Nia W
- Research Program Mentor
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Expertise
Conservation, biology, ecology and evolution, climate change and sustainability, genomics and genetics, science writing, fiction and non-fiction writing
Project ideas
How do coral reefs look around the world?
Coral reefs harbor about 25% of all ocean biodiversity and have a lot of important functions for marine creatures and humans alike. Animals like turtles, fish, and sharks depend on reefs for food, shelter, and nurseries to raise babies. People depend on reefs for things like the tourism (e.g. snorkeling and scuba diving) and fishing industries. Yet coral reefs are suffering due to many different causes--like warming oceans, ocean acidification, pollution, and human destruction. Coral reefs are located around the equator in many places, from the Caribbean Sea to Japan. In this project, you will pick a few reefs located around the world. Then you will ask how healthy these reefs are, and what factors are negatively affecting them. You will discover whether coral reefs around the world are all responding in a similar way to modern day stressors.
Science children's book
It is great to get young kids excited about a topic in science that you are also passionate about, and a fun way to do this is by writing a children's book. You will learn how to craft a short story about a topic in science for a young target audience (e.g. kindergarten). In this project, you will develop important tools for communicating complex scientific ideas to a general audience along with creating a product that can inspire others to become more interested in science.
Fish detective: why are some fish more abundant than others in the same environment?
A new Bermuda fish species (Polymixia hollisterae) was recently detected for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico. Very few have been found in the wild (<100). What makes this fish so elusive? Discover how DNA and the environment might contribute to this mystery.