Kerry Whittaker, a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, has been recognized with an award for her research at a recent scientific conference.
The award, presented by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, is based on the clarity of her presentation, the quality of her experimental design, the clarity of her conclusions and her innovation and scientific insight. Just three percent of the 721 student research presentations at the conference were recognized by the association.
Whittaker’s poster presentation, titled “Distant Cousins? Global-Scale Genetic Connectivity Among Populations of the Marine Diatom Thalassiosira Rotula” described her research on one species of diatom. She collected water samples across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins including coastal regions off of North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Russia, isolated the Thalassiosira cells, and used genetic techniques to identify how closely they were related. She did this by using markers found within the DNA of diatoms that can be used to tell who’s related to whom, even if they appear to be identical under a microscope.
“We know that genetic diversity can relate to functional diversity,” said Whittaker, who earned undergraduate degrees in environmental science and English from Colby College. “By exploring how genetically and physiologically unique populations are connected over space, we can begin to understand the resiliency and adaptability of these organisms to climate change. And by looking at who is connected to whom, we can tease apart what factors contribute to their vast diversity in the ocean.”
Whittaker will spend time in May and June on a research cruise to Antarctica, where she will help to identify the species of plankton that are eaten by krill. She has about one more year at URI before completing her doctorate, after which she will be looking for postdoctoral research opportunities.
Whittaker’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, via a grant to her advisor, Oceanography Professor Tatiana Rynearson.
For more details, please see the related press release.