We were joined by Nicole Reynolds for an Instagram takeover where she shared her research experience in Homer, Alaska focused on invasive species monitoring, plus her previous internship opportunities.

I loved sharing my experiences and tips for the takeover! I was able to share some experiences about my NOAA Ernest F. Hollings internship which has been an incredible experience so far. I’ve been able to be in charge of a research project that will (hopefully) have long-lasting impacts on Southcentral Alaska in invasive species monitoring, as well as other activities.

My project was located at the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Homer, AK, and specifically looked at modifying a folding crab trap (known as Fukui traps) to make it more efficient for early detection European Green Crab monitoring. After lots of sampling and trapping, we found that it does catch more crabs!

With this knowledge, other EGC monitors around Southcentral Alaska can make their traps more efficient and potentially catch EGC earlier in the invasion curve. Catching EGC earlier in the invasion could prevent the widespread ecological disaster that comes with increasingly large populations, which is particularly important for Kachemak Bay because it is heavily reliant on fisheries for commercial and subsistence harvest of fish.

I didn’t just look at crabs all summer, though, I’ve been able to help out with my fellow interns’ projects (peatland salmon monitoring and stomach content analysis for halibut). I’ve also gone out to do other fun monitoring activities like phytoplankton sampling, as well as scientific communication through discovery labs to the public and sharing my project presentation with the community.

The Hollings program has been amazing and instrumental in this opportunity, and I’m so so grateful. I’ve also done a few other internships/ jobs like the Hollings Preparation Program (HPP) and working as a Scientific Technician 2 (Creel Surveyor) with WDFW. I highly recommend any internship with NOAA, the amount of networking and technical skills you can gain is so helpful! If you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me at nicolr7@uw.edu or on Instagram @nicolearey.