Written by Madison Konash, 2025 undergraduate summer intern hosted by Dr. Marc Hensel of the UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station (NCBS)
My Summer at the Nature Coast Biological Station
This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to work with Dr. Marc Hensel and his team at the Nature Coast Biological Station as a Florida Sea Grant and UF/IFAS Dean of Research intern. Through Dr. Hensel’s Gulf of Mexico Field Ecology course, which I found through the University of Florida’s Gulf Scholars program, I had already fallen in love with fieldwork. However, this internship allowed me to build on this passion for ecology with invaluable hands-on experience. This summer, I was able to apply my knowledge of Gulf ecosystems in real-world settings, contribute to ongoing environmental research, and further develop my skills as an ecologist and researcher.
The Day to Day with Hensel Lab
Working with the Hensel Lab, I quickly learned that no day is ever the same. Even while we were conducting research, it felt like we were always discovering – constantly identifying new patterns in each ecosystem to explore and incorporate into current projects. The diversity of my experiences this summer is what made my internship so unique. I had the opportunity to work on over six ongoing research projects at NCBS, exploring several ecosystems such as salt marshes, mangrove forests, oyster reefs, and seagrass beds. I learned so much while working on these projects, during which I collaborated frequently with the Thomas Lab and Hensel Lab PhD students, Alex Walus and Miranda Mays. Moreover, I was able to gain a strong understanding of how much time and effort go into conducting these research experiments. For example, I was heavily involved in the preparation efforts, learning how to build cages, cut PVC, and use a variety of power tools. I also learned that many of these projects require frequent observation and maintenance; I spent many days this summer counting snails and crabs, moving plots around, and checking control plots. Finally, I strengthened my skills in data collection and data entry.
Independent Projects
A large part of this internship experience was developing my skills as a researcher. I was encouraged to make my own observations, come up with new ideas, and formulate potential research questions. Through this mentorship style, I had the exciting opportunity to come up with and lead two independent projects that I will continue through the fall semester. One project focuses on sedimentation, examining how it varies across different ecosystems. As data continues to be collected, I will be analyzing sedimentation rates across different locations within ecosystems, as well as comparing these rates between oyster reef, marsh, and mangrove environments. My other independent project investigates larval recruitment, exploring how it varies across ecosystems for organisms like marsh periwinkle snails, oysters, and barnacles. For this, we are planning to use methods such as sponge netting, wooden stakes and biofilms, and visual surveys. I am excited to get this project started in the coming weeks! These independent projects have allowed me to delve deeper into specific ecological questions and develop my skills as a researcher even further. I am now much more confident in the scientific process involving my ability to propose research questions, develop methods to answer the question, collect and analyze data, and draw scientific conclusions.
Conclusion and Acknowledgements
My summer at NCBS as a Florida Sea Grant and UF/IFAS Dean of Research intern has been an incredibly enriching experience, solidifying my passion for environmental science and field research. I am immensely grateful to Florida Sea Grant, the Nature Coast Biological Station, UF IFAS, and the University of Florida for this invaluable opportunity. I would like to extend a special thanks for the exceptional guidance and mentorship I received during this internship, particularly from my faculty mentor, Dr. Marc Hensel from UF/IFAS Soil, Water & Ecosystem Science. I also wish to acknowledge Alex Walus, Shea Husband, and Miranda Mays for their valuable support, teaching, and knowledge throughout the summer. Finally, thank you to my fellow interns, Amelia Gomez Uribe and Jake Rosner, for helping make this internship such a fun experience.
Looking ahead, I am excited to continue working with the Hensel Lab on my independent projects and keep up with the amazing research that is being conducted at the Nature Coast Biological Station.
| Follow the link to learn more about the UF/IFAS NCBS Undergraduate Summer Internship program. Read more intern blogs here. |
Featured image credit: UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones
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