This week, I virtually met everyone I’m working with at the Bernhardt Lab, AKA Duke’s Aquaterrestrial Biogeochemistry Lab! It’s quite a mouthful. and a bit overwhelming to hear at first, but so far I’m enjoying the lab. At the lab’s weekly zoom meetings, everyone is encouraged to state their “weekly frog.” This frog is a weekly goal that we set for ourselves in front of everyone so we can be held accountable for these goals for at the next meeting. I enjoyed hearing the impressive goals that people set for themselves–I’m bad at remembering names however one wonderful person is collecting data to see how the United States’ rivers have changed temperature since the 1950s. I have the opportunity of taking thermal images of rivers! I’m very excited to learn about all the different field methods and techniques that environmental science has to offer 🙂
My weekly frog is to be in the field as much as possible and learn everything I can about my work. So far I’ve been in the field twice and I loved it! My project involves sampling aquatic and terrestrial bugs at three different river sites in Durham to see what the differences in biodiversity are between each site. We are currently focusing on fly larvae. We will use our knowledge of which Orders of flies are sensitive to pollution and our data to show the quality of each site. Then, we will grind the bugs up to see if there is any bioaccumulation of contaminants in their food webs. I’m excited to go into the field and learn more about the work I’m doing.
I’m specifically excited about working with the Bernhardt lab this summer because I will also be working with them in the following fall and spring through Bass Connections. Coming into this project early will allow me to get the hang of the work quickly so I can have more time to explore my interests. All in all, I’m grateful for the for the opportunity of working in the Bernhardt Lab and I look forward to what this summer has to offer.
