This last summer I spent three months on the eastern side of Puerto Rico.  I assisted a Yale doctoral student studying the effects of the common treefrog, el coqui, on nutrient cycling in the Caribbean National Forest.  The internship was truly a great experience.  It was very helpful in allowing me to explore my interests in environmental science.  During one part of the summer I was given the task of designing and setting up a field project studying the effects of juvenile coquis. The project is still being run in the field and is not due to be taken down for at least another month.  I am very excited to hear about the results of the project. Working hard in the field many endless days in a row, myself and the other field assistant were given time off for sightseeing, traveling, or just bumming on the beautiful beaches.  Overall, my experiences in Puerto Rico have furthered my understanding and interests in continuing on to graduate school in the field of ecology.  The culture and climate of Puerto Rico has definitely caught my interests for possibly working in the tropics where the days are always warm.

 

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As a Biology major at Principia College I have many opportunities to study ecology all over the world.  Last winter I participated in the Prinicipia  Nepal Abroad with Dr. Gary Fleener.  This summer I spent two months in Iceland.  I worked as a field assistant to Brooke Parry, a doctoral candidate from Yale University’s School of Forestry.  Brooke and I spent the summer picking out field sites for her project that will span the next three years.  Each day included research time and exploration of Iceland’s remnant and restored forests.  Brooke is looking at the Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) timberline.  She is interested in edge dynamics and environmental stresses.
    The work I did this summer allowed me to draw on all that I had learned in the classroom, and it gave me a sneak peak at what graduate school may have in store for me.  We did have down time and that gave me a chance to get aquatinted with the bird life, volcanoes, glaciers, fjords and hot springs around the country.