Marine biology students at the University of California, San Francisco presented papers at the Marine Science Conference

In oral and poster mode, students participated in the scope of two investigations developed while studying for their BA in Marine Biology.

With the aim of presenting the results most relevant to their research and bringing them closer to living the experience of sharing with other students and academics, two undergraduates in a marine biology career at the Universidad Católica de la Santisima Concepcion (UCSC) participated in the Marine Science Conference, an event held last month.

They are Marisol Valenzuela and Natalia Montoya, both students of the 2017 generation.

“Assessment of the growth of macrocystis pyrifera in Punta Barra, Tome,” is research by Marisol Valenzuela, which was presented in poster form and advised by academic Dr. Carlos Lara and doctoral student Daniel Gonzalez. In total, the student monitored these macroalgae for 10 days, measuring 5 individuals, to assess their growth during this period and what affected this process.

For the study, data on nutrients, temperature and salinity were considered, which are factors that can influence the growth of this macroalgae. It was concluded that in order to obtain more accurate data, the assessment should be repeated over a longer period of time and, ideally, it should also be compared in two seasons of the year.

It should be noted that Marisol Valenzuela received the award for the best poster in this edition, an award that will also allow her to participate in the upcoming conference on marine sciences. expertise. It helped me to get acquainted with a new topic, since I previously had no experience working with algae. In addition, I was able to experience working in the field, where we had to go to the beach, measure the algae and interact,” he commented.

Meanwhile, Natalia Montoya participated in the oral method of this conference, with a work entitled: “Prevalence and severity of atresia in the common sardine Stangomera Bentinque and its relationship to nutritional status”, supported by academic Dr. Paula Gonzalez.

The study focused on linking nutritional status to status factor. “I linked the status factor as a measure of nutritional status and see if this was related to the tare. After analysis, we discovered that there was no relationship in common sardines,” explained Natalia Montoya.

Regarding the experiment, the student notes that “it was a rich experience, which I was very keen to present, but enjoyed the process. It was good that they asked me about the details of the investigation, and I felt that the topic aroused interest.”

Both students had the opportunity to present their research and live an experience that would undoubtedly complement their time in undergraduate education.