“SURF has helped me phenomenally with giving me confidence that I’m making the right career choice. I now know that I want to try to save the world day by day and do field work forever.”

Research fellow: Katherine (Katie) Jones
Hometown: Clifton, NJ
Major: Biology (environmental science focus); minor, chemistry
School: Salve Regina University
Faculty mentors: Jameson Chace (SRU) & David Borkman (URI)
Project: Trophic-level responses to climate driven sea level rise and associated abiotic conditions

Katie Jones readily notes that her hometown, an inner-city community with a big population, does not offer the best educational experience.

“Therefore,” she says, “I’m extremely grateful to be going to school at Salve and earning research experiences through SURF and EPSCoR.”

Working on the SURF project with Associate Professor Jameson Chace, Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Environmental Studies, Jones says the data she helps collect from Narragansett Bay will add to the picture of how climate change and sea level rise affect near shore species.

“Since the sea ducks feed off the near shore species, there is a correlation between the base of the food chain and higher trophic levels,” explains Jones, who worked with Chace last year and researched along Newport Neck. “This year, I’m focusing on Narragansett Bay. It will be cool to see if there are any trends between the two.”

As part of the data collection efforts, Jones regularly checks and drops minnow traps along the Bay’s coast. The students bait the minnow traps with mackerel and drop the traps in specific locations.

After the traps are left in the water for a couple of days, they are filled with different organisms, such as green crabs, Asian shore crabs, hermit crabs, mud snails, whelk, cunner, juvenile lobsters and eels. The SURF crew counts, sizes and determines the sex of each and then releases them all back into the water.

Jones, who graduates in Spring 2016, says she hopes to pursue an advanced degree in marine science or oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. But, she also realizes other avenues are available — possibly more research experience or a job within the field.

“This program is such a great eye opener and helps gather hands-on experiences,” Jones says of SURF. “I think that this program is amazing for what it stands for and does for students.”

Last year, Jones created a video about her SURF experience with the Salve Regina crew:

Story by Amy Dunkle | photo by Tim Roosa