UROP Project
Comparing Marsh and Forest Soil Nutrients in the Apalachicola River Delta
wetlands, soils, environmental chemistry
Research Mentor: Dr. Dr. Josh Breithaupt,
Department, College, Affiliation: FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory, N/A
Contact Email: jbreithaupt@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Ms. Simone Schuster She/her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: sschuster@bio.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory, N/A
Contact Email: jbreithaupt@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Ms. Simone Schuster She/her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: sschuster@bio.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Environmental Science, Biology (Ecology emphasis), Geography, Chemistry (Environmental emphasis)
Project Location: 3618 US-98, St Teresa, FL 32358 (approximately a 1-hour drive south of FSU main campus)
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 , During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Environmental Science, Biology (Ecology emphasis), Geography, Chemistry (Environmental emphasis)
Project Location: 3618 US-98, St Teresa, FL 32358 (approximately a 1-hour drive south of FSU main campus)
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 , During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Project Description
The Apalachicola River Delta (ARD) is a river delta with tidal influence, affecting the hydrology and geomorphology of the wetland ecosystems. The ARD is the largest river delta in the state of Florida and is affected by nutrient loading upstream from Georgia and Alabama. Soil is an important part of the wetland ecosystem and can tell a lot about the general state of the river delta. A research assistant will be joining this project to complete a day of field work to collect samples (tentatively scheduled for all day on October 10) followed by laboratory analyses of soil physical and chemical properties to investigate differences in nutrient storage between marsh and forest wetlands of the ARD.Research Tasks: - Join us on a day of rigorous field work to collect samples and data.
- Conduct lab work preparing and analyzing soil samples for physical and chemical analysis.
- Conduct a brief literature review to understand the history and existing knowledge of the region.
- Learn good data management and analysis practices working with data in Microsoft Excel and R.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: REQUIRED
- Interest in Florida’s natural ecosystems
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Be able and willing to work in wetlands carrying equipment and collecting soil cores. The locations are beautiful, but you will get wet and very muddy.
- Aptitude and willingness to learn scientific reading and writing skills.
- Prior knowledge of Microsoft suite.
- Available to work at the Coastal & Marine Lab on Mondays or Wednesdays.
RECOMMENDED
- Ideally, applicants will be available for a full day of field work on Friday October 10th, but this is not a requirement.
- Having some experience with R studio.
- Having some statistics experience.
Mentoring Philosophy
There are four key ideas I focus on in my mentoring approach. First, I’ve learned the importance of setting and maintaining high expectations. I expect you to work hard, do excellent work, and exceed your own expectations for what you are capable of. Second: mistakes happen and they provide great learning opportunities; we’ll acknowledge mistakes and talk about ways to avoid them, but we’ll also focus on the extraordinary and clever things you’re doing to advance the research. Third, I want to meet regularly and I want you to set the agenda and run the meeting rather depending on me. It’s important for your skills as a researcher to take time to develop and articulate your questions and ideas for which I can give guidance and feedback. Fourth, if you’re looking forward to a career in science you must become a good writer and the only way that will happen is with practice. We’ll work on writing in several ways throughout the course of the research project. Students who indicate a level of interest, effort, and aptitude may have the opportunity to participate as co-authors on scientific publications stemming from this research.Additional Information
The best way to communicate with me is via email. I will respond to all emails generally within a few hours, and expect students to respond within 24 hours.We will meet weekly at the FSU Coastal & Marine Lab and discuss progress and project schedules during weekly lab work.
I would like the student to update me weekly about upcoming deadlines and projects in the UROP classrooms. Specifically, I would like to be involved as early as possible in discussing UROP project tasks including development of hypothesis, methods, Abstracts, reference lists etc.