Yaquina Bay, an estuary of Oregon, is being investigated by Dr. Weilhoefer and her research students Cristiana Matteucci and Frances Turner. As a wetlands ecologist, Dr. Weilhoefer wants to observe the effects of sea level and human population growth on estuaries. As sea levels continue to rise and people overtake previously uninhabited land, estuaries are being directly affected. An estuary is the tidal mouth of a large river where it meets the ocean. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, estuaries are critically impacted by human activity because they are “transitional areas between the land and sea, and between freshwater and saltwater environments” (oceanservice.noaa.gov). Estuaries are being converted into drainage or dams, and are being dredged; not to mention the monumental contact with human pollution. All of which has had horrendous effects on the wildlife claiming estuaries as home, and on the health of the bodies of water the estuary connects. This sheds light on the importance of Dr. Weilhoefer and her students’ research.
Dr. Weilhoefer, Cristina and Frances are surveying 15 different sites in Yaquina Bay for green algae populations. They know that as the sea level rises salinity changes and as human populations increase, the nutrients for the algae changes. They want to know which one of these, salinity or nutrients, is the more important factor on the algae population. Interestingly, their samples so far are comprised of diatoms mostly, although they were hoping for a bigger presence of algae.
This has been an ongoing project for Dr. Weilhoefer for five years under a MJ Murdock Charitable Trust grant. Wetlands ecology has been a love of hers since her undergraduate education. She appreciates that ecology allows her to spend time outside as she prefers working outdoors, and also likes research to have an environmental conservation application. In other words, she is not researching just for the sake of knowing about wetlands, but to use what she finds to contribute something productive and useful to our society. If people can understand the effect of population growth around an estuary, maybe they will be more cautious and have a greater incentive to preserve this natural habitat and its wildlife. Dr. Weilhoefer teaches about wetlands ecology and populations biology at the University of Portland and brings energy and humor to those around her.
Cristina and Frances conducted research for the summer from June 5 to August 19th but both would like to continue with their projects in one way or another. For Cristina, this has been a great head start for her as she is considering a career in research and teaching. She says that while she has been on this project she has learned a lot, working on chemistry and strengthening many skills she otherwise would not have had an opportunity to improve upon during her time at UP. She likes that they are working more independently from the instructor, in comparison to labs that are taken during the regular school year while pursuing biology requirements for a degree. Frances, an environmental science major, is also interested in research as a career and loves the awesome field experience she has been exposed to this summer. She is considering looking further into diatoms on her own, now that she is aware of their presence. Frances enjoys the overlap this lab has between environmental science and ecology as they survey communities and determine the health of a body of water. Cristina and Frances are making big steps by discovering humans’ impact on estuaries.
In summary, both students are grateful to have gained research experience and have been given insight to a career they are both interested in pursuing. It is an invaluable opportunity for undergraduate students to be making real world contributions as research is responsible for our understanding of many phenomena. Thanks to Dr. Weilhoefer’s passion and her grant funding, these students are taking part in discovering and defending the health of estuaries.