A blog highlighting undergraduate research in the LeRoy Lab at Evergreen

Category: undergraduate author

Interview with Evergreen Undergraduate Lauren Thompson

Transferring from GHC, Evergreen undergraduate Lauren Thompson has always had an interest in Freshwater systems. Photos by Maddie Thompson & AG.

What is one of those mind blowing facts about MSH that you can’t un-know because it it so cool?  

“It is absolutely mind-blowing that there are novel stream systems on MSH! I am really into stream ecology so that blows my mind!” 

 What attracted you to this research?  

“Stream ecology focus. Previously I’ve worked in hatcheries and studying urban water systems. The whole concept of novel stream systems, scientist don’t get to witness first-hand novel streams, usually they are very old! So that really stuck with me in my interest of MSH.” 

 What is your role in the L3 lab?  

“To learn from Seniors in the group, get trained on things so that I can continue to pass that knowledge to others. I am leading the blog work, communicating our UG research is important because Evergreen isn’t really known for the research opportunities it provides UG. Public outreach!”  

 

What is a future goal you have? Next week, next year or 5 years?  

“Graduate school! My future goal in life is to obtain my PhD. I never would’ve pictured myself in doing so but I have really found where I excel in college. I think the L3 lab is an ideal environment in which I can learn vital skill sets in preparing myself more for grad school!”  

  

Evergreen undergraduate Lauren Thompson helps out with numerous tasks with MSH leaf litter, including weighing/grinding, DNA extractions, and condensed tannins! Photos by Lauren Thompson  

Do you identify as a Greener? What does that mean to you?  

“I am still new to Evergreen, so I haven’t found my role as a greener. At the same time, I have. You have to be both independent and collaborative and I do that with a lot of enthusiasm.”   

What is that thing that you can do now, that your past self would have never dreamed of?  

“For starters, I am a first gen student. I didn’t think I was going to go to college. More in depth, I never thought I would excel in statistics and scientific writing. I am very introverted, not normally vocal, but I am so passionate about public outreach. I excel at it and I am not afraid to put my voice out there when it comes to science communication.”   

There’s an idea of a scientist that we all carry, how do you fit or break that mold/expectation?  

“I definitely break that mold, I am not your typical scientist. I feel like I break those stereotypes because I know where I belong in the sciences. There’s an idea of a fully independent scientist, but I really believe in collaboration and I think that’s really how it works.” 

Published Undergraduate Co-authors!

Our National Science Foundation (NSF) grant provided funding for two full field seasons at Mount St. Helens. In the first year, we collected a dataset comparing the colonization patterns of willow males and females on the Pumice Plain and published a paper in Ecosphere with four undergraduate co-authors (LeRoy et al. 2020)! 

One of the first papers to be published from our work at Mount St. Helens. Four co-authors are undergraduates at The Evergreen State College. (LeRoy et al. 2020, Ecosphere)
Several figures from the paper showing male-female willow differences in initial leaf chemistry and chemistry throughout the decomposition process. (LeRoy et al. 2020, Ecosphere)

We found that the leaf chemistry of male and female willows differs, where males have significantly higher nitrogen and females have higher C:N ratios (LeRoy et al. 2020). These patterns persist through time in the stream, providing in-stream invertebrates with variation in food resources.

Getting started on data analysis and paper writing around the fire at our field camp at Mount St. Helens in summer of 2018! Photo by Shannon Claeson

On long field trips, we get right to work analyzing data in the field. Our team consists of Evergreen faculty, Forest Service collaborators, and lots of invaluable undergraduate research assistants. Nothing better than data-analysis by the fire-side!  

Our study made the cover of the issue in Ecosphere. This is a drone photo taken with a permit of willow colonization on the Pumice Plain. Photo by Carri LeRoy (Mavic 2 Pro)

Some of our research involves using drone technology to explore willow colonization patterns. We were asked to contribute cover photos to the journal Ecosphere and one of our drone images made the cover! Follow along to learn more about the awesome, NSF funded work, collaborative student-faculty research on aquatic-terrestrial interactions in early successional headwater streams of Mount St. Helens! 

Published in Ecosphere: Plant sex influences aquatic-terrestrial interactions.

Dr. Carri LeRoy and research students navigating through a stream of Mount St. Helens.

Check out our latest paper “Plant sex influences aquatic-terrestrial interactions” featuring undergraduate co-authors!!

Learn more about the awesome collaborative work NSF funded student-faculty scientists are working on how sex of dioecious Sitka willows influences aquatic-terrestrial interactions in early successional headwater streams of Mount St. Helens. 

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.2994

New paper published with Evergreen undergrad lead author!

Emily Wolfe (Evergreen grad ’16) just published research that she started in the Evergreen program “Environmental Analysis, 2014-15” in the journal Oikos. The research shows that a fungal endophyte, Rhytisma punctatum, which infects bigleaf maple leaves as big black “tarspots” can influence the rate at which the leaf decomposes and can alter the in-stream microbial (bacterial and fungal) communities. Emily learned leaf litter methodology and then went on to do amplicon sequencing of the microbial community growing on the leaves. She is now enrolled as a PhD candidate at Portland State University and is doing her dissertation on endophytes more broadly. She credits her time in EA and as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) while at Evergreen with giving her the tools to succeed in graduate school.

You can find the paper at the publisher’s website: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/oik.05619

You can request a .pdf of the paper by writing to leroyc [at] evergreen [dot] edu.