Ashlyn Sak is selected as a 2020 LSU Discover Grant Recipient

Ashlyn Sak is a 2020 LSU Discover Grant recipient. The LSU Discover Undergraduate Research program supports student participation in faculty-mentored research and professional-level activities, and each semester LSU Discover funds at least students to support their undergraduate research.

 

Sak is a junior majoring in natural resource ecology and management. After learning about the impact that humans have on the environment, she decided to pursue a degree that would allow her to contribute to conservation efforts being put forth to protect the land. Sak is passionate about wildlife, conservation, and biodiversity. These passions fuel her desire to pursue research in this field.

Sak began her research in the flooded forests of Grosse Tete, Louisiana. Using milk cartons and Tupperware containers, she created nest boxes for birds. Each day she would check for activity inside the boxes, looking for signs of nesting.

Once eggs were laid in the box, she would place an eye button inside the nesting box to record the internal temperature. Following this, she would repeat the same process for the external temperature. Using this data, she measured the effect of the internal and external temperature on the growth and development of the birds.

Sak will be using the funding provided to her to conduct in-depth data analysis to draw conclusions about her project.

When asked what advice she has for students seeking to do research, Sak says, “There are so many professors that are willing to do assist in undergraduate research. All you have to do is ask.”

Sak plans to graduate in December 2020 and pursue a career as a field technician.

Written by William Gaspard