David Hoyos, 2016, Undeclared

David Hoyos ’16

Growth in the anoxic (lack of oxygen) “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is attributing to nitrogen fertilizer runoff from farms into the Mississippi River, ultimately killing marine animals. In order to understand how the environment is reacting to the increasing levels of nitrogen attributed to agriculture, another Princeton student and I examined the roles that denitrifying microbes had in reducing increasing ambient nitrogen levels. We collected soil and water samples from the Mississippi Delta region in order to: analyze soil/water carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations; perform isotope analysis on the samples; search for denitrifying gene presence in the microbial communities; and quantify denitrification rates. I assisted in organizing a sampling/laboratory plan in order to collect and analyze the samples. This internship was unforgettable! It helped me to begin to unravel the fabric of environmental nutrient cycling—and what humans are doing to change it. This internship heightened my interest in pursuing a Certificate in Environmental Studies.