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The article about Becca and Collin is copied and pasted below from the June 2017 SML newsletter:
"SML Internship Spotlight: Parasite Ecology with Collin Love and Rebecca Barnard During his first few weeks as an undergraduate research intern at SML, Collin Love (Michigan State University '18) has been working with graduate student Rebecca Barnard to study invasive green crabs as part of SML's new Parasite Ecology Internship. The green crab ( Carcinus maenas) made its way to the East Coast of the Unites States roughly 200 years ago and has been the subject of invasive species research throughout the Gulf of Maine, especially in recent years. For her graduate work in Dr. April Blakeslee's lab at East Carolina University, Rebecca is interested in determining how parasites are impacting the green crab’s behavior and physiology. Later in the summer, Collin will be running his own independent research project to determine whether parasites are impacting the crab's susceptibility to predators. He predicts that infected crabs will be more likely to be eaten by shorebirds, as opposed to uninfected crabs. As global trade and transportation increases across our oceans, the risk of introducing invasive species increases. Research such as Collin's and Rebecca’s expands our understanding of these foreign creatures and our ability to respond appropriately.Pictured Above: SML intern, Collin Love (Michigan State University '18), is extracting tissue samples from a green crab. After the tissues are removed, they are analyzed under a microscope for the presence of parasitic cysts. Thank you to Collin and Rebecca for writing this newsletter feature and sharing your work with us!" Comments are closed.
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