tagged with internal microchips, “PIT-tags”).  This group alone has caught over 30 recaptures, about half of the current CAST totals. To read more, please go to http://cast.fiu.edu/index.php/my-recapture-story-for-the-everglades/ .

  This post was written by Mike Bush, a grad student in the aquatic ecology lab ( http://faculty.fiu.edu/~trexlerj/ ) at FIU and an avid natural historian.  ___________________________________________________________________________ Male hooded warbler                In this post we’re going to move away from the Everglades proper and move to its borders, which in this case means the highly urbanized Miami/Ft Lauderdale megalopolis that lies immediately to the east of all that wild space.

A few weeks ago, I attended my first national conference, Botanical Society of America’s Botany 2013 Celebrating Diversity! (BSA) in New Orleans, LA. Here are 7 lessons I learned along the way: 1 )       Go to the big conferences, even if you don’t have a lot of data yet I just finished up my first year of my PhD program, and I didn't have a lot of “real” data to speak of. So I did what I could, and presented a poster outlining my doctoral thesis proposal. Unexpectedly, I got so much valuable, constructive feedback from experts in my field.  I really valued this experience, because at this stage in my program, that feedback provided me with new perspectives on my project before I execute it. Plus, I got to know PI’s, post-docs, and graduate students from other universities that expressed interest in collaborating with me in the future. 2 )       Attend the student professional development luncheons, mixers, etc. At BS...

PhD students at FIU are required to teach a lab for two semesters.  So, for the past two semesters I have been a teaching assistant (TA) for   Ecology lab  and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  A typical ecology lab consists of a large majority of pre-professional students (pre -med, -dental, -vet, etc.) who need an upper-level elective.  Translation:  many students are enrolled in Ecology because they have to.  I don't expect my students to change their career paths and become ecologists; I simply want them to understand why ecology is important.   Memorizing terminology and examples, while they have their place, are not as useful in the long-term – it’s the experiences and hands-on activities we remember.    I am an ecologist and all I remember from my undergraduate ecology class is going out to my university’s nature preserve looking at species abundances and distributions.   If a student who is preparing for a career in ...

I would like to introduce you to a new rising star in the FCE, Sara Osorio! She has been working with FCE LTER Education and Outreach coordinator, Mr. Nick Oehm, and our lead PI, Dr. Evelyn Gaiser. Her research project is about the diatoms found in the wetland restoration area of the Deering Estate ( Biscayne Coastal Wetlands Project ). Sara Osorio, FCE LTER High School Researcher at the FIU Periphyton Lab