Giving Blueday 2023

EEB STUDENT SUPPORT - 310424

Your generous gifts of any size provide student support with expenses such as conducting research, traveling abroad, events, and more. These immersive experiences can help to shape career aspirations. Students work in both the local and international communities to become leaders in their field. Consider supporting Ecology and Evolutionary Biology students today!

Meet a few of our current students who are engaged in not only really cool – but important – endeavors:

Students like Teresa Pegan, an EEB Ph.D. student, are able to research locally. This bright Prothonotary Warbler was photographed in Magee Marsh in northwestern Ohio, a spot prevalent with bird watchers. “There is a well-known boardwalk at Magee Marsh that overlooks a marshy patch of woods right on the shore of Lake Erie. Migrating birds congregate in this patch on their way around the lake,” said Pegan. “The birds often get very close to people on the boardwalk, which makes it a famous spot for birders and photographers. When I took the picture, this warbler was looking for food in a dead tree right in front of me.”

From local to international opportunities, Ecology and Ecolutionary Biology students are capturing the world around them.

Fluff on Stilts, shot by Eric Gulson-Castillo, EEB Ph.D. student, features a black-necked stilt chick. “Some friends and I went birding around southwest Puerto Rico before an ornithology conference in San Juan (American Ornithological Society and Birds Caribbean),” said Gulson-Castillo. “While we were in the salt flats near Cabo Rojo, we passed a stretch of shallow water in which three recently fledged Black-necked Stilts were foraging, sort of independently of any of the nearby adults.” 
From near to far, from large to small, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology students catch it all! 

 Yu Kai Tan, EEB Ph.D. student, took this close-up shot titled “Modern Trilobites”. Using UV lights, he was able to illuminate horseshoe crab hatchlings and show their translucent bodies. 

“This view is less than two centimeters  across. A crazy whim to turn our UV lights on young “trilobite stage” horseshoe crabs hatchlings brought a huge surprise. Their translucent bodies, their ten tiny helplessly twiddling legs, glowing a brilliant electric blue, are one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen through a macro lens – and then there's that conspicuously absent tail,” said Tan. “How many have seen these modern "trilobites" glowing in splendor?”  The Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) swarm up the US east coast annually in the thousands (millions in some places) during high tides on full moon nights in May and June. Their hatchlings are vulnerable to risk of drought and being preyed on by both terrestrial and marine predators.”

Your donations support students in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to pursue their dreams, big and small. Consider donating today!