Here is a description of the REU program from the NSF website: “The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel.”

Last summer, our lab’s project on MHC genetics in Leach’s Storm-Petrels was able to fund two REU positions for Amy Miles and Josh Hincks. Josh majors in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior at UC Davis, while Amy is a Biology major at Byrn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

The project that Amy and Josh worked on this summer focused on developing a noninvasive method to determine occupancy of a storm-petrel burrow. Here is Amy and Josh’s description of their project: “Currently, occupancy of a storm-petrel burrow is determined by putting your hand in a burrow until you feel a bird, a process known as grubbing. Grubbing can be quite stressful for the nesting birds, and in extreme cases, can even cause nest abandonment. Using a modified devise that monitors carbon dioxide levels and the idea that occupied burrows should have higher levels of carbon dioxide than unoccupied burrows, the experiment was on. Carbon dioxide measurements were taken in burrows whose occupancy status was unknown. After one person took a reading for carbon dioxide, air temperature, and humidity of both the outside and the inside of the burrow, the other person would grub the burrow to confirm whether or not it was occupied. Data was obtained from 93 burrows, which is currently being analyzed.”

"Being able to work out in the field with these amazing birds really cemented my interest in behavior and field biology in general. I learned more in one summer than I ever expected, and being able to make a meaningful contribution to science was incredibly exciting." -Amy Miles, 2014 REU participant

"Spending much of last year conducting labwork, I didn't realize the perspective you get being with the animal you’re studying, especially in their environment. Not only did the lab's projects and objectives become more clear, but many more questions came to mind. The skills I learned this summer were invaluable and the perspectives I obtained will be with me as I face challenges in graduate school." -Josh Hincks, 2014 REU participant