The Nature Coast Biological Station hosted its first Community Science Night on April 17 in Cedar Key, bringing together students and community members to share research and build connections around coastal science. The event was organized by the Nature Coast Student Organization (NCSO) and featured student-led posters and short “flash talks” highlighting ongoing work across Florida’s Nature Coast.
Presentations reflected collaborations across UF/IFAS and campus programs, including the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS), School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences Department (SWES), the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering (HWCOE), and the Department of Biology. Research topics included fisheries, seagrass ecology, mangrove expansion, underwater acoustics, and coastal impacts from recent storms.
What is NCSO?
The event was developed and led by Nature Coast Student Organization (NCSO), a registered UF student organization based at NCBS that supports professional development, collaboration, and community engagement among undergraduate and graduate students working across the Nature Coast. NCSO hosts guest speakers, social events, and workshops on topics such as science communication, field note-taking, and photography, along with hands-on trainings in boating safety and CPR/first aid. The group also supports new student orientations, connects affiliate students to field and lab opportunities, and provides resources for those new to the region. Overall, NCSO builds an interdisciplinary student community and creates opportunities to share research with local audiences.
Speakers and presenters:
Poster Presentations
- Amelia Gomez Uribe (SNRE) — Assessing the Role of Bird and Snail Predators on Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Reef Community Structure
- Madison Konash (SNRE) — Impact of Environment–Seagrass–Microbe Interactions on Seagrass Stress Response and Implications for Restoration
- Alex Walus (SNRE) — Unlocking predator–prey dynamics in a changing coastal ecotone
- Laury-Ann Francois (HWCOE) — Impact of Environment–Seagrass–Microbe Interactions on Seagrass Stress Response and Implications for Restoration
- Ella Jones (SNRE) — Seed Bank Emergence Study of Spartina alterniflora in Florida’s Coastal Ecosystems
- Miranda Mays (SNRE) — Quantifying climate-driven shifts in vegetative cover on nearshore islands along Florida’s Gulf Coast
- Smitty Smith (SWES) — Genetic diversity and priming: Understanding the role of plant history on seagrasses’ response to light stress
Speed Talks
- Maddy Meeker (SNRE) — Effects of habitat connectivity on invertebrate communities
- Elise Corley (SNRE) — Repeated storms are altering the landscape of Cedar Key’s plant communities
- Finella Campanino (SNRE) — Sound and sight: Linking habitat connectivity and fish biodiversity
- Megan Siemann (SNRE) — Stable isotopes and food web models
- Stasia Pietraszun (SNRE) — Understanding Spartina alterniflora seed dynamics at the southernmost range margin
- Nicole Luchau (SNRE) — Effects of model type and spatial resolution in coupled oceanographic and fishery ecosystem models
- Katherine Henning (SFFGS) — Too hot, too cold, or just right? Exploring springs as thermal refugia for fishes
- Erika Turkington & Caitlyn Cooke (SFFGS) — An undergraduate’s journey with seagrass ecology research
- Melanie Gomez (SFFGS) — Histology: Parasite loads across fish species and temperature gradients during El Niño in the Galápagos
Community Science Night is planned to continue as an annual event.
Students interested in getting involved with NCSO or future events can reach out at ncbs@ifas.ufl.edu.
Featured image credit: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS
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