June 14, 2017, by Lauren Bell

We are excited to welcome U.S. Coast Guard Academy undergraduates 1/c Lindsey Critser and 1/c Cecelia Hosley to Sitka for their 6-week science internship at the Sitka Sound Science Center! The purpose of this science internship is to provide students with a short-term research project that they can take ownership of, and that is meaningful to other ongoing research initiatives in the area. SSSC Research Biologist Lauren Bell will be providing scientific mentorship to the cadets while they are here, and they are being housed by CG Air Station Sitka. For their primary project, Lindsey and Cece will replicate and expand upon shellfish surveys conducted by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska in 2016 at Starrigavan Recreation Area, which will provide useful information for local subsistence harvesters. They will also be working on the redeployment of a nearshore harbor buoy to monitor water quality parameters in front of SSSC. Lindsey and Cece will have ample opportunity to get to know and explore our coastal community, and participate in a variety of research and educational initiatives during their time here. Many thanks to Professors Lucy Vlietstra and Karina Mrakovcich at the USCGA, LT Ray Jamros at CG Air Station Sitka, and environmental lab staff at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska for their support and helping to make this great internship experience possible!

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More about the cadets:

Lindsey Critser is a junior at the United States Coast Guard Academy and is currently studying Marine and Environmental Science with a focus in Biology and Physical Oceanography. At the Academy, she is a member of the triathlon team. Her hobbies include hiking, kayaking, and biking. Leading up to this internship, she has been conducting research on continuously-deployed water loggers in Sitka Sound to determine the accuracy of single sampling sites, specifically near the kelp beds.

Cecelia Hosley, or Cece as many people know her, is a junior at the USCGA.  At the Academy, Cece is studying marine and environmental science with a particular focus on physical oceanography and marine biology.  She grew up in Connecticut and a remote part of the island of Martha’s Vineyard off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she fell in love with the ocean from an early age. Cece now works with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on a project that works to acoustically identify baleen whales through a buoy off of Cape Cod for the purpose of ship-strike avoidance and conservation of North Atlantic Right Whales. She is also currently working on a project with the Mystic Aquarium on the validation of obtaining hormone concentrations in whale blow, or specifically the beluga whale’s exhale, to evaluate what type of health information can be obtained from that data and how to apply these techniques to wild whales.  When Cece is not wrapped up in the world of marine science she can be found playing lacrosse for the CGA, hiking, horseback riding or at the beach!