DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

I hope as you look into my e-portfolio that you find some interesting information about my current project. My internship is at the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the Baltimore Inner Harbor with an assistant professor of crustacean neuroendocrinology, Dr. Sook Chung. My research is on blue crabs. I am experimenting with an antimicrobial called Triclosan. This is a household chemical found in soaps, deodorants, detergents, and other items, that  eventually make their way into the Chesapeake Bay through run-off. The Blue Crabs are a marine species possibly affected by this chemical. My experiment involves blue crab larvae at a zoeal stage that are living in sea water with different concentrations of triclosan.I am monitoring their molt intervals and mortality rates. I have conducted this experiment twice, and after winter break, I will begin a new experiment testing more variables, like the salinity of the water in which the larvae will live in. This is an important variable since most crab larvae begin their stages of life in brackish water which has a relatively low salinity. The salinity of the current experiment is about 30ppt which is close to sea water, not bay/brackish water. The whole point of my experiment is to see how the crabs are affected by low, but long term exposure to this chemical. The blue crab population is declining and this chemical is a possible factor.     

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.