Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
Physiological and Behavioral Effects of Ocean Acidification on Two Species of Intertidal Snails
Name: Reynolds,
Advisor: Ajoy Kumar
Department: ESCI
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: Ocean acidification (OA) has been shown to affect organisms, such as marine snails, that use calcium carbonate to build their shells by decreasing the amount of available carbonate in the water. The common periwinkle snail (Littorina littorea) and the Eastern mud snail (Ilyanassa obsoleta), are calcifiers collected in Chincoteague Bay, Virginia that play an essential role in the bay ecosystem. To determine the physiological and behavioral effects of OA on these two species, live snails and empty snail shells will be exposed to four levels of pH, 8.1 being the control value. Data will be recorded on weight, size, density, appearance, shell composition, shell strength, and movement behavior over the course of approximately six months. The results of this study will showcase how the data might differ between species, and the likelihood of survival of these marine snails in an acidic ocean.