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Anna Lowien, a masters student in the , was recently awarded an inaugural through the program.

The Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship is an exciting new fellowship program for graduate students at the national estuarine research reserves.听In the coming weeks, 29 graduate students will begin their two-year fellowship in one of the 29 national estuarine research reserves around the country.

Lowien will be working at in Newmarket, 易胜博官网, where she has already been conducting her thesis research. Her research takes a big picture perspective on biogeochemical patterns in Great Bay, and asks how nutrient fluctuations influence the life in the estuary, such as eelgrass.

鈥淎nna鈥檚 research will make an important contribution to understanding the internal processes that affect Great Bay鈥檚 ecosystem,鈥� says her advisor, professor of natural resources and the environment . 鈥淢any stressors have the potential to degrade eelgrass and other components of the Bay. Her research will provide some important first steps in understanding whether different inputs to the Bay like excessive nitrogen are consumed by organisms living in the Bay or just washed out to the ocean with the tides.鈥�

According to Lowien, assessing these nutrient conditions will not only be helpful in learning how to better manage Great Bay and protect its ecosystem, but could also help inform decisions in water quality management and fishing industry practices.

鈥淐oming from a biogeochemistry lab, we like to monitor everything we can,鈥� Lowien said. 鈥淲e have a saying that鈥檚 鈥楨verything everywhere all the time鈥� because you can鈥檛 understand an ecosystem unless you鈥檙e really taking as many factors as possible into account.鈥�

Having grown up near the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland, Lowien has always had a heart for estuaries. 鈥淪tudying water quality problems in coastal ecosystems is super critical to protect those systems, as well as restore them,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause we as humans have left a huge footprint, it鈥檚 our generation鈥檚 job to reverse what we can. I鈥檓 studying aquatic biogeochemistry so that I can contribute to that.鈥�

This fellowship will be Lowien鈥檚 second estuarine research experience with NOAA, the first being the program, in which she spent a summer interning at the 听in Homer, Alaska.

鈥淭he biggest thing that this fellowship allows me is the opportunity to collaborate with the community of scientists and volunteer at Great Bay research reserve,鈥� said Lowien. 鈥淎fter my experience in Alaska, I knew that I wanted to do this kind of work again. Building community and sharing science鈥攖hat鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about.鈥�

Lowien plans to graduate in May 2021, with hopes of continuing onto a PhD in natural resources.