By: Dylan Levene

Hi everyone! I am Dylan, a rising junior studying geology and environmental studies with a potential minor in science visualization at USC. Being able to work at Wrigley this summer has given my time in quarantine a purpose and helped me learn new skills.

My work from home set up for the summer.

I have been working in the Nuzhdin Lab this summer on a project about the biodiversity of the macroinvertebrate that live on the seafloor in the Southern California Bight. In order to study the biodiversity, we are using something called zeta diversity. This allows us to study the overlap in species across multiple sites. Within our lab we are all working on different question about the increases in variance according to different variables.

What my RStudio window looks like.

Alongside my fellow intern Harold, I am working on understanding how biodiversity changes as habitat type changes. Habitat types can be largely classified between offshore and nearshore. Within these groups, we have further identified specific habitat types like estuaries or continental slopes. To analyze the data, I have been using R studio, a software that allows for data processing. I spent a portion of my summer learning how to use R, which definitely caused a lot of frustration but made my data analysis go a lot smoother. I am also lucky because I am able to work with a partner and we can bounce ideas of one another.

Photo from a hike I took when I was at Wrigley last summer.

Throughout this summer, I have learned how collaborative the research process is, especially at Wrigley. Science can have the reputation of being isolating work, but I have found it’s the exact opposite, even while working from home. I have been able to form lasting connections with fellow students and my mentor for the summer.

I first discovered how amazing Wrigley is last summer when I spent two weeks on the island for an environmental studies class. I was able to discover the island while learning about our water and soil resources. Doing field and lab work helped me realize my desire to go into research and led me to this internship. While I’m disappointed I cannot be on the island right now, I am really proud of the work I’m doing and excited to get back to island as soon as I can!