Rising scholars and aspiring ecologists and archaeologists, showcased the culmination of an eight-week, intensive undergraduate research experience hosted by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in collaboration with the Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, during the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Symposium held Thursday, July 25 at SIUE.
The symposium marked the finale of a three-year program funded by a $287,690 National Science Foundation REU grant awarded to the two institutions. The popular program drew approximately 100 applicants for the 2019 summer. Ten of the nation’s best were chosen to complete the competitive interdisciplinary field study, which analyzed how humans have used the river system over the past 2,000 years.
“This was the perfect opportunity for me, since I didn’t have any previous field experience,” said Laura Ruiz, a senior anthropology major at the University of Tulsa. “It was like a crash course in research, archaeology techniques and ecology work. It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to broaden my understanding of the field.”
Entitled, “Exploring Evidence of the Anthropocene: Archaeological and Ecological Interdisciplinary Research Experiences for First Generation Students in the Upper Mississippi River System,” the research program allows students to gain an understanding of the scientific method while learning excavation and fish-monitoring techniques, lab-based data collection, research writing and data analysis. The program also caters to first generation and non-traditional college students, offering student and career development sessions throughout the summer.
“We started by conducting research out on the boat and at the excavation site, and then we worked in the lab, identifying bones and organizing our database,” explained Ruiz’s research partner Caroline Hunsaker, a junior in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “We then wrote our poster and presented on our work. This offered hands-on practice covering the span of the research process.”
The REU program has been run under the direction of principal investigator (PI) Carol Colaninno, PhD, research assistant professor in the SIUE STEM Center, with co-PI John Chick, PhD, director of the Great Rivers Field Station in Alton.
“It was great to see these students walk into the program initially a bit intimidated by research, and then walk out as researchers,” Colaninno said. “Our primary goal was to prepare them for success as graduate students, in employment and as future scientists. We are extremely proud of what the students accomplished over the past eight weeks.”
“We looked at archaeological records and modern commercial harvest and monitoring records to understand human impact on the Mississippi River,” explained Anthony DeFreece, a sophomore studying anthropology at the University of North Texas. “We tried to understand how the presence and absence of fishes has changed throughout time. We found that negative effects on the river are probably not due to commercial harvesting, but rather other factors like pollution and the building of levees and dams, which limit the movement of fishes throughout the river.”
The symposium drew all types of visitors, including SIUE faculty and administrators, as well as some of the participants’ friends and family.
“Archaeology is something Anthony has been passionate about for a long time, and we’ve always encouraged that,” said DeFreece’s mother, Valerie DeFreece. She, her husband Tony and daughter Sophia traveled to SIUE to enjoy DeFreece’s poster presentation and bring him home. “This program gave him the ability to blend the ecology discipline with archaeology, so he could get a fuller picture of future opportunities.”
“This program has given him a strong research foundation that he can now build upon,” added Tony. “Hopefully next year he can participate in an international program, and continue to build toward a successful career. He has endless opportunities ahead of him.”
Though their work at SIUE is complete, the student scholars and their faculty mentors will present their research once again at the upcoming Mississippi River Research Consortium in April 2020 in La Crosse, Wis.
Photos: REU participant Laura Ruiz, a senior anthropology major at the University of Tulsa shares her team’s findings with SIUE Associate Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Jerry Weinberg, PhD.
REU participant Anthony DeFreece, a sophomore studying anthropology at the University of North Texas, explains his research project to his sister Sophia and mother Valerie as his research partner Caille Paulsen looks on.