Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION PROJECT TITLE Comparing Large Mammal Behavior Across Two African-protected Areas ORGANIZATION(S) Pringle Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University LOCATION(S) Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique MENTOR(S) Robert Pringle, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Joel Abraham, Ph.D. candidate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Erin Phillips, Ph.D. candidate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Grace Houlahan ’25 PSYCHOLOGY I worked with the Pringle Lab in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, under the supervision of Joel Abraham. In Gorongosa, ecological disturbances such as fire, flooding and herbivory affect plant life and ecosystems. Our research goal was to determine and understand how these disturbances interact and affect the savanna. To do this, we quantified the abundances of herbivores and invertebrates to understand herbivory presence, implemented flood sensors to measure flood levels, and collected soil cores to analyze soil composition. These methods were sometimes tedious, but I found my field work extremely rewarding. Along with these various sampling methods, I learned about the unique history of Mozambique and how enjoyable field research can be in a team environment. 12
PROJECT TITLE Seasonal Evolution of Fruit Fly Competitive Ability ORGANIZATION(S) Levine Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University LOCATION(S) Princeton, New Jersey MENTOR(S) Jonathan Levine, J.N. Allison Professor in Environmental Studies, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Jamie Leonard, Ph.D. candidate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Mulin Huan ’26 ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY I studied how fruit fly phenotypes such as heat tolerance, starvation tolerance, chill coma recovery and fecundity can rapidly evolve over a few months and used experiments to examine how these rapid evolutions affect their competitive abilities. I set up a field experiment site with fly cages and tents at the Princeton University nursery but ran into several issues when storms knocked down the tents and cages. However, my adviser and I came up with ideas to fix the problem. I also took part in making food for all the flies and recording data during the phenotyping of the flies. I learned many techniques, especially skills involving collecting and sampling flies from orchards and cages. As a rising sophomore, this opportunity offered me great insights including how to work safely and efficiently in a university laboratory and deal with unexpected challenges in the field. Overall, I developed further confidence in my aspired career as a researcher in ecology and evolutionary biology. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION * This internship is connected to the HMEI Biodiversity Grand Challenges project, “The Maintenance of Species Diversity through the Rapid Evolution of Competitive Ability.” 13
- Page 1 and 2: 2023 SUMMER OF LEARNING Environment
- Page 3 and 4: Students eagerly undertook research
- Page 5 and 6: Aidan Matthews ’24 30 Kat McLaugh
- Page 7 and 8: INNOVATION AND A NEW ENERGY FUTURE
- Page 9 and 10: PROJECT TITLE Climate-change Mediat
- Page 11: PROJECT TITLE Naturalizing the Envi
- Page 15 and 16: PROJECT TITLE Investigating the Str
- Page 17 and 18: Patrick Newcombe ’25 ECOLOGY AND
- Page 19 and 20: PROJECT TITLE Broad-tailed Hummingb
- Page 21 and 22: Zehao Wu ’26 ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIO
- Page 23 and 24: Helen Brush ’24 ECOLOGY AND EVOLU
- Page 25 and 26: Tacy Guest ’26 ECOLOGY AND EVOLUT
- Page 27 and 28: Benjamin Liu ’24 COMPUTER SCIENCE
- Page 29 and 30: Maddie Machado ’25 ECOLOGY AND EV
- Page 31 and 32: Senne Michielssen ’25 COMPUTER SC
- Page 33 and 34: Peyton Smith ’25 ECOLOGY AND EVOL
- Page 35 and 36: Stella Szostak ’26 GEOSCIENCES PR
- Page 37 and 38: Emeline Blohm ’25 CIVIL AND ENVIR
- Page 39 and 40: Isabella Gomes ’25 CIVIL AND ENVI
- Page 41 and 42: Sriya Kotta ’26 CIVIL AND ENVIRON
- Page 43 and 44: Charlie Nuermberger ’25 COMPARATI
- Page 45 and 46: Jamie Rodriguez ’24 ENGLISH PROJE
- Page 47 and 48: Molly Taylor ’25 HISTORY Certific
- Page 49 and 50: Lily Weaver ’26 COMPUTER SCIENCE
- Page 51 and 52: Brooke Beers ’25 CIVIL AND ENVIRO
- Page 53 and 54: Sava Evangelista ’26 COMPUTER SCI
- Page 55 and 56: Alliyah Gregory ’25 ECOLOGY AND E
- Page 57 and 58: Noe Iwasaki ’26 UNDECLARED PROJEC
- Page 59 and 60: Chien Nguyen ’25 COMPUTER SCIENCE
- Page 61 and 62: Martina Qua ’25 CIVIL AND ENVIRON
BIODIVERSITY AND<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Comparing Large Mammal<br />
Behavior Across Two<br />
African-protected Areas<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Pringle Lab,<br />
Department of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Gorongosa National Park,<br />
Mozambique<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Robert Pringle,<br />
Professor of Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology;<br />
Joel Abraham, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology; Erin<br />
Phillips, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
Grace Houlahan ’25<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
I worked with the Pringle Lab in Gorongosa<br />
National Park, Mozambique, under the<br />
supervision of Joel Abraham. In Gorongosa,<br />
ecological disturbances such as fire, flooding and<br />
herbivory affect plant life and ecosystems. Our<br />
research goal was to determine and understand<br />
how these disturbances interact and affect<br />
the savanna. To do this, we quantified the<br />
abundances of herbivores and invertebrates to<br />
understand herbivory presence, implemented<br />
flood sensors to measure flood levels, and<br />
collected soil cores to analyze soil composition.<br />
These methods were sometimes tedious, but I<br />
found my field work extremely rewarding. Along<br />
with these various sampling methods, I learned<br />
about the unique history of Mozambique and<br />
how enjoyable field research can be in a team<br />
environment.<br />
12
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