Category: Postcards

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Blog Geology IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research Student Spotlight Water

Postcard from a Fellow: Amanda Pennino in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

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By Amanda Pennino |  August 25, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]Hi everyone! I hope this e-postcard finds you healthy and energized for the upcoming semester!  My name is Amanda, I’m heading into the third year of my Ph.D. program in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. I am writing from Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire where I study soil and soil water chemistry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image image=”51001″ img_size=”500×300″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Some of my work aims to measure how soil water chemistry changes through time and space, particularly in glaciated forest soils that are still recovering from long-term acid rain inputs. This means running up into the forest after a big rain storm and lugging around a huge water pump to take samples from our well network. I then take these water samples back to the lab and analyze their chemical composition. A lot of my research questions are focused around what role hydrologic dynamics and soil patterning on the landscape play in determining soil water chemistry. A better understanding of the temporal and spatial variability in the chemistry of soil water can give provide key insights to ecosystem processes that are occurring on the landscape (e.g., mineral weathering, water source, plant uptake).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51000″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]While the pandemic has certainly thrown a wrench in many people’s research plans, I feel pretty lucky that I’ve been able to work with some of the rich historical datasets from Hubbard Brook when I couldn’t access my site. In fact, working with this data has help shift and redefine my own research questions. Not surprisingly, the start to my fieldwork season has looked quite a bit different this year. The lilacs have long since bloomed, the streams in their driest point of the year, and very few people are on site. When I arrived last spring, Hubbard Brook was buzzing with researchers and field technicians from all over the country. Due to low winter snowpack and dry weather, New Hampshire is officially in a drought.

This is less than ideal for someone trying to measure water chemistry (i.e., me). Even after the passing of Hurricane Isaias, I still was only able to collect deep groundwater as the shallow wells sat dry. I’ve been keeping myself busy conducting soil depth surveys and cleaning up some of the wells that were attacked by bears. I plan on coming back to Hubbard Brook to water sample in October, when it is more reliably wetter.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”51003″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51004″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51006″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”51008″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pandemic, drought, bears… the spring and summer of 2020 has given me some big lessons on adaptation and optimism. We are living in a world with a tremendous amount of uncertainty, but with some of creativity and flexibility we will still succeed. Good luck with the upcoming semester everyone![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”51009″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image image=”51011″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”45550″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Amanda Pennino is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow working with Dr. Brian Strahm and Dr. Kevin McGuire in Virginia Tech’s Department of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation. She is exploring what climatic and local environmental controls might influence shifts in soil water chemistry, particularly around precipitation events. She hopes that her work will contribute to long-term data records at HBEF, a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network site, where her data will complement ongoing studies of mineral weathering rates, recovery of forests to acid deposition, and upslope controls on stream water chemistry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Biodiversity Blog Global Change IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research Water

Postcard from a Fellow: Daniel Smith’s summer obsession with flumes, fake roots, and Psych

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By Daniel Smith |  August 9, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hi GCC community and friends! Daniel Smith here; I’m a fourth year PhD candidate within the Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) Department and I’ve been an IGC fellow since spring 2019. While at Virginia Tech, my research has focused on how plant roots protect streambank soils from fluvial (water) erosion.  I am interested in understanding which plant root processes/mechanisms have the most influence on streambank erosion. I’m excited to share some of the tools I have been using and testing out this summer that will be used to measure soil erosion in my future experiments.

First, let me introduce the epic, room-sized (26 ft long by 3 feet wide) flume. This flume, housed in ICTAS II (the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science), was designed and built to represent water flow within a stream channel. However, a major distinction must be acknowledged between the manmade flume and a natural streambank. The bottom and sides of this flume are made out of smooth, plexiglass material while streams typically have rough bed sediments and grainy bank soil. Many streams also have visible plant roots growing along the streambank face, adding an extra layer to the grainy soil material.  Consequently, to measure the effect of plant roots on streambank erosion in the flume, I need to better represent the boundary conditions found in natural streambank settings.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50732″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Part of this modification was already done from a previous student’s research project. That student built four “flume inserts” made out of a wooden frame and 1-inch thick PVC sheeting. Sand particles were glued onto the PVC sheets, giving them a grainy texture, and a hole was cut into one of the panels so a soil sample could be placed there for erosion testing. For my experiment, I worked with Allen Yoder in the BSE department to make the testing holes larger, replace some broken and/or missing parts, and fix any worn out sections of the frame. Once inside the flume, these updated walls would represent streambank soil that had no vegetation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50729″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50763″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While the sand wall is a good representation of an unvegetated streambank, I still needed something that matched vegetated streambank soils with roots facing the stream channel.  As a result, more PVC sheeting had to be purchased, cut to the correct size, and covered in sand particles. To represent the roots of grassy plants, I decided to use different diameters of flexible, 100% polyester thread. Here’s the fun part: given the size of my PVC sheets, field data from another study revealed I would need ~1500 roots glued onto each insert in order to match what was typically found in the field!  Armed with a hand drill, scissors, thread, and E6000 glue, I drilled 200 holes into each PVC sheet, cut and tied different thread diameters together, and individually glued these fake root bundles into each hole. Once complete, these walls can be drilled on top of the sand wall inserts when I am testing rooted soil planted with grassy-type vegetation. Between the tediously long hours of cutting and gluing, I’ve been able to watch multiple documentaries and an unknown amount of the show Psych![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50898″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]But wait…there’s still more! The sand walls will be used to test erosion in unvegetated soil samples and the polyester threaded walls will be used to measure erosion in soil samples planted with grassy vegetation. What about the woody plants?  You guessed it– I’ll need to make another set of walls with fake root material that represents woody (e.g. more rigid) roots. Once that task is completed, I will run some preliminary tests in the flume to make sure the walls are working as desired before the real experiment starts. Needless to say, by the end of this summer, it’s likely that I’ll have watched so many episodes of Psych some of them will start blending together in my head…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50741″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”50738″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]In addition to the glorious and time-consuming task of gluing near 800 root bundles (~6000 fake roots in total), I am also taking care of some real plants this summer in the Hahn Horticulture Garden greenhouses. My future experiment will look at using switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) to represent grassy and woody plant roots. This summer I am testing to see how they grow in these PVC pipe chambers to see if any modifications will need to be made later. So far things are growing nicely![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image image=”50767″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”44646″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Daniel Smith is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow working with Dr. Tess Thompson in Virginia Tech’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering. He is studying how plant roots and soil microorganisms impact streambank soil resistance to fluvial erosion.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Biodiversity Blog Geology Global Change IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research

Postcard from a Fellow: Ernie Osburn’s year of two summers

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By Ernie Osburn |  July 23, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hello everyone! I hope this postcard finds you healthy and safe. If you don’t know me already, I’m Ernie, an IGC fellow from the Biological Sciences department. My research focuses on how landscape history influences soil microbial communities and their ecosystem functions. My goal today is to entertain you with stories about my summer research adventures. Only one problem – this summer has been a weird one. Not sure if you guys have heard, but there is a global pandemic going on right now that has messed up everyone’s summer plans, including my own. As a result, I find myself most days in an empty lab in a mostly empty building doing tedious, mind-numbing lab work. Nothing too exciting to write about, unfortunately . . . However, I was fortunate enough this year to experience two summers: the current northern hemisphere summer as well as the austral (southern hemisphere) summer while doing field work in Antarctica during January and February. Antarctica is much more interesting than Derring Hall, so I’ll write about my time “on the ice.”

My lab mate Sarah and I began our Antarctic adventure on December 12th 2019. Our travels began with about 24 consecutive hours of airline flights from Roanoke, VA to Washington D.C. to Houston, TX, to Auckland, New Zealand, and finally to Christchurch, New Zealand. Because of time zone changes, we lost a day in transit and landed on December 14th. The next day, I attended some training sessions and was issued my extreme cold weather gear (ECW) at the U.S. Antarctic Program facility in Christchurch, NZ. Normally, the flight down to “the ice” is scheduled for the following day, but because of weather delays, we did not fly out until December 17th. The flight was a loud, uncomfortable, 8 hour trip in jump seats on a C-130 with my legs interlocked with those of the people across from me. After the plane landed on the Ross Ice Shelf, we were transported to McMurdo Station.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50356″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50357″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While in Antarctica, about half of my time was spent living at McMurdo station and processing samples in the lab facility there. McMurdo station is located on Ross Island just off the coast of the Antarctic continent and is the central base of operations for the U.S. Antarctic Program. McMurdo is the most populated place in Antarctica and is essentially a functioning town, complete with a fire department, a water treatment facility, a waste management facility, a library, a hair salon, a general store, and three bars. At its busiest, there were more than 1,200 residents at McMurdo, a mixture of researchers, support staff, and military personnel. Everyone on station eats meals in “the galley,” a big cafeteria. The food is generally all frozen and non-perishable, with fresh food available very rarely. So not the best. People live in very close quarters at McMurdo – everyone is assigned a dorm room with 1-3 roommates and bathrooms are all communal. Also, social life at McMurdo is surprisingly lively. Nearly every night of the week there are events, often involving live music. Most notably is the annual New Year’s Eve concert/party called ‘Ice Stock.’ One interesting quirk of McMurdo is that people like to dress up in silly costumes for these events. There are lots of costume options readily available on station (for reasons unknown to me), so I decided to participate a couple of times after coming across some fun animal costumes. In general, if you thought living in Antarctica would be an isolating experience, you would be very wrong! If you’re interested in learning more about life at McMurdo station, check out the ‘Antarctica: A Year on Ice’ documentary, which is free with Amazon Prime.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50359″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50367″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The other half of my time in Antarctica was spent living at field camps in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free areas in Antarctica. For about two months of every year during the austral summer, temperatures get high enough that ice melts, forming streams. These streams flow from glaciers up in the mountains to freshwater lakes at the bottom of each basin. Most of the lake surfaces are covered by a layer of permanent ice, though liquid water ‘moats’ form around the edges of the lakes in the summer months. Most of the lake basins are ‘endorheic,’ meaning they do not have an outflow to the ocean. This causes minerals to accumulate over time, which causes the lakes to form saline layers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50354″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50358″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50368″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50369″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Dry Valleys are located on the Antarctic continent across McMurdo Sound and are only accessible by helicopter. My first trip out to the Dry Valleys was my first time flying in a helicopter and it’s a thrilling experience! While living at the field camps, I slept in a tent each night, which is very difficult with 24 hours of daylight. In fact, I did not see the sun set during my entire two month stay in Antarctica! The field camps also have permanent structures, including small lab spaces and a heated living space with a gas or solar powered appliances such as stoves, ovens, refrigerators, and freezers. The field camps even have wi-fi! The only amenity missing from the field camps is running water, but otherwise living in the camps is surprisingly comfortable. While in the Dry Valleys, Sarah and I hiked to various locations in multiple lake basins to sample soils and microbial mats. These microbial mats are the “forests” of the Dry Valleys and are the most conspicuous life found there. The mats form in lakes, streams, and wet soils, and there are green, red, orange, and black mat varieties, each composed of different microbial taxa. Our goal with these samples is to understand how differences in soil nutrient availability due to the unique geologic histories of the different lake basins has influenced the structure and ecosystem functioning of microbial communities present in these environments.

By mid-February, the Antarctic winter was well on its way and it was time for our field season to end. Sarah and I flew back to Christchurch on a US Air Force C-17 and we were then lucky enough to spend a couple of week travelling around New Zealand before coming back to the U.S. As you might imagine, New Zealand is a very different environment from Antarctica and maybe even more stunningly beautiful. It was interesting adjusting back to a more normal society and being surprised at seeing normally mundane things that were not present in Antarctica, such as trees, dogs, children, and the night sky. Then, nearly immediately after arriving back in the U.S., the COVID crisis began and I was stuck in my apartment for a few months working on data analysis and writing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50371″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50372″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Now that my 2nd summer is here and our lab has re-opened, I spend most days doing lab processing and analysis of the soil samples we collected in Antarctica and from other projects. My lab work consists of various chemical analyses of soils as well as DNA-based analyses of soil microbial communities. These DNA analyses involve isolation of DNA from the samples and lots of PCR (check out my growing collection of PCR plates below!). The lab work isn’t particularly exciting, but at least it is going smoothly thus far. Anyways, this might be the longest post card in history, so I’m going to stop it here (I’m impressed if you actually read this far!). I hope everyone is doing well during these challenging times and I hope to see everyone soon.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50373″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50374″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”50375″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Ernie Osburn is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow working with Dr. Jeb Barrett in Virginia Tech’s Department of Biological Sciences. He is studying the impacts of Rhododendron removals on soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling in Appalachian forests.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Geology Global Change IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research

Postcard from a Fellow: Junyao Kang in the lab with ancient rocks

Field work in North China, last summer

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By Junyao Kang |  July 10, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”47782″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Hey folks! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I’m Junyao Kang, a second year Ph.D. student from Department of Geosciences, and one of the newest IGC fellows. This summer, I’m working to analyze some 720-1000-million-years-old carbonate and shale samples, which I gathered in North China last summer. My research focuses on the oceanic environmental changes in deep time and their relationships with the evolution of life. To reconstruct the paleoenvironment and its related change, we rely on the sedimentary rocks forming at that time. The chemical and isotopic compositions of these rocks will tell us what has happened in the seawaters and sediments.

This time interval (about 539-1000 million years ago) is a critical one because it witnessed various eukaryotic innovations and even the origin of animals. Knowing the environmental context will help us better understand what has caused these major evolutionary events and also how the life co-evolved with the environment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As I analyze samples this summer, I’m most interested in different iron species incorporated into rocks, because iron is really sensitive to the redox (reduction-oxidation) conditions of the water column. When the water is oxic, iron is mostly incorporated as Fe silicates. However, as it becomes increasingly anoxic, the relative proportion of Fe oxides and Fe carbonates would increase in ferruginous conditions (anoxic and containing free ferrous iron), whereas the relative proportion of Fe sulfides would increase in sulfidic conditions (anoxic and containing free hydrogen sulfide, as is happening deep in the Black Sea right now). Hence, I’m using an iron sequential extraction method to analyze different species of iron preserved in the rocks, which will reflect contemporaneous oceanic redox conditions.

As for isotopic compositions in the samples, I mainly focus on the carbon and sulfur isotopes. Isotopic fractionation will happen during photosynthesis (carbon isotopes) and bacteria using organic matters to reduce sulfate (sulfur isotopes). So isotopic analysis will help us better understand the biogeochemical cycle of carbon and sulfur in ancient oceans. Furthermore, of these two processes, photosynthesis and sulfate reduction, one is directly related to oxygen production while another one actually prevents oxygen being consumed by organic matter oxidation. Therefore, isotopic composition can offer us some information about net oxygen production during that time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50203″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fortunately for me, the COVID pandemic didn’t change my plans too much. But it’s impossible that this pandemic has no effect on my research plan… and quarantined life sometimes drives me crazy :). Because I need to use facilities in different labs within or outside of our department and some of them are still closed, I have needed to modify my research timelines. Also, as a second year student, I’m still learning a lot of lab skills, but the current situation makes it difficult to have some in-situ learning. I hope others are doing well, despite these challenges![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50204″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50206″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50233″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50234″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”50211″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Junyao Kang is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow in the Geosciences Department under the advisement of Dr. Shuhai Xiao. Junyao hopes to look to the past of the Earth history in order to understand the magnitude, causes, and consequences of global scale anoxia events, which will help to obtain a long view of dead zones, to make long-term predictions, and to develop sustainable strategies to mitigate environmental threats such as dead zones.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Conservation IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research

Postcard from a Fellow: Melissa Burt investigates seed dispersal by ants

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By Melissa Burt  |  June 30, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50007″ img_size=”400×600″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]My original plan for this summer was to spend several weeks at the Savannah River Site in New Ellenton, SC investigating the effects of habitat connectivity on ant community dynamics. This year would have been the sixth (!) consecutive year of annual pitfall trapping for a project in which my collaborators and I are using a landscape experiment to investigate how habitat connectivity via corridors affects ant community dynamics. I also had plans to get started on a new study aimed at investigating the effects of connectivity on ant-plant seed dispersal networks in the same experiment. It was going to be a summer spent watching ants in a hotspot of biodiversity among the Longleaf pines. However, those plans all began to change as travel began to be restricted in March because of the COVID19 pandemic. My plan of spending a couple of weeks each month traveling back and forth from VA to SC was no longer a safe plan. 

Instead, I have switched gears a bit. I have still been observing ants and their interactions with seeds, but I am instead doing that in local field sites in southwest VA as part of a collaboration with Annika Nelson (postdoc in the Whitehead Lab in the Dept. of Biological Sciences). We are generally interested in how global change may impact important species interactions, such as seed dispersal.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So, we have been visiting sites that occur over a gradient in elevation to measure rates of Bloodroot seed dispersal. Bloodroot seeds are known to be dispersed by ants – the seeds have a fleshy appendage called an elaiosome that the ants eat, but they leave the seed itself intact. Ants that disperse these seeds take the seed+elaiosome back to their nest, where they eat the elaiosome. The seed then gets moved to their trash piles either within or outside their nests. Many early-spring ephemeral plants in southern Appalachian forests disperse their seeds this way! In addition to measuring rates of seed dispersal, we have also been collecting seeds so that hopefully this fall we can measure their chemical composition. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50006″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]My summer field season has changed in other ways as well. As a result of canceled childcare, I have been spending much more time multitasking my work responsibilities with my parenting responsibilities. Fortunately, I do have some flexibility in structuring my schedule so that I can do both. In some cases that has meant having my two boys with me in the field scouting for ants-dispersed plants. My 8 year-old is now an expert in identifying many ant dispersed plants, while my 3 year-old has found that he is more interested in finding salamanders under stones and logs). In other cases, this has meant working at night or early in the morning so that I can put all of my attention into work or muting my video and sound on zoom if my kids are being particularly loud during a virtual meeting. It’s certainly different than conducting research in “normal” times, but I’m doing my best to juggle it all during this pandemic.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50005″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50004″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”45243″ img_size=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Melissa Burt is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow in the Biological Sciences Department under the advisement of Susan Whitehead. Her research will investigate the effects of human-mediated global change factors, such as habitat fragmentation and climate change, on plant-animal interactions (e.g. seed dispersal, herbivory, etc.) and will aim to connect these effects to community patterns.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Conservation IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research

Postcard from a Fellow: Jess Hernandez checks in on her local AirBnB tenants this summer

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By Jessica Hernandez  |  June 22, 2020

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”49937″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]It’s a sticky, humid afternoon in southwestern Virginia. Trucks are spraying manure across a sea of rolling hay fields. I’m downwind and standing in front of a wooden nestbox. AirBnB #73. As I lift the opening of the box, feathery missiles begin dive-bombing me, sharply turning away at the last second and skimming the top of my head. Tree swallows! And by the look of things, their shrieks (‘alarm calls’) are attracting more swallows to dive bomb me. Hurry up, Jess! I peek into the box. Intricately woven nest, bed of feathers on top, four newly hatched birds, two white teardrop-shaped eggs. Noted! I close the box and move on to the next one. One hundred and forty-five AirBnBs to go.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Over the past four years, I have been studying a local breeding population of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at Kentland Farm. Female and male tree swallows arrive in Blacksburg around late March each year, pair up, and then spend the spring and summer breeding. Contrary to popular opinion, female and male tree swallows seek out mates in addition to their social partner – a pattern prevalent in many bird species. Paternity analyses conducted on tree swallow nests at Kentland Farm have confirmed that there is variation in the number of fathers per nest, with some nests having nestlings sired by one father and other nests having nestlings sired by multiple fathers. My research focuses on understanding the costs and benefits associated with having multiple mates, a question that has perplexed behavioral ecologists for decades.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”49941″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In addition to research, another goal in setting up these nest boxes was to promote the conservation of tree swallows and other cavity-nesting birds. Tree swallows, for example, naturally breed in tree cavities, which have been rapidly disappearing as woodland clearing practices increase. Such practices have played a prominent role in the approximately 50% decline of tree swallow populations in the last five decades. While artificial nest boxes are not the solution to helping populations sustainably rebound, they provide much needed breeding cavities. Plus, setting up a nest box is something that can be done by people in their own backyard (see link below). The nest boxes set up by the Moore Lab at Virginia Tech, of which I am a member, have provided breeding cavities for over 2,000 tree swallows, as well as several eastern bluebirds and Carolina wrens over the past four years (2016-2020).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In non-Covid times I would be joined in the field by a crew of high school, undergraduate, and sometimes even fellow graduate students. Instead, I am alone in the field today checking in on the feathery AirBnB tenants. Just me, the smell of manure, and several hundred tree swallows perched on wires or acrobatically flying around catching insects in midair. Field research in the time of Covid.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”49936″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”49939″ img_size=”500×400″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Helpful links:

  • To document the birds you see and add to a collection of data provided by researchers, hardcore birders, and newbie birders alike, check out: https://ebird.org/

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”37637″ img_size=”300×400″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Jessica Hernandez is an Interfaces of Global Change fellow in the Biological Sciences Department under the advisement of Ignacio Moore. She studies a free-living population of box-nesting tree swallows (Tachcineta bicolor) that form social pair bonds throughout the breeding season yet also engage in extra-pair copulations.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog New Courses Postcards Science Communication Sustainable Agriculture Undergraduate Experiential Learning Water

Interdisciplinary REEU program studies real world issues at the “Confluence of Water and Society”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Postcard from Leigh-Anne Krometis

October 9, 2018[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]If you live in the New River Valley, chances are that your local news (and perhaps your social media feeds) have included mention of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction, which began in Spring 2018. Debates over the MVP bring up a wide variety of tangled issues, ranging from economic cost-benefits to property rights and individual freedom to environmental quality and the role of regulators.

This summer also marked the first year of our USDA-funded REEU: “Confluence of Water and Society” summer program. The USDA REEU program – Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates – is similar to NSF’s well-known summer REU programs, which aim to provide undergraduates with hands-on research experience and to encourage these promising students to consider graduate degrees and research careers. The second “E” in the REEU program – extension – indicates that undergraduates in these programs are expected to gain not only research skills, but also experience directly communicating with stakeholders. Their research is supposed to directly relate to community needs and concerns, and students need to gain experience communicating with these communities. Given the complexity of the issues surrounding MVP, the numerous questions local communities have asked various Virginia Tech faculty about potential environmental impacts, and its location essentially in Virginia Tech’s backyard, this issue proved a compelling and challenging framework for our interdisciplinary research efforts associated with the REEU this summer.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25880,25878,25879,25877″ img_size=”300×200″][vc_column_text]Along with my co-program directors, Cully Hession (BSE), Brian Badgley (SPES and GCC), and Amber Vallotton (HORT), we immersed our eight students in the unique local culture and hydrology of the southern Appalachians during their nine-week stay in Blacksburg. Students learned about Appalachian history and culture from Dr. Theresa Burriss, the head of Appalachian Studies at Radford University, visited an active natural gas extraction site in Buchanan County with Dr. Nino Ripepi from Virginia Tech’s Mining and Mineral Engineering Department, visited local farmers dependent on water resources in the New River Valley, and experienced the reality of karst geology firsthand during a local caving trip with the Department of Environmental Quality.

The goal of these speakers and trips was not simply for students to “download” background information, but to provide a real-time opportunity to start conversations with – and listen to! – local stakeholders with a variety of perspectives. Sustainable solutions to difficult issues in the food-energy-water sectors require an ability to be comfortable in the midst of complexity and understanding even when emotions run high.

Although our formal analysis of student outcomes is ongoing, early indicators suggest that students appreciated the opportunity to step out of the laboratory (or away from the computer) to talk to members of the local community, and that these conversations added nuance to their understanding of the MVP issue. Several intend to pursue careers that directly involve some science communication.

Our eight students spent their summer working collaboratively on three intersecting research projects focused on environmental and social aspects of the MVP, aided by a similarly diverse set of faculty mentors, including Global Change affiliates Bryan Brown, Julie Shortridge, Erin Hotchkiss, and Ryan Stewart, and IGC PhD student Lauren Wind. Student project specifics and perspectives on the summer program were recently covered by VT News. This specific REEU will continue for another two years, focusing on a different multi-faceted freshwater issue each summer. Send interested undergraduates our way![/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Written by Leigh-Anne Krometis

Biological Systems Engineering

krometis@vt.edu[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research Student Spotlight

Sydney Hope recaps her avian research abroad in Villiers-en-Bois, France

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1538767913408{margin-bottom: 10px !important;}”]

October 8, 2018

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”22994″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Sydney Hope, a PhD student in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, returned to Virginia Tech this fall semester after spending 7 months overseas conducting avian research at the Centre d’Etudes Biologique de Chizé (CEBC) in Villiers-en-Bois, France.  Sydney’s research abroad was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide program and the Chateaubriand Fellowship program of the Office for Science & Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States.

In collaboration with Dr. Frédéric Angelier, Sydney set out to investigate how environmental changes influence the way bird parents care for their babies. One crucial aspect of parental care for birds is incubation – parents must keep their eggs at a warm temperature so that the chicks will develop correctly.  Small changes in temperature can lead to negative consequences for the offspring.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While in France, Sydney specifically studied how urbanization influences parental behavior and incubation temperature in great tits (Parus major).  You can learn more about Sydney’s project from her “Postcard from the Field”, here.

Rest assured, Sydney’s trip was much more than just conducting research.  She was able to start an international collaboration, made great international connections and wonderful friends, and was able to view science and higher education through the lens of a different culture.  Here is what she has to say about her experience:

“I think it really has been one of my best decisions yet to pursue research abroad in France!  When I first arrived, I was definitely out of my comfort zone.  Before this, I had never lived outside of the US, and I spent most of my life in New Jersey.  I could barely speak any French (mostly, just “bonjour”).  The research center that I worked at was in the middle of the forest, with the closest grocery store 10 minutes away by car, and I had no car.  These were by no means harsh living conditions!  But, there was definitely a bit of a transition period for me.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25768,25771,25774,25769″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1539011662076{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539027546878{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 40px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”]Left to right: 1. Hiking in Marseille, France. 2. Île d’Oléron, France. 3. Étretat, France. 4. In Lille, France.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pretty quickly, I met some of the best people to work and live with!  They were students from all over France and parts of Europe.  Some spoke English very well, and some were not quite as confident in their speaking skills (I specify ‘speaking’ because every student seeking a higher degree in the sciences is required to read in English, because scientific papers are for the most part only in English!).  I am still completely amazed and humbled that my friends there, as well as international students in the US, are not only able to conduct amazing scientific research, but also read and write scientific papers in their second—or even third —language.

One thing that struck me almost immediately was the importance of language.  In the US, we are rarely confronted with any situation where language is an issue.  And, as a native English speaker, even when I had travelled to other countries, I never had a problem communicating because, as most tourists, I travelled to major cities where many people speak English.  But at the CEBC, my privilege as a native English speaker was staring me right in the face.  Only a native English speaker would set off to go conduct research in the middle of the French countryside without thinking twice about whether she’d be able to get by just in English!  While it was true that I could definitely conduct all of my research without knowing a word of French, it was incredibly apparent right from the beginning that knowing French was so important if I wanted to make friends, or understand 9 out of every 10 conversations.

I was lucky to meet a great friend who, since she was not too confident in her English but wanted to practice, and I wanted to learn French, spoke to me in English and then was incredibly patient as I slowly (very slowly) progressed in French.  I spent a lot of time listening to conversations that I could not understand, trying to learn on my own through podcasts and online materials, asking my friends so many questions about how to say different words and phrases, and of course making many, many mistakes.  Now, I am pretty confident in my conversational skills!  Even though I studied Spanish throughout elementary and high school, this is the first time I feel somewhat confident speaking another language.  It’s so amazing to discover how crucial a language is to understanding a culture.  There are so many things that just can’t be translated fully.

It was really enlightening to learn so much about a different culture!  Like many Americans, I imagined all of France to be like Paris.  After living with people from all over France, I learned all of the differences in culture, accents, stereotypes, architecture, jargon, and landscapes of the many different regions of France.  And I learned about all of the songs, movies, comics, and of course, food, that everyone in France loves.  Additionally, I was able to share my culture with everyone there!  It was so interesting to find out what everyone thought about Americans.  The funniest of these moments was when two of my friends asked me a whole list of questions about the US, including: “Did you really ride to school in a yellow school bus? Did you have a lemonade stand when you were little? Do you microwave water?”.  And they were completely astonished when I said yes to all of them.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25772,25776,25775,25773″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1539011721724{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539016037965{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 30px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”]Left to right: 1. Marseille, France. 2. Île d’Oléron, France. 3. Île-Grande, France. 4. Saintes, France.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It was also interesting to learn about the differences between the US and France in higher education.  In France, instead of departments, researchers at each institution are organized into teams that have specific themes.  The team that I was a part of was “Ecophy”, which focuses on how environmental changes influence the physiology of animals at all stages of life.  I found this way of organization interesting because it could be a better way to facilitate interdisciplinary research since the research questions, which can require a diverse set of researchers, are the basis for the composition of the teams.

Another interesting difference for me was that, in France, PhD programs are strictly 3 years, and there are very few opportunities for French PhD students to conduct research abroad, unless it is solely for conducting field work.  For me, I had my own office, conducted two different laboratory analyses, participated in lab meetings and seminars, and also developed and carried out an entire field project.  So, it was pretty difficult for everyone to understand exactly what I was doing there, and especially how I was a PhD student in her 4th year!

As fun and interesting as it was to compare and contrast the differences between our cultures, it was also great to realize how similar we really are.  I felt at home incredibly quickly, and discussions about cultural differences were definitely not the most frequent topic of conversation.  Honestly, many of my conversations were very similar to the ones I have at Virginia Tech.  Because we were all graduate students studying ecology, we talked a lot about how human-induced environmental changes are affecting wildlife.  And, as early-career scientists, we discussed what could be the best way to make an impact and a difference.  We discussed many of the same topics that we do in our IGC seminar!  What are the fundamental reasons for why we should conserve species, and how do we explain this to different groups of people?  (This was one of the conversations where I could understand enough French to follow it, but not yet enough to contribute to it.)  It was interesting, however, to discover some cultural differences in how people viewed different species.  For example, my friends were surprised when I told them that people in the US generally did not love house sparrows (they’re invasive in the US), since everyone in France (where they’re native) loves them!

I am so incredibly happy that I was able to spend this time conducting research and living in France.  As a Jersey girl, it has really opened my eyes to how amazing it is to explore a different culture, and makes me hopeful that I will have more opportunities in the future to continue to discover and explore other cultures through my scientific research.”[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25781,25770″ img_size=”300×400″ css=”.vc_custom_1539011875151{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539016066117{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 30px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”](L) The forest near the CEBC in February. (R) Touring Barcelona, Spain.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow” css=”.vc_custom_1539011894658{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539011886582{margin-top: 2px !important;}”]Written by Sydney Hope.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Drinking water Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Outreach Postcards Research Student Spotlight Water

Postcards from the field: Nicole Ward is working on linking people and water in Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] August 9, 2018
Postcard from Nicole Ward

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Hi! I am writing from Sunapee Harbor on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire, USA. My field season is wrapping up now, but I’ve been here for three months!

My research is aiming to improve water quality monitoring to ensure local residents have good drinking water and recreational water value into the future. A major issue today is that most water quality monitoring protocols only collect water quality samples in one location of a lake, often near the middle or deepest location in a lake. Often, changes in water quality occur over many decades, which means that when even a small change is detected in the middle of a lake, it is likely too late to avoid a drastic decrease in water quality. My goal is to understand how targeted monitoring in different locations of a lake may indicate impending water quality changes earlier than classic monitoring protocols.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]I have been collecting water quality samples in the lake and in the streams that flow into the lake, and have deployed water quality sensors in 4 locations in the lake and automated water samplers in the two largest inflow streams. By linking in-lake water quality measurements with stream measurements, we may be able to target water quality management to specific locations in the watershed that will be the most effective for achieving overall water quality goals for years and decades to come.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”24674″ img_size=”medium” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”24679″ img_size=”400×550″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]In several of these photos, you can see some of the buoys in the background or featured in the photo—we have two orange, one black, and the LSPA (Lake Sunapee Protective Association) has a large yellow buoy. All of the buoys have chains hanging in the water with various water quality sensors attached, including dissolved oxygen, temperature, and light sensors. There is also a photo of one of the automated water samplers in a large plywood box near one of the streams. I also included a picture of two loons! There are a number of loons on the lake, and it was quite fun to hear them calling all summer long. The coolest is being able to see them swimming/hunting underwater, which is only possible because the water is so clear![/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24676,24681,24675,24687″ img_size=”300×300″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Additionally, I have been working to integrate my research with local community needs. I am working with the Lake Sunapee Protective Association (LSPA; http://www.lakesunapee.org), which is a local non-profit devoted to maintaining the environmental integrity of the watershed through education, outreach, and research. They support citizen science in the watershed and maintain a water quality buoy as a part of the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON; http://gleon.org). The LSPA is currently writing a watershed management plan, and my work will help inform the implementation of the management plan.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”24680″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]My research is part of a larger interdisciplinary and multi-institutional project, the CNH-Lakes project (https://www.cnhlakes.frec.vt.edu). As a group of ~20 researchers representing the disciplines of economics, hydrology, agronomy, limnology, and social science, we are working to understand both how humans influence water quality and how changes in water quality may alter human decision-making. By examining this two-way relationship between people and water, our major goal is to better understand how to achieve water quality goals while avoiding the unintended consequences that often plague environmental decision-making.

This field study was funded by the College of Science Roundtable Scholarship and the Lake Sunapee Protective Association. Thank you so much to logistical, field, and lab support from the LSPA, the Kathy Cottingham lab at Dartmouth (especially post-doc Jennie Brentrup!), Kathie Weathers at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, and Lake Sunapee residents Midge and Tim Eliassen.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”24678″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”24677″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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” title=”Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Blog Environmental Justice Outreach Postcards Student Spotlight

Postcards from the field: Cristina Marcillo in Guatemala

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] August 3, 2018
Postcard from Cristina Marcillo

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¡Hola desde Guatemala!

This July, I have been working in Guatemala conducting a drinking water monitoring study of San Rafael las Flores, home to the Escobal silver mine, and co-leading a water-monitoring workshop for citizen scientists from all over Guatemala in Chimaltenango. Since its inception, there has been strong resistance to this mine (at times resulting in physical violence) from the surrounding community, including the indigenous Xinca population. This project is funded by Virginia Tech’s Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention and is a collaboration between the Krometis lab group in Biological Systems Engineering (of which I am a part!) and Dr. Nicholas Copeland in Sociology, who received a Fullbright to work in Guatemala this year.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”42619,42609″ img_size=”300×300″][vc_column_text]After landing in Guatemala City, our water monitoring team was immediately whisked away to San Rafael las Flores to meet with community members and together decide on an effective drinking water monitoring plan. We sampled households in both the urban center and the rural mountainous outskirts. Most of this area relies on spring water for drinking, domestic, and agricultural use, and treatment appears sporadic. Our sampling included long days of driving and hiking to spring and surface water sources in forested mountainous areas with knowledgeable community guides. We brought with us field equipment to test for arsenic, E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity that allowed us to give rapid feedback on water quality. Through this experience, I was able to get an idea of the complicated distribution network the San Rafael community relies upon, learn about the physical environment influencing water quality, and better understand the community’s drinking water concerns. We will continue to be in communication with the San Rafael community as we receive lab results on their water quality.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24630,24633,24631,24638″ img_size=”300×300″][vc_column_text]The following week, I went to Chimaltenango to teach a water-monitoring workshop with Dr. Copeland. This workshop aimed to equip citizen scientists with the knowledge they need to: 1) plan a monitoring program, 2) use field equipment to rapidly test for certain drinking water contaminants and interpret results, 3) understand the health impacts of common drinking water contaminants, and 4) begin to build a national water–monitoring network. Guatemala does not currently have a publicly available comprehensive waterbody inventory or regular monitoring of surface or spring waters. Citizen scientists from all over the country attended this workshop and left with a renewed conviction that their community can care for and monitor their own water bodies and drinking water sources.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24635,24636″ img_size=”300×300″][vc_column_text]My primary dissertation research analyzes environmental justice impacts of US public water system compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, whereas this project in Guatemala looks at public water infrastructure and legislation that is less well-established and in many ways still forming. This project allows me to observe the difference in challenges in developed and developing countries’ drinking water protection efforts firsthand. It also allows me to use my engineering knowledge to work with a community that is adamant about protecting water sources from contamination. Being half-Guatemalan myself, I am excited to partake in this interdisciplinary project and see its impacts firsthand. This project will continue to evolve as we work with the San Rafael community and beyond on long-term water monitoring network.

– Cristina[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”24634″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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” title=”San Rafael las Flores, Guatemala”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]