Honors Link

During the summer of 2013, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Honduras to study mangroves and their various ecosystem services. I worked as a technician for the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Project (SWAMP), a global initiative funded by a grant to the Center for International Forestry Research from the United States Agency for International Development. In addition to working for SWAMP, I conducted field research for my honors thesis project, which concerns the role waterbirds play in mangrove nutrient cycling. My participation in this field work and research was funded by the Oregon State University Honors College, the E.R. Jackman Internship Support Program, and the CAS Global Experiences Fund. I am extremely grateful to all these organizations for their generous support.

The primary objective of this sampling trip was to assess mangrove ecosystem carbon stocks — how much carbon each forest contains — across three coastal zones of Honduras. These zones included the Golf of Fonseca (Pacific coast), the area of Tela (Caribbean coast), and the Bay Islands. We measured forest carbon stocks, structure, and composition at 24 sites across these zones, making the Honduras data set the project’s largest within the Americas. The work was designed to train local natural resource personnel in how to implement the sampling protocol. We trained five teams, totaling over 45 natural resource professionals from governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and universities. The data generated from this field work is intended to improve our understanding of mangroves as a global source and sink of greenhouse gases. As such, information gained from this project will help improve decision making at local and national levels and will allow Honduras to participate in policy dialogue concerning climate change mitigation strategies and adaptation of tropical wetlands to climate change.

My Honors thesis research concerns the impact of waterbirds on mangrove ecosystems and their nutrient cycles. Waterbirds (cormorants, ibises, herons, etc.) have profound impacts on many terrestrial ecosystems. By foraging for fish in the marine environment and depositing large volumes of guano at their terrestrial roost sites, waterbirds act as important nutrient vectors in many systems. Despite circumstantial evidence, this phenomenon is poorly studied in mangrove forests.

My study sites consisted of a small (approximately 2 hectares) mangrove island that hosted a large colony of waterbirds and an adjacent mainland site that did not have a bird colony. At each site, I installed one-square-meter plastic sheets under the tree canopy to collect bird guano. The plastic sheets were retrieved after four days so that deposited guano could be weighed and analyzed for nutrient content. Additionally, I collected soil and leaf samples for nitrogen and phosphorous analysis. SWAMP protocol was implemented at both sites to measure mangrove structure, composition, and carbon stocks. The samples are currently being processed and will be analyzed at the OSU Central Analytical Laboratory. Once the samples are analyzed, I will be able to determine the rate of avian nutrient inputs and whether those nutrients are deposited in the soil and utilized by mangroves. The results will further our understanding of mangrove productivity and may have important implications for commercial fisheries that utilize mangrove habitat.

I wish to express my gratitude to the OSU Honors College, the ER Jackman Foundation, and the CAS Global Experience Fund for supporting this experience which otherwise would not have been possible. Through my participation in this project, I learned many new field skills, had the opportunity to network with dozens of Honduran professionals, and am on my way to writing my first peer-reviewed paper. The skills and knowledge I gained will be invaluable as I pursue my graduate education and a future career in natural resource research and management.