CAREER: Trophic Interactions between Benthic Suspension Feeders and Marine Aggregates: An Initiative for Experiential Learning in Coastal Studies

我的职业发展计划围绕两个主题，这两个主题将我的研究和教育项目结合在康涅狄格大学艾弗里角的新海岸研究项目中。 第一个主题侧重于视觉导向的技术作为工具，以加强学习和推进研究，第二个主题侧重于实验室为基础的学习计划，将提高和加强本科生和研究生的经验。 我的研究计划将研究聚合材料（絮凝物，海洋雪）和悬浮喂养，生活在底部的海洋动物之间的相互作用。 我将研究底部动物是否以颗粒聚集体为食，以及它们在正常进食过程中是否会释放粘液，这可能会影响底部附近絮状物的形成。 我的许多研究技术可以用作教学工具，以促进本科生的动手学习（例如，视频显微镜，电子粒子计数器，图像分析，视频内窥镜），并将通过提供机会，在我的实验室本科研究立即回报。 此外，我的教育计划侧重于动手学习，包括开发三个项目：（1）视频准备教学实验室;（2）本科生的研究经验;（3）研究生研讨会，重点是为学术生活做准备。 我的研究和教学计划的研究生和本科生将作为在艾弗里点其他教师的模型，并与他们的支持，让我建立一个全面的计划。

My career-development plan is centered around two themes that serve to combine my research and educational projects within the University of Connecticut's new Coastal Studies program at Avery Point. The first theme focuses on visually-oriented techniques as tools to enhance learning and advance research, and the second theme focuses on laboratory-based learning programs that will enhance and strengthen both the undergraduate and graduate experience. My research initiatives will examine interactions between aggregated material (flocs, marine snow), and suspension-feeding, marine animals that live on the bottom. I will study whether bottom animals feed on particle aggregates and whether they release mucus during the normal feeding process that may affect how flocs form near the bottom. Many of my research techniques can be used as teaching tools to promote hands-on learning by undergraduate students (e.g., video microscopy, electronic particle counters, image analysis, video endoscopy) and will have immediate payoffs by providing opportunities for undergraduate research in my laboratory. In addition, my educational initiatives focus on hands-on learning and include developing three projects: (1) a video-ready teaching laboratory; (2) research experiences for undergraduates; and (3) a graduate student seminar that focuses on preparation for academic life. My research and teaching initiatives for graduate and undergraduate students will serve as a model for other faculty members at Avery Point and, with their support, allow me to build a comprehensive program.