Marine Biology, Masters of Science '20
Northeastern University Three Seas Program
I attended the Northeastern University Three Seas Program from September 2019 - August 2020. Three Seas provided me the opportunity to study in three distinct environments at three world-renowned research facilities as well as an independent thesis. These facilities included the following:
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center | Nahant, MA
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science | Boothbay, ME
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | Bocas del Toro, Panama
- Friday Harbor Laboratories | Friday Harbor, WA
Three Seas delivers an inquiry-based curriculum in marine science during which students formulate research questions, design and conduct critical experiments, and interpret and present results. The program provides hands-on experience SCUBA, lab, and terrestrial research techniques at an accelerated and in-depth pace.
Masters Thesis
My thesis focused on Influences on Spatial and Temporal Variability in Benthic Community Structure of Bocas del Toro, Panama Coral Reefs. I had the privilege of partnering with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and MarineGEO and being advised by Maggie D. Johnson, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Scholar with WHOI. To accomplish this I analyzed Coral Reef Benthic Cover Photo quadrats of Bocas del Toro, Panama from 2016-2019 in CoralNet. Additionally, I mapped coral reef functional diversity using ArcGIS with environmental factors of pH, water temperature, and salinity. All statistic analyses were performed in R. The thesis was presented in August of 2020 remotely for the members of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center.
Courses Taken
Courses involved hands-on learning and in a variety of locations. Subjects ranged from experimental design to coral reef ecology and each came with an immense set of skill learning.