As the spring semester ends, one of our FSUCML students will be walking across the stage at graduation! Sean McCollum successfully defended his Master’s thesis, “Exploring the drivers of seagrass meadow organic carbon burial and storage using meta-analytic and laboratory approaches.”  His research focuses on the ecosystem characteristics that drive the ability of seagrass meadows to bury and store organic carbon in their sediments. Through organic carbon burial, these meadows help to mitigate climate change because that carbon is secured away from the atmosphere. He used a meta-analytic and laboratory approach to assess the role of bioregion, geomorphology, tidal class, nutrient availability, and seagrass species identity in driving this ecosystem service.

During Sean’s time at FSU, he was awarded the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Grant in Aid of Research, the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories John Vernberg Student Support Award, the FSUCML Board of Trustees Graduate Student Research Fund, and the Mote Graduate Research Assistantship Award.  His favorite memories at the FSUCML include training to become an AAUS Scientific Diver, and the many subsequent dives he went on with peers and FWC along the North Florida Coast.

Sean is hoping to head to the west coast and work in the public sector – we can’t wait to see where he goes next! Congratulations, Sean!