Senior Hanna Kobs (left) presents her research titled “Understanding Cultural Genocide in Current Political Contexts.” Hanna was one of 13 Eckerd presenters at the conference. Photos courtesy of Kathleen Robinson
The St. Petersburg City Council passed an ordinance in 2018 that banned single-use plastic straws, starting in 2020. The ban remains in effect today, but one company was able to get around the rule by using a different type of plastic, one the company claims has been certified as biodegradable.
A year and a half ago, two Eckerd College students decided to put that claim to the test. They presented their findings Feb. 14–15 at the 15th annual Florida Undergraduate Research Conference, hosted by the University of South Florida. The two students were among 13 Eckerd presenters selected by the conference.
One of our nation’s largest multidisciplinary research conferences, the annual event is open to all undergraduate researchers in Florida. Students present their research in a poster forum. Every year the conference is hosted at a different college or university in the state, and this year, the Eckerd College research topics were as wide-ranging as an encyclopedia—from the effects of climate change on larval stone crabs to a revival of the arcade culture.
And how well certain biodegradable drinking straws degrade.
Or don’t.
Sophia DiPaola, a junior biochemistry student from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Maggie Tomaszewski, a sophomore marine science student from Hilton Head, South Carolina, were the two Eckerd students who tested the straws. They said the company that makes the straws claims they completely degrade “in as little as 58 days.”
Sophomore David Andino (middle) presents his research on the human aspect of computer games.
Under the guidance of Amy Siuda, Ph.D., professor of marine science, and Shannon Gowans, Ph.D., professor of marine science and biology, the straws were tested inside 75 one-gallon jars that were capped. Some of the water was from Tampa Bay; some was artificial seawater. Straws also were tested under high-intensity light and under no light.
“We found only 11% reduction in the mass of the straws, and that was after 70 days,” Sophia says. The end result of their research became the poster “Minimal Degradation of PHA Straws in Tampa Bay Summer Conditions.”
“This isn’t just science,” Sophia explains. “Hopefully, we’re going to be impacting policy, and the City will add this type of plastic to the straw ban. A lot of people at the conference were pretty shocked when they heard about it. The best thing was seeing the looks on their faces when they learned about the 11% degradation after 70 days.”
Co-researcher Maggie adds that she felt “a real sense of urgency to make this presentation. These are significant results. I want to spread the word about what we found. And then people can take action to make changes.”
Taylor Queen’s research on the chemical cues that larval Caribbean king crabs use to find a home could also bring significant results. A junior environmental studies and marine science student from Athens, Tennessee, Taylor did her research last summer at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in the Florida Keys. She and other students—led by Eckerd College Assistant Professor of Marine Science Philip Gravinese, Ph.D.—plan to return again this summer.
“We’ve noticed that as ocean temperatures are warming,” Taylor says, “corals have to compete for space with algae. The Caribbean king crab can graze on the algae and help keep that space open for the coral.” But she points out that scientists are still learning about where the crabs can be most effective and how well they can survive on the reefs throughout their life cycle. “We want to be able to better advise people who are outplanting crabs, so we can have a self-sustaining population.
“It was a fun experience to meet other people in my discipline who are doing research similar to mine,” Taylor adds, “and to see how some of the same methods apply. I’m interested in climate-change-related research, and I didn’t become interested in crabs until I got to Eckerd. They’re so versatile, so important to the marine environment, and they fill so many roles and niches.”
Presenter David Andino, a sophomore creative writing student from Pinellas Park, Florida, played Super Mario and other video games growing up. Now he’s writing about the games and the culture around them. In “Reviving the Arcade Culture,” he focused on the human aspect of computer games.
“I learned through interviews that the arcade culture has changed drastically,” he says. “The sense of community among gamers is kind of gone. I wanted to focus on preserving that culture. Chuck E. Cheese restaurants are starting to disappear. And gathering places to have fun, like arcades, are beginning to disappear. It’s more convenient to be at home. What once was an escape from home is now escaping by sitting at home.”
Millersville, Maryland, native Eliza Patty, a senior marine science student minoring in applied mathematics and Chinese, highlighted the Florida stone crab research she has done under Gravinese’s direction for the past two summers at the Mote Marine Lab.
Her presentation, “The Effect of Climate Change on the Geotactic Swimming Response of Larval Stone Crabs,” examined how rising ocean temperatures can change how the crab larvae migrate.
“I noticed that with higher temperatures, some of the larvae that are supposed to be swimming up are actually swimming down. They were getting caught in currents that took them back to where they were hatched. That puts them in the wrong place.”
That could be bad news for the crab, and for the legions of people who crave their claws. “The Florida stone crab industry generates more than $30 million a year in revenue,” Eliza notes, “and 99% of the stone crab claws harvested in the United States come from Florida.”
Kathleen Robinson, Ph.D., assistant dean of faculty at Eckerd College, facilitated the students’ participation at the conference. “This type of experience is invaluable for all our students, especially those whose future paths lead to graduate school or a career that uses research and presentation,” she explains. “In addition, since the program is undergraduate only, it is the perfect space to gain professional development and comfort with being part of a community and a profession.”
Eckerd College students and their presentations:
- David Andino, “Reviving the Arcade Culture”
- Jonathan Ballard and Madison J. Enman, “Anthropogenic Impacts on Stone Crab Physiology: Temperature Tolerance in Menippe Mercenaria”
- Hannah-Louise Burd and Mackenzie Taylor Cole, “Analysis of Neogloboquadrina Pachyderma and Neogloboquadrina Incompta in the North Atlantic as a Proxy for Ocean Temperatures from 280 to 11,600 Years Ago”
- Sophia DiPaola and Maggie Tomaszewski, “Minimal Degradation of PHA Straws in Tampa Bay Summer Conditions”
- Abigail Kauke, “The Effects of Blue and Green Crab Grazing on Eelgrass Transplants in Sage Lot Pond, Waquoit Bay”
- Hanna Kobs, “Understanding Cultural Genocide in Current Political Contexts: Three Errors in Scholarship”
- Leah Lentz, “Re-Imported Sexuality: Orientalism, Heterotopia, and Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century French Art”
- Eliza Patty, “The Effects of Climate Change on the Geotactic Swimming Response of Larval Stone Crabs”
- Taylor Alexis Queen, “What Chemical Cues Do Larval King Crabs Use to Find a Home?”
- Madeline Sheppard, “Utilizing Engineered Base Editors to Target Therapeutically Relevant Sites”
