REU SITE: Undergraduate research experiences in coastal and nearshore marine systems of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium, Dauphin Island AL

Investigators

Abstract

The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), located on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Alabama, will offer 10-week summer research experiences to 8 undergraduate students each summer for two years. Students will work with mentors who share their research interests and carry out independent research while interacting with graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty in a setting with ready access to the nearshore environment. REU students will participate in a series of workshops designed to develop critical skills in experimental design, scientific writing and presentations. The students, under the guidance of faculty mentors, will then design, implement, analyze and report on independent laboratory and field research projects. Projects will focus on coastal and nearshore processes in the waters surrounding the research station. Research questions may address aspects of ecology, fisheries biology, evolution, ecosystem interactions, conservation, microbiology, biogeochemistry and physical oceanography. The REU students will attend seminars by DISL and visiting faculty, interact with resident graduate students and participate in individual lab group meetings, providing opportunities to explore research topics outside of their own projects. Students will also be encouraged to publish results of their research and to attend scientific conferences to present their work.