Southern Fried Science

#SciFund is a month-and-a-half long initiative to raise funds for a variety of scientific research projects. Project leaders post a project description and an appeal for funds, and members of the public are invited to make small donations to projects that they deem worthy. Donations come with rewards such as access to project logs, images from fieldwork, your name in the acknowledgements of publications, among other possibilities. Many of these projects are marine or conservation themed. Over the next week, we’ll highlight some of our favorites. Please take a look at these projects and, should you so desire, send some financial support their way. If you do make a donation, let them know how you found out about their project and leave a comment (anonymous if you’d like) on this post letting us know.

Behold, the Power of Seagrass!

Ross Whippo is a graduate student at the University of British Colombia interested in the ecology of northeast Pacific subtidal zone. His research explores the connections between seagrass habitat and the surrounding environment. He is looking at the export of seagrass into marine food webs using a combination of biomass surveys and biomarkers to trace energy flow.

Photo by Andrew Huang, http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3795-behold-the-power-of-seagrass

I like that this project combines classical ecology–actually measuring the biomass of seagrass derived materials moving through ecosystems–and more modern food web studies that use biomarkers to quantify the contribution of seagrass primary production at various trophic levels. Go check out Ross’s project page and consider kicking a little rocket fuel his way.