April 15, 2022

About the speakers

Ms. Ana Barrera, a Chemistry major and Ms. Patricia D. Hernandez Howard, an Environmental Science major, are both undergraduate students from the School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Science at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

Ana Barrera is a sophomore at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a Minor in Public Administration. She always wanted to take a career path in scientific research and was introduced to the opportunities of environmental innovations through the internet. She initially began her research during the COVID pandemic, in mid-2020, as a way to distract herself from the overwhelming daily news. Ironically, the lack of understanding between the scientists' data and the politicians' delegations inspired her to take on this project. Ms. Barrera was awarded the funds through the UTRGV’s ESAA program to research an alternative for ocean water desalination with halophilic algal species as an alternative source for freshwater. She is a powerful force in the lab and takes pride in her work but still aspires to utilize her scientific knowledge alongside her humanities background for environmental policies

Patricia Danielle Hernandez Howard is an Environmental Science major with a concentration in Environment and Society and a minor in Political Science. She is a junior in the College of Sciences (COS) Department: School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences (SEEMS) at UTRGV. Her employment has been as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for the School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences (SEEMS) for the UTRGV College of Sciences. Additionally she has served as Secretary of Communications and Recruitment for the Student Government Association (SGA) under the Center for Student Involvement (CSI). She is a passionate individual who strives to make the world a better place one small step at a time. Her ever-growing interest in both the sciences and humanities has become a window of possibilities for her to do so— and she intends to use every opportunity. Her motto is: “Love, because you’ll never regret doing it.”

Prepared to Phyte: The Bio-Desalination of Ocean Water with Halophilic Macroalgae

The purpose of this project is to develop a method to reduce water salinity by utilizing macroalgae. Every algae species has a range of salinity tolerance. If placed in higher salinity water, these algae may have the capacity to modestly lower water salinity as they acclimate. Agricultural irrigation water in south Texas has excessive salt content. If treated with macroalgae, the water salinity might be lowered enough to make water more appropriate for irrigation. Our short-term goal is to find algal species (freshwater and marine) that are the most tolerant to salinity change. We assess salinity tolerance by culturing the algae in a range of salinities and measure net primary production (NPPR) and respiration rates (RR) at a range of salinities by the light/dark bottle method. By identifying the salt tolerance of an alga, we can explore its capacity to reduce salinity by manipulating salinity levels in a controlled environment. Experimenting with these specific variables, and ensuring they stay viable, we can investigate the limits of each sample.