Hanne Borstlap ’22, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hanne Borstlap ’22

Major

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Title

Characterizing the Diurnal Pattern of Gross Photosynthesis in Coral and Algae Species

Presentation Link

View Hanne's Presentation

During my 12-week remote internship with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), I studied the diurnal (daytime) photosynthesis and respiration patterns of certain algae and coral species. Daytime respiration has not been well described due to the difficulty of measuring respiration under natural light conditions, and instead has just been assumed to be similar to nighttime respiration. However, we hypothesized that this could be a gross underestimation of daytime respiration. A large experiment was conducted at BIOS from which data were collected for daytime respiration and photosynthesis. I analyzed these data using Python and R software, and we concluded that there is indeed a difference between daytime and nighttime respiration. This difference is important to correctly characterize gross photosynthesis, which is the sum of respiration and photosynthesis. Throughout this internship, I learned a lot about marine biology. Due to this internship being virtual, my work mainly consisted of data analysis, which significantly improved my coding skills. I look forward to using the skills and knowledge I gained in my senior thesis, as well as my future graduate research.