Feb 13th, 2011
Dr. Declan McCabe, Streams Project Science Advisor, Miranda Lescaze, Streams Project Director, and five Streams Project interns attended the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography's (ASLO) Annual International Aquatic Sciences Meeting February 13-18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Erin Hayes-Pontius, a senior biology major at the University of Vermont, and Janel Roberge, a junior biology major at Saint Michael's College, presented research from their Streams project internships investigating macroinvertebrate communities in Vermont streams, under guidance from Dr. Declan McCabe. Evelyn Boardman, a sophomore environmental sciences major at the University of Vermont, presented research that resulted from her Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) experience at the El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico last summer. Harold Manrique, a natural sciences student at the University of Puerto Rico, and Natalia Santiago, a sophomore biology-mathematics major at the Universidad Metropolitana in Puerto Rico, also presented their research conducted as part of the Streams project in Vermont last summer.
Miranda Lescaze presented a paper at the conference describing the Streams project as an initiative to engage high school students and undergraduates in research, and increase research opportunities for students from under-represented groups. Professor McCabe presented two papers at the conference, one on comparisons of different macroinvertebrate sampling techniques, and a second on the effectiveness of different training methods and resources in developing high school teachers' macroinvertebrate identification skills.
At the conference the Vermont contingent visited two of the project's high school partners from Puerto Rico, visited four stream sites where they took samples, and visited the rain forest and the "bioluminescent" bay. They also attended numerous research presentation sessions at the week-long conference.