Olivine, Oysters, and Ocean Acidification Part 1

I interned at the NOAA Fisheries Milford Lab through NOAA's College-Funded Internship Program , under the mentorship of Shannon Meseck . My internship included both science communication and helping with laboratory experiments focused on ocean acidification's effects on marine bivalves-shellfish with two shells. I updated websites and designed new web content to raise awareness of past and present marine bivalve ocean acidification research projects at the Milford Laboratory. My focus was sharing and explaining complex science topics for a wide audience. I worked closely with science communications specialist Kristen Jabanoski during the communications portion of my internship. Both Shannon and Kristen's guidance were a great help to me this summer.

I participated in several lab projects this summer, either through helping with lab work, or by taking photos to document experiments and writing content for the website. These are a few of my wide ranging experiences during my summer internship at the Milford Lab.

Olivine and Oysters Behind the Scenes

I helped with a marine carbon dioxide removal experiment led by fellow intern Jennifer Herrera during my internship. During the experiment we investigated how the mineral olivine affects oyster larvae. While the experiments happened on schedule, we had to resolve some challenges to make them happen.

It was difficult to assemble and prepare the air pump system to pump air into each of the experimental chambers (sterilized and isolated tupperware containers) containing oyster larvae. When adjusting the air flow, sometimes changes to one part of the system quickly changed another part. We constantly inspected the air pump system to ensure the air flow was set correctly and stable in all of the chambers. We had some difficulties, but with technical advice from biological technician Dylan Redman , the system was soon fully functional and ready to use. We also had issues with some of the equipment for the experiment, such as one of the metal frames used to hold the containers while stirring olivine, which arrived at the lab badly bent. I was able to repair the frame and smooth it out with a hammer and mallet. Once everything was ready, it was time for the olivine and oyster larvae experiment.

Celebrating a New Oyster Breeding Center with Visitors

About a week after completing the first of two olivine experiments, important visitors came to the Milford Laboratory. While visitors are not unusual for the lab, this day was special. It was the ribbon cutting for the new Northeast Oyster Breeding Center < /a>at the Milford Laboratory. The breeding center is a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service that is working to breed better oysters for oyster growing regions of the Northeast. Among the visitors were NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit , Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association Executive Director Bob Rheault, Mayor Tony Giannattasio of Milford, Connecticut, and important figures in the field of shellfish aquaculture. Despite how busy things were during the celebration, I was lucky enough to get to chat with some of the visitors and learn more about shellfish aquaculture. I learned about aquaculture in school, but it was my first time speaking with professionals working in the field. Listening to their stories helped put context to what my professors taught me.

After the ceremony, I joined my fellow interns and coworkers for cake and snacks. Some of my fellow summer interns and I were even able to take a group photo with the Senator before he left to tour the lab. Overall it was a memorable celebration.

Surfclam Sanitation Department

As part of my training and to learn new skills, I helped out with different projects around the Milford lab. I learned about my coworkers and the rich history of the lab's shellfish aquaculture research . One of the projects I helped with was collecting fecal samples from Atlantic surfclams to support my friend and fellow intern, Emily Lekas. Emily was studying how ocean acidification might impact the feeding behavior of surfclams. To do this, Emily collected feces and pseudofeces-material that a clam rejects without digesting-from the surfclams as they fed on algae. Surfclams tend to produce more pseudofeces than feces when they are stressed. Collecting and studying surfclam feces and pseudofeces and its contents may help indicate how surfclams respond to the stress of ocean acidification.

Collecting feces and pseudofeces requires many hands because the two need to be collected and kept separately for accurate analysis. On the day of the surfclam experiment, I worked with Emily, her mentor Katyanne Shoemaker , fellow intern Sammantha and her mentor Matthew Poach , Jennifer Herrera ( NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunit y student), and technician Genevieve Bernatchez . We rotated to give people collecting fecal samples from the surfclams a quick break before returning to the task at hand. During this time, Katyanne Shoemak er and I took pictures and recorded videos of the experiment. Emily included some of the photos I took in a presentation and report about the research for her internship program.

Oyster Cages

One of my last field work assignments for the summer was to help the GoPro Aquaculture Proj ect team. This project has collected more than 1,600 hours of underwater video on oyster farms and comparable rock reef habitats in Long Island Sound to study how fish use farms and natural habitats. My fellow summer interns, Kennedy Mcgrath, Samantha Moronta, Indya Lumpkin, and I were invited aboard the Millford Lab's research vessel, the R/V Loosanoff , by fishery biologist Renee Mercaldo-Allen . We helped count and relocate oysters into new aquaculture cages, and remove dead empty shells from those cages. Despite the dirt, grime, and a minor case of seasickness due to rough waters, the work was good and the company enjoyable. I got to spend time with some of my fellow interns and coworkers that I rarely worked with, and meet the crew members of the R/V Loosanoff.

Something I always enjoy about working on a boat is seeing local marine life. The team has seen 21 species of fish using the aquaculture gear as habitat in the underwater videos. In addition to oysters, many different species of marine life were hanging around the aquaculture cages when we pulled them up. Eels, black sea bass, tautog, mud crabs, spider crabs, sea urchins, and a sea star were among the many native marine species we saw. A few of these were new for me or I had only previously seen inside an aquarium.

Live Long and Prosper

With the summer nearing its end, things were starting to quiet down at the Milford Lab. A few interns had already left for the summer once their work was completed.

While there was still work to be done in the lab, most of my tasks were completed. Before leaving, I updated the summer intern poster hanging in the lab's lobby. I wanted to make sure that visitors could learn about my fellow interns and me, and the cool projects we did this summer.

My 10 weeks at the lab passed quickly, however, I am happy about the work I accomplished this summer at the Milford Lab. I helped people understand science better. Science is a cool and interesting subject, but it can sometimes be misunderstood. Not everyone has the background knowledge or experience to understand scientific research easily. Because of this, being able to communicate complex scientific ideas to the public in an easy and efficient manner without losing the meaning is important. Misunderstanding science can be as detrimental as not knowing about science at all. I hope people enjoy my work and find science as interesting as I do. As the oceans are deep there is still a lot to learn about them for those interested and curious enough to look. As they say in one of my favorite television shows, "live long and prosper."

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