Student Blogs & Vignettes

Katherine Neilson

ABOUT MY RESEARCH

I am a first year Master’s student in Dr. Kendra Daly’s Zooplankton Ecology Lab. My research interests include zooplankton ecology and food web interactions, as well as the physical and biological factors that affect their populations in our oceans. In thepast I have worked restoring oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay, and conducted research on zooplankton dynamics looking at corresponding populations of copepods, ctenophores, and sea nettles. While pursuing my Master’s at the College of Marine Science, I will be looking at zooplankton data from the CARIACO Ocean Time-Series Program collected from the Cariaco Basin of the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

WHY USF CMS?

After going to a small school for undergrad, I really came to appreciate the benefits of those class sizes and increased interactions with my professors. So naturally I chose USF College of Marine Science because of the tight knit community, welcoming environment, and personable staff. The location of the college is also ideal, being in close proximity to NOAA,USGS, and FWC.