Program Description: The Blinks Fellowship Program brings
together enthusiastic fellows with marine scientists in a setting which features pristine biological resources
at University of Washington's marine science research facility, Friday Harbor Laboratories.
This program targets groups who
are historically underrepresented in the marine sciences. With support from the United Negro College Fund, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
the American Society for Cell Biology, the Federation of American Societies
for Experimental Biology, and the Anne Hof Blinks Memorial Fellowship, the Blinks Program offers a full immersion research experience for motivated undergraduates, post-baccalaureates and graduate students. In keeping with
the University of Washington's policy of encouraging diversity in
its student body and including underrepresented groups, the program seeks
4-8 students of diverse backgrounds and interests to participate in a eight to
twelve week summer research project in the marine sciences. By linking fellows
with marine scientists in a 1:1 research experience, fellows learn both the process and the substance of
scientific research. As the research progresses, fellows will be encouraged
to become semi-independent collaborators. The experience will expose fellows
to the life and work of a marine science research laboratory. Previous interns have gone on to successful careers in academia, government, industry and medicine.
There are two alternatives for this program:
The mentors and projects vary from year to year according to the developing research interests of faculty and graduate students. Research projects are designed by the scientists to be achievable projects which dovetail with their research plans. Project descriptions are posted below. Fellows will work semi-independently for approximately 40 hours per week.
As participants in the FHL community, Blinks Fellows will participate actively in FHL community activities, e.g. attend the weekly seminars, eat in the Dining Hall and live in the studentdormitory. Early in the summer session there will be a meeting of student participants with graduate students and mentors to share perspectives on graduate programs and participation in academic life, with a brief description of ongoing projects, and a question/answer session. At the end of their internship, fellows will present their research in a short powerpoint talk. Fellows will also write a scientific paper describing their work, and revise it based upon feedback from the mentor.
The Setting: Friday Harbor Labs is University of Washington's marine science field research station. Located north of Puget Sound in the San Juan Islands, FHL takes advantage of a remarkable diversity of marine habitats and organisms. FHL hosts 10-12 courses per year and approximately 100 independent researchers during the year. The 484 acre campus is the site for twelve lab buildings, a dining hall, 3 dorms and other housing units.
Research at FHL emphasizes marine invertebrate zoology, phycology, fisheries science, conservation biology, cell and molecular biology, biomedical sciences, oceanography and other scientific disciplines. Investigators and students use diversified field resources as well as modern analytical technologies such as a nucleotide sequencer, scanning laser confocal microscopes, scintillation counter, centrifuges, HPLC, TEM, SEM and other equipment. The Labs is equipped with a 58' research vessel, numerous smaller boats, cold rooms, and an extensive seawater system serving numerous lab buildings. The facility includes a computer lab, networked research labs, wi-fi connectivity, a well equipped stockroom, a 17,000 volume library, and SCUBA facilities.
Financial Support: Participants will be provided with financial support to meet costs of room, board, round trip travel and a $750/month stipend.
Eligibility: This program targets students who bring diversity to the FHL student body. In particular, we seek students who are entering their senior year of college/university, or post-baccalaureate, or graduate students.
Please e-mail all application materials to Scott Schwinge (schwinge@u.washington.edu).
Scott Schwinge
Helpful links:
Dr. Sophie George
Biology Department
Georgia Southern University
georges@georgiasouthern.edu
The effect of food quality on number of cells ingested, growth, development and survival of echinoderm larvae will be investigated in summer 2010.
The main goal is to determine whether differences among larvae in the nutritional value of algal diets and growth of larvae on these diets is due to differences in ingestion rates and their ability to develop in fluctuating salinities. Preliminary studies suggest that, depending on the algal mixture, different species respond by increased or decreased growth and development. For example, the Dunaliella -Rhodomonas sp. algal mixture was among the worst diets for larval growth, rudiment development, and metamorphosis for the echinoid Dendraster excentricus (Schiopu et al. 2006), but this mixture promoted rapid larval development to metamorphosis for asteroids e.g. Pisaster ochraceus (unpublished). The Isochrysis-Dunaliella mixture was best for larval growth and development for the echinoids D. excentricus (Schiopu et al. 2006) and Mellita isometra, (Schiopu and George 2004) but preliminary studies suggest it is the worst for larval growth of the asteroid P. ochraceus. These results not only reflect variation in nutrients in the algal mixtures but might indicate differences in threshold values of specific nutrients required by asteroid and echinoid larvae. Studies by George and Walker (2007) also indicate that Dendraster larvae (see pictures below) can develop to metamorphosis at 22‰ salinity.
Interestingly, fluctuating salinity (going from 32 to 22‰ and back to 32‰) actually led to a higher number of larvae undergoing metamorphosis than a continuous high salinity of 32‰. This summer, mixed algal diets with high (Dunaliella + Rhodomonas sp., Chaetoceros+ Dunaliella), and low (Dunaliella+Isochrysis) nutrient content and salinities of 22 and 32‰ will be used to determine what nutrient levels and salinity combination will lead to optimal growth of echinoderm larvae. This project will illuminate the complex interactions between nutrition, salinity, ingestion rates, and growth rates of the echinoidea with pluteus larval forms, and the asteroidea with bipinnaria and brachiolaria larval forms.
Knowledge of the specific nutrient requirements and optimal salinity required for development would be a major breakthrough for sea urchin aquaculture. The participating student would be directly involved in preparing algal cultures; rearing larvae to metamorphic competency, preparing larvae for biochemical analysis, photographing echinoderm larvae etc. Past students have presented their research at regional (GAS) and international meetings (SICB), and are coauthors on 3 recent articles from research at FHL.
Schiopu Daniela., George, Sophie B. & Castell, John. 2006. Ingestion rates and dietary fatty acid composition of Dendraster excentricus larvae Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 28 pages, 328:47-75.
George, Sophie B. & Walker, Devoc. 2007 Short-term fluctuation in salinity promotes rapid development and metamorphosis of Dendraster excentricus larvae. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 348:113-130.
George, Sophie B., Fox Colleen & Wakeham, Stuart 2008. Fatty acid composition of larvae of the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus (Echinodermata) might reflect FA composition of the diets. Aquaculture 285: 167-173.
Dr. George Hunt
University of Washington - School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Geohunt2@uw.edu
The goal of this project is to quantify the types and numbers of seabirds foraging in Cattle Pass at the south end of san Juan Island, and to compare these observations with observations made in the late 1990s in Cattle Pass. We will accomplish this by counting foraging seabirds in Cattle Pass from headlands adjacent to the shore. This project is important because there is evidence that there has been a decline in the numbers of seabirds foraging in Cattle Pass, and this decline needs to be quantified. It will also be important to document other areas where seabirds aggregate to forage.
Marine birds forage in a wide variety of habitats, including the fast flowing waters of narrow passes and the relatively quiet waters of sheltered bays. The project will therefore investigate seabird use of a variety of marine habitats around San Juan Island. We will quantify the distribution and abundance of marine birds with respect to habitat type, tidal flows and the presence of harbor seals and other marine mammals as well as fishing activity. We will examine whether different species of birds use different marine habitats, and how foraging activity varies with weather and other environmental factors. The project will require long days of observation of marine birds from a variety of locations around the island. Binoculars would be desirable, but can be provided. Likewise a car would helpful, but is not essential. Students will learn about the marine ecology of the Salish Sea and how it has changed in recent years as well as about the marine birds and mammals found here.
Dr. Robin Kodner
University of Washington - Friday Harbor Laboratories
rkodner@u.washington.edu
I use new genomic and metagenomic techniques to study algal lipid biosynthesis, because lipids are the most organic molecules for the global carbon cycle on long time scales. The foundation of my research lies in the major role algae play in the global carbon cycle by contributing the most significant amount of biomass to carbon sinks. At FHL, I am working to understand how the diversity of phytoplankton in the environment at any given time influence the amount of carbon that can be sequestered in carbon sinks. This will be important in understanding the feedbacks from phytoplankton in the global carbon cycle as climate changes in the future. This work will combine field sampling of plankton and sediments with characterization of lipid biosynthesis genes from the environment.
I sample phytoplankton and water from around the San Juan Islands, and characterize the lipids and genes involved in synthesizing these lipids from the samples. I also collect sediment underlying my sample sites to characterize lipids from sediments and microfossils of the phytoplankton that sink down. The student will learn field sampling techniques and various microscopy techniques for both water and sediment samples. They will also learn to extract and analyze organic compounds from the environment or use molecular biology to sequence genes for lipid biosynthesis in the environment. The student can choose which they are more interested in doing. In addition the student will lean data analysis for mass spectra or for sequence data. If the student chooses sequencing, he/she will have the opportunity to learn how to analyze molecular biology data from their generated sequences and from metagenomes, and make phylogenetic trees for analysis of diversity.
Dr. Bob Podolsky
College of Charleston
podolskyr.people.cofc.edu
PodolskyR@cofc.edu
My research focuses on the physiological and evolutionary ecology of early life-history stages of marine invertebrates. I use field and laboratory studies to measure the effects of variation in environmental conditions on fertilization and early development, and to understand how adult experience can alter the responses of gametes and embryos through non-genetic maternal effects.
Below I describe four questions that could be addressed by a Blinks student in a summer project. These alternatives give a sense of the range of options open to students working with me. I would help each student to choose a project based on interest and on the timing of participation at FHL relative to animal reproductive activity (in some years, for example, the timing of reproduction precludes studies of field populations). In addition to these options, other projects can be tailored to specific student interests.
Dr. Billie Swalla
University of Washington
http://faculty.washington.edu/bjswalla/
bjswalla@u.washington.edu
My research is focused on a complex, interdisciplinary biological question. I am interested in the evolution of animals, how they evolve such different forms, shapes, sizes, and colors. All animals on the earth begin life as a single cell, the fertilized egg. How does one cell become a whale, or a fly, or a spiny sea urchin, or parasitic heartworm? The single cell divides into many cells and each of the daughter cells then begin to become different from each other because of special proteins that were packaged into the egg. These proteins are powerful transcription factors, they control many genes by binding to DNA and turning the gene off or on. As cells accumulate in the young embryo, they then begin to talk to each other, or signal, by the secretion of other specialized proteins called signaling molecules. The signaling molecules activate different control genes in various cells, and eventually the cells in the embryo respond by moving, crawling, sliding across each other in order to form three germ layers. As the embryo continues to develop, it expresses different genes in different cells and eventually starts to form a recognizable organism.
Previous theories suggested that the ancestral chordate was similar to a tunicate, sea squirts that are sessile and filter feed, shown in the middle photo above. In contrast, my research suggests that our earliest ancestors were worms, living in the mud and eating plankton and detritus. These worms also filtered water for plankton and probably also for oxygen, as present day hemichordates. The closest living representatives of these ancestors are hemichordates (left photo in above figure), marine worms that are related to the better known echinoderms, such as sea stars and sea urchins. Echinoderms and hemichordate worms have similar embryonic development and the embryos develop into ciliated larvae, which float and feed on the plankton in the open ocean. However, after metamorphosis, echinoderms have a hard, spiny endoskeleton and are bottom dwellers, while the soft-bodied hemichordates burrow into the marine sand or mud.
Hemichordates are plentiful in Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, but must be dug out and so were rarely identified by species until I joined the University of Washington Biology faculty in 2000. I have since identified two species of Saccoglossus worms, one that is an invasive species from the east coast, S. bromophenolosus, and the other, S. pusillus that was previously thought to be only in southern California, but is now known to be found in Oregon and on Vancouver Island (Smith et al. 2003). We have also identified and studied Glossobalanus berkeleyi, from Hood Canal (Brown et al. 2008). Our lab has recently received NSF funding to continue to investigate evolutionary relationships between and within the phylum of Hemichordata in collaboration with Dr. Ken Halanych at Auburn University.
This Blinks internship project will consist of examining gene expression of a developmental gene during early embryonic development, larval development and then after metamorphosis. We work on both hemichordates and ascidians in my laboratory, so you'll get to choose which you find more interestsing. Some of the genes that we are most interested in studying are the developmental Hox genes, that determine anterior-posterior polarity in animals. Your project will help you understand genes and genomes, a bit about embryonic development and a whole lot about these fascinating invertebrates that are related to humans.
Dr. Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria
University of Washington
UW-Friday Harbor Laboratories and UW Urban Horticulture
zmseed@u.washington.edu
Seagrasses are wild aquatic plants that increase the biodiversity and productivity of estuarine and coastal environments. They are under threat from a variety of natural and human-induced stressors including seasonal increase in seawater temperature, associated with global climate change. The seagrass Zostera marina L.is monoecious and grows in lower intertidal and shallow sub-tidal regions throughout the Northern Hemisphere including the Pacific Northwest.
Our field observations suggest high temperatures could affect ovule development in Z. marina if they occur soon after the fertilization period of anthesis. During the summers of 2005 and 2006, mean fruit/ovule ratios were computed at a site in the San Juan Archipelago. Significantly lower ovule development occurred in 2006 compared to 2005. An example of aborted ovules appears in Figure 1.
The influence of higher than normal temperature on production and growth in Z. marina has been known
for more than 80 years, however no studies have investigated the relationship between high temperature and the production of viable seed. Recent studies have found that genetically diverse populations of these plants are buffered against the negative effects of “extreme warming events”; as it turns out “heat rigor” reduces the density and biomass of some genotypes but not others. Because seed production and dispersal is important in maintaining genetically diverse populations, understanding the potential negative influence of high temperature on seed development is important.
Our preliminary finding that reduced fruit/ovule ratios may be related to abnormally warm temperatures has not been verified experimentally. We suspect that heat associated with boundary layer water surrounding flowers at the time of pollen transfer is the primary reason for the failure of ovules to fully develop but this remains untested. The intent of this proposed work is to increase temperature during fertilization while keeping salinity and submarine light constant to determine the validity of our field observation.
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