salt water marsh

Environmental Studies Student Wins First Place: Eagle Hill Graduate Student Poster Award

Cahill NENHC PosterMS in Environmental Studies (ES) student, Megan Cahill, won the Best Student Poster at the 2021 Northeast Natural History Conference. Her poster is titled, “Benthic macroinfauna community composition in a partially restored back-barrier salt marsh lagoon in North Truro on Cape Cod National Seashore, MA.”

For this project, Megan worked with ES Professor Dr. Rachel Thiet and her colleagues on Cape Cod to characterize the species composition, abundance, and distribution of seafloor invertebrates in a restored back-barrier salt marsh lagoon.

“Megan worked tirelessly on this project, starting with months sitting over a microscope to identify tiny, seafloor invertebrates in our samples, and then culminating in months of data analysis, mapping, and poster development,” said Thiet. “She has outstanding skills of observation, and her analytical skills brought a level of sophistication to this project that far exceeded my expectations.”

Megan’s project was part of an ongoing, longitudinal study led by Thiet, Cape Cod National Seashore, and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.

The annual Northeast Natural History Conference is sponsored by the Eagle Hill Institute in Steuben, ME, and attracts scientists and natural historians working all over the northeastern U.S.

“Megan’s clear presentation of the data and visually compelling poster captured the attention of scientists throughout New England,” added Thiet. “She is highly deserving of this honor and award!”