Assessing the Heat Tolerance of Marine Species in New Hampshire's Great Bay
Tianyi Duan '28, from Beijing, China and Greenfield, NH, is pursuing her B.S. in biology at UNH. Her undergraduate research is focused on different Great Bay marine species' abilities to tolerate heat . The summer, she has been studying ribbed mussels, Asian shore crabs, and European green crabs.
What challenge/issue does the research you're conducting seek to address?
Tianyi Duan: These heating experiments are designed to simulate the temperature change when under the influence of a marine heat wave, which is a natural phenomenon where the temperature of the sea rises for a period of time. The marine heat waves are recognized as a product of climate change, and it can cause significant change in the populations of organisms by causing them to die or migrate. By doing this research, it will allow us to better understand what magnitude and duration of marine heat waves would cause mortality in those species, as well as how the effect differs by the species, which is important to see as it may change the balance of the ecosystem.
What are you learning as a result of this experience?
Tianyi: From this experience, I am putting my classroom knowledge into real world applications, such as those related to ecology, animal physiology, data collection/analysis, as well as scientific reading/writing. It is one thing to know these concepts in theory and another thing to be turning them into production. In the real world, there are more small random challenges to overcome than in the classroom, ranging from how to catch/measure the crabs without being pinched, to how to turn data that has been collected vaguely into something that can be analyzed. This experience also get me used to the collaboration dynamics that happens in the labs.
Who are you working with? (Faculty, grad students, other undergrads)
Tianyi: For this research experience, Easton White, who has been the professor for my BIOL 412 class in the fall, is my faculty mentor. A current PhD student, Andrew (Drew) Villeneuve, is my student lead/mentor who works with me closely on this project, helping me to design/run the experiments. There are also a bunch of other lab members who provided me a lot of help during this project, ranging from postdoc, grad student, to other undergrads. We sometimes work with people from another lab, as we share some equipment as well as species being studied.
What do you think prospective students should know about UNH?
Tianyi: I would say that UNH has a lot of opportunities for undergraduates, such as research/internships (what I am doing now), on campus jobs, clubs, student leadership experiences, etc. Given the variety, there would be something for everyone, and they are relatively easy to access (of course, they do not come without work, but as long as you give it your best, you would get something).
What do you love most about UNH?
Tianyi: The people! The community of UNH is very diverse and welcoming. I found the professors to be very approachable, and they care about the students very much. The students that I have met are also distinctive and authentic, being themselves while also being nice, pleasant, or funny people to be around. There is always support available, which would make us want to support others in return too, thus fostering a very supportive environment.
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