MBL Undergrads Cap Off Successful Semester in Environmental Science

2024 SES Students sit on the stage at Cornelia Clapp Auditorium after their independent student symposium.

Students from the 2024 Semester in Environmental Science cohort in the Cornelia Clapp Auditorium after a successful independent student research symposium on Dec. 13, 2024. Credit: Georgia Clayton

By MBL Communications December 17, 2024

For the last 27 years, the MBL has welcomed undergraduate students to Woods Hole for the fall Semester in Environmental Science (SES) — an intensive field and laboratory-based program on ecosystem science and global change.

The SES program has always emphasized learning by doing and this year was no exception. The 15 students in the 2024 cohort spent more than 20 hours each week in the lab and field investigating the forests, ponds, and estuaries on Cape Cod.

The SES faculty, led by SES Director Mirta Teichberg, includes some of MBL’s world-class scientists. The students learn from and work side by side with full-time research scientists. From exploring Little Sippewissett estuary to create Winogradsky columns for research to capturing surface soil samples in Lynn, MA, after brush fires ravaged the area, it was a semester to remember.

“One of the most impactful aspects of the program is the direct hands-on experience students gain by directly measuring and comparing ecosystem function in systems undergoing environmental change,” said Teichberg. “Students actually observe these changes, making what they read and learn about in class more real. It also gives them a chance to experience what it means to be an ecosystem scientist”

SES Students on the Gemma. Credit: Mirta Teichberg

Two SES Students learn how to use Raman Spectroscopy to analyze macroplastics credit Rut Pedrosa Pamies

SES students run a marathon. Credit: Mirta Teichberg

Hoang Luu measures bacterial productivity user radioisotopes under anaerobic conditions. Credit: Joe Vallino

Field work Siders Pond in Falmouth MA Credit- Joe Vallino

SES student Cameron Johnson Samples in Lynn Woods. Credit: Joe Vallino

SES Student Hoang Luu performs field work Siders Pond in Falmouth, MA. Credit: Joe Vallino

Field work in Little Sippewissett estuary. Credit Joe Vallino

The semester culminated with the annual Student Independent Research Symposium in the Cornelia Clapp Auditorium. This day-long symposium gave students the opportunity to present the hard work of their independent research projects, which they worked on for the last five weeks of their semester alongside their MBL mentors.

This year’s projects included fascinating topics from the microbial biofilms covering macroplastic pollution to heat and bleaching experiments on the local Woods Hole coral species. Click here for a full list of the 2024 symposium presentations.

Watch a recording of the 2024 Symposium

Interested in the 2025 Semester in Environmental Science? SES has rolling admissions for our 2025 program. The next round of applications will be reviewed on January 17, 2025. Apply early to secure a spot. mbl.edu/ses

Images from the SES Symposium

SES 2024 Symposium Group Photo — Credit: Georgia Clayton

Nathaniel Woods, Dickinson College - Discovering the Effects of Stressors on Euprymna berryi Embryonic Growth and Early Development — Nathaniel Woods, Dickinson College - *Discovering the Effects of Stressors on Euprymna berryi Embryonic Growth and Early Development.* Credit: Georgia Clayton

Jenna Moor, University of Chicago - Effects of Salinity on Typha angustifolia Growth and Modeled Seedling Competition with Algae angustifolia — Jenna Moor, University of Chicago - *Effects of Salinity on Typha angustifolia Growth and Modeled Seedling Competition with Algae* angustifolia. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Sean Greeby, University of Chicago - Exploring the Effects of Event-Driven Sediment Deposition on Salt Marsh Resilience. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Cameron Johnson, Bethune Cookman University - Examining wildfire survivorship & post-fire metabolism within forest soil microbiomes — Cameron Johnson, Bethune Cookman University - *Examining wildfire survivorship & post-fire metabolism within forest soil microbiomes*. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Kevin Solano, University of Chicago - A Comparison of the Short-Term Recovery Rates of Astrangia Poculata — Kevin Solano, University of Chicago - *A Comparison of the Short-Term Recovery Rates of Astrangia Poculata*. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Elle Mader, Mt. Holyoke College - Measured and Modeled Nutrients of Cranberry Bogsheds and a Vegetation Denitrification Assay to Prioritize Cranberry Bogs for Wetland Restoration — Elle Mader, Mt. Holyoke College - *Measured and Modeled Nutrients of Cranberry Bogsheds and a Vegetation Denitrification Assay to Prioritize Cranberry Bogs for Wetland Restoration.* Credit: Georgia Clayton

Konoka Uematsu, Dickinson College - Characterization of Lipid Biomarkers during Temperature Stress in Sargassum (S. filipendula) — Konoka Uematsu, Dickinson College - *Characterization of Lipid Biomarkers during Temperature Stress in Sargassum* (S. filipendula). Credit: Georgia Clayton

Sophia Williams, Rhodes College - Evaluation of Microbial Abundance and Composition on Macroplastics from Coastal Ecosystems — Sophia Williams, Rhodes College - *Evaluation of Microbial Abundance and Composition on Macroplastics from Coastal Ecosystems.* Credit: Georgia Clayton

Alena Maes-Polan, Hampshire College - Investigation of Microbial Biofilms Colonizing Macroplastics found in Freshwater Ecosystems — Alena Maes-Polan, Hampshire College - *Investigation of Microbial Biofilms Colonizing Macroplastics found in Freshwater Ecosystems*. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Emma Johnston, Dickinson College - Diets of Longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) in relation to size, geographic location, and time — Emma Johnston, Dickinson College - *Diets of Longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) in relation to size, geographic location, and time.* Credit: Georgia Clayton

Bryan Miranda, University of Chicago - Friend or Foe: Investigating the Impact of Pea Crab Presence on Scallop Respiration, Behavior and Condition — Bryan Miranda, University of Chicago - *Friend or Foe: Investigating the Impact of Pea Crab Presence on Scallop Respiration, Behavior and Condition.* Credit: Georgia Clayton

11:00-11:15: Hoang Luu, Rhodes College - The Importance of Protists and Viruses in Bacterial Mortality Across Anaerobic and Aerobic Environments in Sider Pond — Hoang Luu, Rhodes College - The Importance of Protists and Viruses in Bacterial Mortality Across Anaerobic and Aerobic Environments in Sider Pond. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Mycreta Johnston, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production and Bleaching in Astrangia Poculata Exposed to Heat and Oxidative Stress. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Angelina Lopez Peinado, Oregon State University - Characterization of Grain Size Distribution and Carbon Content of Deep-Sea Floor Sediments in the Deep Sargasso Sea. Credit: Georgia Clayton

Anneka Johnson, Hampshire College - Contaminants in Organisms Across Trophic Levels, Microplastics and Metals. Credit: Georgia Clayton