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Student: Hillary Baritot 

Faculty Mentor: Jon Good

Summary of Project: Aquaponics is the combination of growing plants by hydroponics and fish by aquaculture: plants take up nutrients from the nitrate-rich fish wastewater, returning clean, filtered water back into the fish tanks. Blue tilapia and ‘Parris Island Cos’ lettuce were grown in a media-based technique, a floating raft technique, and a nutrient film technique system, each containing a crushed coral filtered bed to maintain optimal pH. This research compared the three systems to determine which is most efficient in terms of water conservation, nutrient removal, and fish growth. Results were used to evaluate the potential removal of potassium hydroxide additives and relative merits of the three systems on an industrial scale.

Student: Abby Cryan

Faculty Mentor: Jon Good

Summary of Project: Scyliorhinus retifer, a marine shark found in coastal northern Atlantic waters, performs internal fertilization and releases a resilient collagen egg case. Subsequently, the embryo may be exposed to a variety of toxic molecules from runoff and human marine activities. Molecules of such concern include methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and methanol. This study analyzed the incidence of these two molecules in S. retifer egg cases exposed to 1300 mg/L of MTBE for 96 hours. Results suggest that the cases of fertilized eggs may offer more protection from MTBE than unfertilized eggs; methanol appears to concentrate itself within both fertilized and unfertilized egg cases. The biochemical causes of these findings and future potential of this analytical technique were outlined.

Student: Melissa Muth

Faculty Mentor: Jon Good

Summary of Project: Anesthetics play an important role in fisheries research and aquaculture. Due to large-scale commercial exploitation, there is a growing interest in captive breeding and rearing of seahorses (Syngnathidae), during which anesthetics are routinely used. This study tested whether correlations for anesthetic type or dose exist, by comparing the efficacy of two anesthetic agents (MS-222 and clove oil) in two seahorse species (Hippocampus kuda and H. erectus). Although induction times did not differ significantly between species for MS-222, low clove oil concentrations presented significantly different induction times between seahorse species. Mechanisms of anesthesia for MS-222 and clove oil were discussed in the light of their different chemical properties, as well as rearing conditions and physiological differences between the two seahorse species.

Student: Shanique Forte

Faculty Mentor: Simona Carrubba

Summary of Project: Biofeedback training is a technique that is used to teach people how to regulate their physiological activity. It has been used to help people alleviate stress, increase performance, and reduce unpleasant symptoms associated with various neurological diseases. A large amount of research that has been completed using biofeedback training lacks appropriate control groups. For this reason, the technique’s reliability and validity has been questioned throughout the scholarly community. To test its physiological efficacy, twenty healthy participants were randomly assigned to either a control or a treatment group. Each subject’s brain electrical activity was measured before and after training. Frequency analysis was employed to detect statistically significant differences due to the biofeedback treatment in each subject.