{"id":9193,"date":"2023-06-29T10:44:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T15:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicholls.edu\/news\/?p=9193"},"modified":"2023-06-29T10:44:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T15:44:05","slug":"nicholls-marine-environmental-biology-graduate-students-awarded-at-2023-state-of-the-coast-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicholls.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/29\/nicholls-marine-environmental-biology-graduate-students-awarded-at-2023-state-of-the-coast-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Marine & Environmental Biology Graduate Students Awarded at 2023 State of the Coast Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
THIBODAUX, La. \u2013 ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ marine and environmental biology graduate students Carissa Thiel and Michelle Lignieres received awards at the <\/span>2023 State of the Coast Conference<\/span><\/a>. ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ faculty, staff, students and alumni represented the University well throughout the three-day celebration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Carissa Thiel was awarded third place for her presentation \u201cEcological characteristics and soil processes in terrestrial forest habitats on coastal ridges.\u201d Thiel\u2019s work within the collaborative Coastal Ridge Project through a <\/span>RESTORE Act<\/span><\/a> grant, mentored by <\/span>Dr. Jonathan Willis<\/span><\/a>, ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ assistant professor of biological sciences, focused on the terrestrial forested communities along coastal ridges at the points of highest elevation, the tree species and preliminary results of soil analysis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michelle Lignieres won fifth place for her presentation, \u201cUsing small-bodied fish assemblage to compare constructed terraces and original marsh for a restoration project within Terrebonne Parish.\u201d For Lignieres\u2019 research, mentored by\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Gary J. LaFleur, Jr<\/span><\/a>, ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ director of the <\/span>Center for Bayou Studies<\/span><\/a> and professor of <\/span>honors studies<\/span><\/a>, she monitors different fauna species within a restored marsh to determine if man-made terraces can simulate the natural marsh in providing sustainable habitats and resources for the species that occur in the natural marsh. This presentation focused mainly on the data she collected from small-bodied fish, but she also monitors crustaceans, large-bodied fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cÐÓ°É´«Ã½ alumni are making ripples in the coastal world, contributing greatly to this very important quadrant of state government and economy,\u201d said Dr. Gary J. LaFleur, Jr.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The State of the Coast conference is the largest statewide conference of its kind, providing an interdisciplinary forum to exchange timely and relevant information on the dynamic conditions of Louisiana\u2019s coastal communities, environment and economy. The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana produces this forum, the need for which grows with every acre of land lost to the Gulf of Mexico, along with its partners: the <\/span>Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>the Water Institute<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Louisiana Sea Grant<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n SOC2023 consisted of three days of presentations by leading experts in concurrent sessions, keynote talks, poster sessions and networking opportunities. SOC2023 was attended by more than 1,200 scientists, landowners, land managers, federal and state agency personnel, local officials, industry and business leaders, resource users, students, and residents of coastal communities. SOC2023 reflected the vision for the conference and for coastal Louisiana\u2019s future: Together Again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n