SUMMER 2020 VIRTUAL REU PROGRAM

Dr. Stuart Sandin and members of the Sandin Lab were honored to participate in the Scripps Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program in the Summer of 2020 despite the repercussions of COVID-19. The 10-week paid summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, hosted by Scripps Oceanography welcomed 19 students who participated fully remotely, to study coral reefs and their associated ecosystems. The students were given access to coral reef communities across the 1,000 sites included in the 100 Island Challenge study sites. This experience allowed students to build skills in observation, quantification, species identification, ecological surveys as well as applied computer science and engineering.

Watch the Students final talks below and read more about the program from the Scripps Website.

Correlation between direct coral competitors and coral demography on Rarotonga

Students: Angelica Dimas and Jackson Shoultz

Differences in benthic composition of Savaii and Upolu following a disturbance event

Students: Daela' Boyd and Ahmyia Cacapit

Differences in Halimeda cover across sites and time in Micronesia

Students: Isa Bersamin + Nikki Jackson

Exploring size structure of Sinularia in relation to human population

Students: Ninoshka M. Betancourt Gomez and Charles Hambley

Analysis of population dynamics of soft corals and hard corals at Rarotonga

Students: Bostony Braoudakis and Christina A. Araujo

Differences in bleaching response between high and low islands in Micronesia

Students: Nahir Guadalupe and Blake Stoner-Osborne

Acropora growth and benthic composition with proximity to Rarotonga's harbors

Students: Theresa Duncan and Phi Lang

Responses of Montipora, Porites, and Pocillopora to bleaching event in Micronesia

Students: Zachary Capilitan and Rex Shettlesworth

Exploring colony morphology and size as indicators of bleaching response in Acropora

Students: Audrey Ellias and Zachary Ferris

Effects of the 2018 cyclone Gita disturbance on coral morphologies in American Samoa

Students: Elena Pilch and Samantha Scheibler