ORCA Podcast Ocean Research and Conservation Association, Inc.

Rose Blanchard, a senior at Berry College and 2019 summer intern at ORCA, expressed her passion for OneHealth research through a series of lab experiments this summer. Specifically, she designed an experiment to test for microcystin (a toxin produced by some algae) in everyday fruits and vegetables found at the grocery store. In her process of designing the experiment, the 21-year old biology student was met with several obstacles that taught her valuable lessons about how to test hypotheses,...

Hanna Atsma spent her summer internship at ORCA studying all different facets of the Indian River Lagoon. One of her passions is OneHealth, a research focus that is concerned with the interconnections between environmental, human, and animal health. Hence, she was alarmed to have heard of the multiple cases of animals being exposed to microcystin released by harmful algae blooms. In this episode we take a closer look at what happens when dogs, horses, and cattle are exposed to environmen...

While in grad school, April Richards discovered that she wanted to study both fish and environmental justice. Her advisor wasn't really sure how to direct her. A year and a half later, she sat in the ORCA Podcast hot seat explaining just how she's combining those interests as a Research Associate for the organization. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, Richards spent an entire summer investigating the habits of local subsistence fishing populations and testing...

We’ve all heard the word, "chemical," be used to insinuate toxicity, danger, or harm. But what, exactly, is a chemical? And what does chemistry have to do with helping the Ocean Research and Conservation Association carry out its environmental work? Before we go throwing around the word, “chemicals,” in a negative way, we wanted to clarify some of chemistry’s most common misperceptions; so, we brought in an expert-in-the-making: Yale University chemistry major, Jaeger Johnson.For the second y...

We've all heard that age-old saying that you could be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.Traditionally though, that was pretty difficult for those environmental issues that required scientific solutions. It's 2019, however, and that's no longer the case. The Ocean Research and Conservation Association has a unique approach to applied research. As you heard last week, ORCA takes marine science education seriously through robust internship programs. Yet, the learning doe...

In the way oysters are keystone species in aquatic ecosystems, such are interns at the Ocean Research and Conservation Association. Over the summer, our bustling lab hosted a total of 10 interns, ranging from high school to grad school. This week we talk to a senior at Berry College, Kathryn Lanyon, who spent her internship catching and tending to buckets of oysters-- literally. Lanyon's expertise lies in environmental science with roots in biology. As she discusses, oysters are a keystone sp...