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A biology master\u2019s student\u2019s research just received a big endorsement from the prestigious Pew Charitable Trusts and the Florida Wildlife Commission.<\/p>\n
The national and state organizations are funding the research of Michelle Shaffer, \u201916, who has spent the past five years studying the ecosystems and wildlife in the Indian River Lagoon in conjunction with the National Center for Integrated Coastal Research (UCF Coastal). Her project will explore the impacts of seagrass decline and other changes in the environment on the abundance and distribution of forage fish and their predators living in the Indian River Lagoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still trying to convince myself that\u2019s it real,\u201d Shaffer said. \u201cWorking with Pew and the FWC were career goals, so it\u2019s pretty incredible to get this opportunity at an early stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fellowship is one of two granted each year through FWC\u2019s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI). This is the fellowship\u2019s third year. The foundation of Shaffer\u2019s research is a massive data set FWRI has been compiling for decades. This information provides a comprehensive picture of the lagoon\u2019s health over decades, and can offer conservation specialists tools and information to make smart, targeted decisions to protect the waterway\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
Shaffer plans to expand on that data set using software to bring her research to life. The public\u2019s understanding and involvement is key to protecting the lagoon, Shaffer said, so they need to picture the research in its proper context. That\u2019s why she will be using satellite mapping, processed in a geographic information system (GIS), to develop a web tool that will help agencies communicate their findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you\u2019re not into biology, these fish are economically important,\u201d Shaffer explained. \u201cPeople are traveling here frequently to fish, and they\u2019re buying equipment, staying in hotels and eating locally. If we don\u2019t protect them, that\u2019s going to impact the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaffer credits her advisor Assistant Professor Kristy A. Lewis, Ph.D., for the success of her proposal. She spent hours patiently going through the process, tightening up the application and connecting her with previous fellows.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really helpful to have her guidance building this proposal,\u201d Shaffer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A biology master\u2019s student\u2019s research just received a big endorsement from the prestigious Pew Charitable Trusts and the Florida Wildlife Commission. The national and state organizations are funding the research of Michelle Shaffer, \u201916, who has spent the past five years studying the ecosystems and wildlife in the Indian River Lagoon in conjunction with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":24976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[34,40,13,5967,5377,28,5944,29],"tags":[4385,1386,2290,2663],"class_list":["post-24975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biology-departments","category-graduate-student-news","category-news","category-notables","category-research","category-top-news","category-ucf-coastal","category-ucf-news","tag-fwc","tag-fwc-fish-and-wildlife-research-institute","tag-michelle-shaffer","tag-pew-research-center"],"yoast_head":"\n