Courtney has now completed school for her master’s degree! This means she has finished not only college, but the next level of school after college. Courtney was curious about how genetic differences in DNA in a population of invasive seaweed, Gracilaria vermiculophylla, affect the algae’s ability to survive on the coast of South Carolina. Do you remember the difference between a population and community in an ecosystem?
Through her various experiments Courtney found that populations of algae that were genetically identical did not grow as well as populations that were not genetically identical. In other words, diversity made a difference! A positive difference! Scientists have known for some time that increased diversity increases ecosystem health. What is neat about Courtney’s work is that she has shown that increased diversity might indeed have helped this foreign algae succeed in inhabiting our shoreline.
Through her various experiments Courtney found that populations of algae that were genetically identical did not grow as well as populations that were not genetically identical. In other words, diversity made a difference! A positive difference! Scientists have known for some time that increased diversity increases ecosystem health. What is neat about Courtney’s work is that she has shown that increased diversity might indeed have helped this foreign algae succeed in inhabiting our shoreline.
