My name is Katie, and I am currently a senior at the University of Miami studying Marine Science and Biology, but have been spending a lot of time at the Rosenstiel Campus in Dr. Andrew Baker’s Coral Reef Conservation Lab. It has been two years since I have started working alongside Andrew Baker and his graduate students, and I have dedicated all of my time to learning the various genetic techniques to study corals and their algal symbionts.
Ross Cunning, a current RSMAS graduate student in Baker’s lab, has given me a lot of guidance and has taught me a great deal about the different interactions among coral and their algal symbionts. Over the past two years, I analyzed DNA from Panamanian coral fragments to see whether they are acquiring more heat-tolerant algal symbionts over time, which may help them adapt to rising sea temperatures. I have also measured the growth rates of these corals in Tom Capo’s Coral Resource Facility to see how these heat-tolerant symbionts affect coral growth. I have also been working with graduate students Nate Formel and Kelly Montenero to see how different nutrient levels and element concentration levels will affect the symbionts and more so, their resilience to climate change. Overall, the analyses of these samples are quite meticulous, but the data says quite a lot about the relationship between climate change and its effect on corals. One thing I love most about this work is that it is always creating new questions and new possibilities to find an answer.
I hope to complete a Senior Thesis in my last year at the University of Miami. I would like to take a closer look at how the different symbionts of these corals must better adapt to their environment in order to withstand bleaching events in response to climate change.
Katie Dziedzic
Undergraduate Student – Marine Science & Biology
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