Biodiversity monitoring in south Florida using plankton imaging and environmental DNA techniques
Mentor:
Dr. Enrique Montes
Enrique Montes is an Associate Scientist of the U. Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) affiliated to NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) studying responses of marine life to changes in environmental conditions from natural and human-driven processes. His research integrates hydrographic, bio-optical, imaging, genomic, and taxonomic measurements collected at sea with satellite data to resolve the oceanographic context of local observations, and characterize regional biogeographic conditions, ocean habitats, and their planktonic assemblages.
Format:
In-person
Brief description:
The student will work in the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. The student will process preserved holo- and meroplankton samples using a state-of-the-art plankton imaging device (PlanktoScope) and execute post hoc image classification workflows using EcoTaxa. These samples are collected with net tows during repeated oceanographic expeditions to the Florida Keys and the west Florida shelf lead by the Ecosystem Assessment Lab of AOML in coordination with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The student will gain in-depth knowledge of the taxonomy of planktonic species and learn to apply deep-learning algorithms based on Python tools using command line programming to classify image records automatically. As part of the project, the intern will compare observations from preserved samples with in vivo imaging datasets collected with an underwater microscope (Continuous Particle Imaging and Classification System; CPICS) deployed during these oceanographic surveys, and co-located eDNA records.
