“Taran took full advantage of this opportunity and interviewed for and was hired by Mote to be their Ocean Acidification Technician. Lilly also took advantage of this immersive experience. She is currently analyzing a large data set that characterizes how reduced seawater pH and elevated temperatures modify the ability of larval stone crabs to respond to different light intensities that simulate moving up or down in the water column. She will present this data set at the annual Eckerd College Research Symposium Symposium this spring.
“Lilly’s ability to dive into a research project during her first year has opened many doors for her professional development. She has been able to participate in multiple research projects that are diversifying expertise, skills she will need for after graduation. Further, she has been able to develop her own novel research questions. By starting early, Lilly now has 2-3 years to collect a robust data set for her undergraduate thesis work which most likely will lead to a 2nd peer-reviewed publication.”
Taran says that even now, he’s still shocked by what’s happened since the hurricanes. “We got the paper published despite them,” he says, “and then I switched over to Mote and the work I’m doing now has been unreal.
“The hurricanes pushed Lilly and myself to finish the work. Looking to see how closely stone crabs follow changing salinity is very important. If the salinity gets too high, it becomes dangerous to the crabs. They’re already having to adapt to higher salinity conditions. Hopefully this will inspire others to act to find solutions.”
Lilly grew up in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, a small town about 250 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. “When the hurricanes hit everything was put on pause,” she says. “I eventually went home until we could come back on campus. So I needed something I could do quickly, before the end of the year. But it had to be a good, robust project. I got paired with Taran and he showed me how to do everything.
“It was difficult, but we had to keep going. Not a ton of previous research had been done on this. How stone crabs are able to survive in higher salinity could be representative of how other marine life can survive in the future.”
Before she arrived at Eckerd, Lilly says she didn’t know if she liked research. “Or exactly what a lab is. But now I have a passion for research and crustaceans, and I’d like to continue on to graduate school. If these crabs can’t survive, that $30-million number would plummet and you’ll have a ripple effect on the economy. It might affect us in ways we haven’t thought of.
“But it’s been a great experience. I’ve learned so much about research and teamwork skills and the thought process that goes into research. And I had so much fun doing it.”
Eckerd College was closed for five weeks, from late September to late October 2024, due to hurricane damage. But students learned remotely, and research work continued.
“Publishing a paper is a noteworthy milestone in anyone’s undergraduate career and is extremely hard to accomplish,” Gravinese says. “It demonstrates that the research Taran and Lilly did met the rigor and professional standards required by anonymous experts that reviewed their work. Being a published author as an undergraduate can also be a key differentiator when they go to apply for graduate school or marine science jobs.
“During this process, Lilly and Taran were able gain incredible experience throughout the entire scientific process: developing research questions, executing an experiment, troubleshooting when things don’t go as planned, collaborating in a team, collecting and analyzing data, composing a manuscript, being open to criticism during the review process, and providing sound arguments in response to expert criticism during peer-review.
“Most of all they did it all while having fun. These opportunities are exactly why Eckerd’s Marine Science Program stands out above other programs. Eckerd professors need dedicated students to help with our research and being an entirely undergraduate institution means that our students do not have to compete with graduate students like at other institutions.
“As their academic and research mentor I am extremely proud of what Lilly and Taran have accomplished.They set the bar high. I am also proud that Taran is employed at Mote where he is developing new skills and I am excited to continue to advise Lilly as she pursues her thesis over the next couple of years.”