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The Oceans That I've Just Barely Dipped Into
My journey this year has taught me about subjects I never would have considered before now and prepared me for much of what I anticipate is to come during my college experience. I began this journey wanting to learn more about what factors influence the ability of birds to migrate effectively to the same places each year. When I eventually encountered the piping plover, it appealed to me because if I researched it I could be filling a gap in that area. Though my research ended up contributing little of note to the conversation and the gap still exists, I was able to learn a significant amount about the piping plover’s habits, the science that goes into avian conservation, and methods that contribute to the understanding of ecology overall. Other areas of ecological and environmental research do appeal to me, so I anticipate doing more with them in the future.
Combined with what I learned in the biotech program about the research process, I now have what I feel is a strong understanding of the various elements of an academic paper. I am able to support every claim I make with a relevant source and make connections between sources that at first seem to be about very different aspects of the current understanding of the piping plover. Going forward, this means that I will be able to understand where a paper succeed and fails in making an argument, which will undeniably prove useful. I have also developed more skill in arranging the elements of my project that are necessary for a good presentation in a way that makes my work more accessible to viewers. This overall skillset could become useful if I’m trying to get into a lab or secure funding for a project.
I feel that my process went well because I chose a research method, as well as topic, that would keep me engaged. Though in future research I would hope to be generating my own data that I could then analyze, with the constraints of time, money, and my current knowledge, finding studies and data to use in the way that I did was pretty effective. In the future I hope to seek out opportunities to design my own studies and come to conclusions on my own as I have been able to do in this class.
I will be attending UC Davis in the fall in their college of life sciences. I believe that I will be able to continue to research whatever ends up getting my attention while I’m there and through this I’ll be able to figure out what I want to do as a career. It’s always exciting to begin these new experiences and I am open to anything that might happen.
My abstract is as follows:
The piping plover is an endangered shorebird that is highly territorial. They continually roost in the same few kilometers around where they hatched and where they first spent the winter for their entire five year life span. However, in the past decade, this habit has been breaking down. This paper examines two possible ways in which human activity on and around barrier islands and peninsulas in their habitat in Texas and Louisiana has affected their presence in each of the two states. These are the petroleum and coastal tourism industries, as both are major components of the economy in the Gulf of Mexico and are among the only likely reasons for people to be anywhere near the habitat of the piping plover during their wintering season. The linear regressions completed on these two factors ultimately concluded that both are increasing in areas where the piping plover have a significant presence, but there was no correlation or association between this increase and the amount of plover spotted on a given island or peninsula. This increase has ramifications for piping plover and other shorebirds with similar habitat needs, but it cannot be concluded that either has been the cause of their unpredictable behavior.
As I wrap this up, I would like to acknowledge various people who have helped me in the process. Thanks to Jenny Wills who gave me advice on where to look for piping plover data and what human actions would have the most notable impact on them. Thanks to my AP Research instructor, Nikki Dobos. Finally, thanks to all my peers who gave me feedback on my presentation and writing along the way. It has been incredible to work alongside others during my process and to see how their work has taken off as well.
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