To better represent the diversity of research interests an activities of the AEL, we sought new artwork. In working with the College of Arts & Sciences graphic designers, we have a suite of new imagery that will better represent the AEL and improve our style in presentations, our website, and on social media. We bid a fond farewell to our old fish artwork, but look forward to a future of more diverse research avenues!
Hood Lab postdoc, Shaley Valentine, was honored by her selection to the President’s Postdoctoral Scholar Program. This program gives full support to researchers for up to two years and includes funds to cover some research costs. Shaley rose to the top of a competitive candidate pool, and the AEL as a whole is grateful for the university recognition of her valuable contributions to the university and the lab.
Hood Lab members along with their fellow AELers and their families and loved ones gathered for another wonderful holiday party on December 14 at the home of Dr. Hood. We were grateful to be able to celebrate the season (and the end of the semester!) even with quite a few remote colleagues who came into Columbus to attend the annual Research Review meeting.
The white elephant was another success in mayhem, with Jim’s children opening a huge box of duck calls as the final gift. They will certainly be treasured, I’m sure!
Serious contenders in the Ugly Sweater contest were scooped by the cuteness of a 7-year-old in his dad’s over-sized ugly hunting-themed sweater.
It turns out we were having too much fun, because it would seem no one took any photos!
The 2nd Annual AEL Chili Cook-off was a success!
There were nine entrants to the competition and nearly 30 judges. Every judge had three votes to bestow on their favorites, and every chili received votes! Ultimately, Ludsin Lab member Kylee Wilson won 1st place with her “Just Chili,” followed by AELers Sawyer Olson in 2nd place with his “2-Rib Chili,” and Madeline Schumacher in third (on the podium for a second year in a row!) with their vegetarian white chili.
Kylee will be the keeper of the chili hat for the coming year, but in the fall she will once again have to fight for the honor of keeping it!
Joe Gentine defended his master’s thesis on Thursday, “The quantity, form and location of phosphorus across a small agricultural watershed.” Joe joined the the Hood Lab in the fall of 2022.
The Hood Lab is very excited to welcome two new graduate students this fall! Sophie Dziekan and Grace Watson will both pursue master’s degrees with Dr. Hood.
We have also had quite a bit of change in staff this summer. We said farewell to longtime office manager, Melissa Marburger, who retired at the end of June, as well as technicians Matthew Sens and Megan Garvey, who both moved on to graduate school at the end of August. We welcomed two new technicians, Ian Crumrine and Haley Miller. Ian will jump on to the Maumee River projects and Haley will count zooplankton samples on the long term Lake Erie plankton abundance study.
Many Hood Lab members attended the department of Evolution, Ecology, & Organismal Biology welcome event on Tuesday, August 20 at the Museum of Biological Diversity. They enjoyed food and a chance to socialize with others in the department. All of the new graduate students and postdocs in the department were introduced in an informal ceremony of sorts, in which new people receive an EEOB mug.
On July 12, Morgan Shaw successfully defended her master’s thesis. Morgan is advised by Jim Hood. The title of her thesis presentation was, “Sediment source shapes interactions between dissolved and particulate phosphorus during high flow events in an agricultural watershed.”
Congratulations, Morgan!
When the folks at the Ohio Supercomputer Center reached out to see if the AEL could talk about aquatic ecosystems for a group of 6th & 7th graders, we said, ABSOLUTELY! Their annual Youth Watershed Summer Institute is a weeklong camp for middle school students to learn about applying STEM skills to watershed problems.
On July 8, Jenny Pfaff, Neil Hamrick, and Steven Gratz walked next door to the super computer center to meet with the students. Neil gave a great presentation about foodwebs, ecosystems, and some of the work we do at the AEL. After a small activity to show how much more complex foodwebs can be compared to our simplistic ideas of food chains, we led the students back to the AEL for a tour of our labs.
Hood Lab technicians, Matthew Sens & Megan Garvey each helped in the lab tour; Matthew showed the students how we process samples from watersheds to assess nutrient content and Megan showed the students Lake Erie zooplankton and explained their role in the ecosystem. To end the tour, Neil Hamrick dissected a yellow perch stomach for the students to see! What followed was a great discussion about how we sample the habitats we study, why we have to sample throughout the season, and how we take care to only take the fish we need to answer the questions we are asking.
The Hood Lab had a great showing at the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, June 2-7, 2024. The group contributed five talks and one poster presentation.
The work published by former Hood Lab undergraduate thesis student, Jenna Bailey, and Dr. Hood was covered in the Ohio State News this week. The article, titled, In Lake Erie, climate change scrambles zooplankton’s seasonal presence, discusses the human disruptions to the zooplankton community, and the effects that those disruptions have up and down the food web.
Coverage of @thehoodlab‘s wonderful work!
In Lake Erie, climate change scrambles zooplankton’s seasonal presence https://t.co/XYF8M45v7G— OSU Aquatic Ecology Laboratory (@AEL_OSU) April 2, 2024