Wow! What a wonderful journey this internship has been
My last week at the lab was probably one of my favorites!
On Tuesday, I said goodbye to my mentor Steve, as he left for Svalbard that night. I have been In contact with him since then, and it seems like an awesome place. This week, I spent a lot of time working on a presentation summarizing my time at the lab. I hope to use parts of it at the Pintern presentation in September!
Of course the usual lab maintenance was carried out: weighing, watering, and counting the samples. However, we also spent some time looking under the compound microscope. To do this, we used a flame-sterilized needle to scrape off a growth on one of the plates. Then, using a wet mount, we examined the growth at 400x. Once we took some pictures at that power, we pressed the sample flat and used immersion oil to examine the plate at 1000x, where the cell structure was quite clear. I will attach some awesome pictures below.
Originally, we thought the scraping might be diatomical, but since they were generally rounder in shape, it’s not likely. It’s likely that it was a form of algae but we will need to sequence the DNA to be positive.
In one picture, we found a horseshoe-shape, and my mentor predicted it could be a diatom structure of the genus Meridion.
Looking at the samples under such high magnification was an amazing experience; one which would have been impossible without this internship.
On Friday —my last day in the lab— I worked on an overall growth chart for the experiment so far. Using count data, I deduced approximate percent cover for each treatment group. I’ll attach the graph as well. The experiment is not over, so I’ll be in touch with the lab as it ends and analysis begins.
Now that my internship is over, I’ve had some time to reflect. I’m so grateful for this experience, and the generosity of my mentor Steve K. Schmidt, Pinhead, my host family, and everyone else who made it possible for me. I’ll never forget these past weeks. Thanks for following along!
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