Student Research Projects and Experiences

Being an ENST student has been a fantastic experience. I've participated in a number of exciting programs offered by the department. The first offering was the block semester: an immersive experience taking classes with only other ENST majors and a class taught at the Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island. Then I participated in the Guam and Palau PWP with Dr. Jim Haw and Dr. David Ginsburg. This summer as an intern with USC and the Catalina Island Conservancy, I built trails, worked with plant species and restoration, and performed geochemical analysis with Dr. Lisa Collins.

The department has provided me with wonderful opportunities to learn about the scope of environmental issues and get hands-on experience in marine and terrestrial conservation. With the great experiences I’ve had in the classroom and field through USC ENST, I feel very prepared to move on to a career and further my education.

After my freshman year, I participated in my first "Problems Without Passports" summer program to Belize. The time spent in the field was incredibly exciting and sparked my interest for research. The following summer, I was part of a brand new PWP to Guam and Palau. After a month of training and SCUBA certifications at Catalina, I headed off to Micronesia for the trip of a lifetime, conducting research on the beautiful reefs of Guam and Palau. This past spring semester, I was fortunate to dive along the Queensland coast, from Brisbane up to the Great Barrier Reef, as well as in the pristine waters of Fiji. This year as a senior, I am undertaking an independent research project, investigating a Marine Protected Area and diving at the USC Wrigley Institute on Catalina. 

I am working on a directed research project with Christine Sur that examines the density and abundance of seagrass in Big Fisherman’s Cove, a Marine Protected Area located on Catalina Island. Functioning as a no-take zone, the cove plays a crucial role in preserving biodiversity. Seagrass is a strong indicator of ecosystem health, as it acts as a nursery for many juvenile species, provides oxygen to water, and stabilizes sediments. Currently, there is extremely limited information regarding the ecosystem health of Big Fisherman’s Cove, and even less available data regarding the prevalence of seagrass. This project aims to provide data on both the density and abundance of seagrass within the cove. As Christine and I are both certified AAUS Divers, we will use SCUBA underwater research methods, including using quadrats as a method of randomly sampling for abundance, and semi-permanent transects to record density and prevalence. Gathering this data will allow for well-informed policy and management options in the future regarding this Marine Protected Area.