{"id":12182,"date":"2016-07-14T15:50:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T19:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=12182"},"modified":"2016-07-14T15:50:51","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T19:50:51","slug":"surfs-up-2016-ri-undergrads-in-research-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2016\/07\/14\/surfs-up-2016-ri-undergrads-in-research-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SURF&#8217;s up 2016: RI undergrads in research"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing as an undergraduate to participate in these research opportunities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/IMG_6848.jpg\"  rel=\"lightbox[12182] attachment wp-att-12189\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12189 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/IMG_6848.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6848\" width=\"640\" height=\"474\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Research fellow:<\/strong> Daniela O\u2019Regan<br \/>\n<strong>Hometown:<\/strong> Charlton, MA<br \/>\n<strong>School:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/rwu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Roger Williams University<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Major:<\/strong> Biology<br \/>\n<strong>Mentors:<\/strong> Dale Leavitt, Matt Griffiths<br \/>\n<strong>Project:<\/strong> Evaluating oyster growth performance in upwellers under varying environmental conditions<\/p>\n<p>RWU junior Danielal O\u2019Regan speaks intently about her long-term goal of working on behalf of the environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to be conservationist,\u201d she says, thoughtfully. \u201cIdeally, I\u2019d like to work for the United Nations, in the area of politics between countries and conservation laws, conserving areas like the rain forest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the moment, though, O\u2019Regan\u2019s focus is trained on the clam harvest technique of bullraking, a rake-like piece of equipment that is dragged along the bottom of the ocean floor to scoop up clams buried in the dirt.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Regan, for her RI EPSCoR <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/surf\/\" target=\"_blank\">Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship<\/a> (SURF), is investigating the environmental impact of the bullraking method, collecting sediment samples to gauge turnover and recovery rates, essentially tracking if and for how long it takes life at the bottom to return to normal after being disrupted.<\/p>\n<p>Sediment samples are taken before and after bullraking to better understand the impact humans \u2014 and their fishing technique \u2014 have on the environment. By looking at the sediment under a microscope, O\u2019Regan can identify which organisms are in the sediment and whether they return after bullraking or resettle elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>The study has O\u2019Regan working every day on the project, just like what she might do in a real world setting, she notes. Although not her first research experience, the SURF project offers a valuable perspective and experience, she says:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing as an undergraduate to participate in these research opportunities. One thing I\u2019ve definitely learned so far is about being independent in your research. Nobody is going to sit and hold your hand. You\u2019ve got to figure things out on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><em>Story by Amy Dunkle | Photo by\u00a0Tracey Wysor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing as an undergraduate to participate in these research opportunities.&#8221; Research fellow: Daniela O\u2019Regan Hometown: Charlton, MA School: Roger Williams University Major: Biology Mentors: Dale Leavitt, Matt Griffiths Project: Evaluating oyster growth performance in upwellers under varying environmental conditions RWU junior Danielal O\u2019Regan speaks intently about her long-term goal of working on behalf of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21,51],"tags":[132,162,570,597],"class_list":["post-12182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-surfsup","tag-bullraking","tag-clams","tag-rhode-island-nsf-epscor","tag-roger-williams-university"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}