Thesis Watch: Lauren Sutton, Ecology
We got a chance to speak with Lauren Sutton, who recently defended her Ph.D. dissertation, titled Drivers of Functional Ecology of the Alaskan Arctic Epibenthos .
Originally from Tacoma, Washington, Lauren did her undergrad at Western Washington University in Bellingham, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in biocultural anthropology and a Bachelor of Science in environmental science. Lauren first became interested in epibenthic invertebrates during her time in Washington (epibenthic: critters that live on top of the seafloor). After spending a few summers working as a deckhand for an eco-tour cruise boat and for a kayaking companies in Glacier Bay National Park and getting in touch with a faculty research professor studying the epibenthos at UAF, she knew she wanted become a marine biologist and focus her graduate career in Alaskan waters. She also recognized that the arctic environment is very sensitive to climate disturbances, and that there were lots of opportunities to answer questions regarding the role these organisms play within their arctic seafloor habitat.
The ecology of benthic communities is a function of both the biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (nonliving) components of the sea floor ecosystem. Largely composed of macroinvertebrates, the epibenthic community plays a key role in maintaining sediment and water quality and upcycling nutrients to larger aquatic species. These communities are important indicators of environmental health and stress because they are particularly sensitive to pollutants and disturbances (e.g. warming ocean temperatures) (EPA, 2012).
Through years of gaining an understanding of the arctic epibenthic communities and their relationships with environmental factors, Lauren was able to develop models that help us ‘understand how epibenthic communities have changed in the past in order to predict how they’re likely to change in the future.’ She examined the taxonomic and functional composition of the benthic communities in two study areas - the Chukchi Sea, located off the northwest coast of Alaska, and the Beaufort Sea, located off the north coast of Alaska. The taxonomic metrics she studied were related to the type and number of species, and the functional metrics were related to what the species do, e.g., how they move, what resources they consume, how they reproduce, etc.. Functions within the benthic community tell a story of how the surrounding ecosystem functions as a whole. Lauren was able to use the data she had gathered to form important relationships about how proportions of different epibenthic taxonomies and functions could be used to measure and predict the overall stability of the arctic oceanic ecosystem. She also spent time aboard arctic research cruises helping gather data for other projects, where she was a part of a multidisciplinary team collecting samples of the water column, trawling the seafloor, and analyzing different physical and biological properties. Some of these trips included visiting up to four sites per day and identifying, counting, and weighing the benthic invertebrates present within the trawled grab samples.
Using all the data and knowledge she gathered over the years, Lauren took a modeling approach to be able to predict future scenarios for how a benthic community will respond to changing conditions in the arctic, such as warming temperatures or increased ocean acidity. She stated that while she primarily focused on the epibenthos during her time at UAF, the next steps involve studying of other groups of organisms (e.g., whales, fish, etc.) to gain a holistic understanding of how arctic ecosystems functions as a whole. She values the skills she attained in grad school at UAF and is excited to apply them towards her next role.
In addition to graduate research, Lauren has worked as a mentor for Inspiring Girls Expeditions, an organization that aims to empower young women through science, art, and wilderness exploration. Lauren is now beginning a position as a research coordinator at the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Homer, and she is looking forward to mentoring future students. She encourages them to be inquisitive, form relationships with those in their field of interest, and say always yes to new and exciting opportunities.