96 Reflecting on an Investigation into the Hydraulic Systems of Aspen Trees in Northern Utah

Faculty Mentor: William Anderegg (Biological Sciences, University of Utah)

When I was first accepted into the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research, I was ecstatic. It finally provided a chance to dedicate my time to research and represented a trial period for exploration of biology from a new perspective. I was excited to work in such a reputable lab as well as research in the field of conservation biology close to home. But beyond the summer I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to commit to. My work this summer was split in half, allowing me to experience equal amounts of field work and lab work.

In the lab I primarily helped the graduate and postdoctoral members with their research. Data processing activities included learning ImageJ to measure leaf area, scanning and weighing samples for further analysis, and general sample preparation. Though this work wasn’t extraordinary on a daily basis, it was a chance to see the effort put into gathering data and what it takes to get as much information out of the samples as possible. In plant biology there are many different measurements taken just from one branch sample. Starting with trimming the branch for hydraulics, then to leaf area and breaking it down into the individual components for coring and weighing. The amount of information gathered from these samples in addition to the field measurements create massive data sets that take time to process. I was also able to learn and explore the programming language R. Though it was quite intimidating to learn it from scratch with limited coding background, I became comfortable enough to make my own graphs and present them at the summer symposium. But the full picture requires environmental information about the trees out in the forest.

The first time I visited the field site for my summer project, I had little idea what to expect. Though I grew up camping in Utah, it was a unique experience to have my work day outside in an absolutely stunning forest. At first the trips were primarily manual labor as we helped transition the site from winter. This meant first fixing the wooden “roof” frames that cover the ground around the trees in order to mimic drought. The site setup is quite involved, essentially establishing 3 blocks, each split up into the different drought treatments but all surrounded by the wooden frames. Besides fixing the roofs, I helped out with bi-weekly routine measurements gathering statistics for the photosynthetic rates and water potentials of the trees early in the morning, pre-dawns, and in the middle of the day, mid-days. Though we gathered other measurements including chlorophyll content, dendrometers, and leaf area index (LAI), the most elaborate experiment was to measure leaf hydraulic conductivity in the field. We brought a table into the forest and put together a system to run water through six leaves at a time as we took interval measurements. Manual labor was physically more taxing, but this set up required more focus and weathering of the elements, mainly the bugs attacking us as we worked. Overall, I enjoyed field work and learning about the considerations when gathering so many types of data.

For my own career, though I have a long path ahead, this summer has answered my question: I want to work in research. I love working in an environment where I can be outdoors as well as take time to work my way through data and learn from it. The community within the lab offered many opportunities for connection and mentorship as I felt I always had someone to answer my questions, no matter how silly I felt they were. The dynamics of research gripped me this summer in a way I didn’t expect. There is creativity involved in all aspects starting with project design and handling the problems that inevitably arise. It was nice to have a combination of reviewing papers and conducting background research followed by time outdoors applying the techniques I had just read about. I also learned patience with data processing. The conclusions are not always astounding or what you expect but it’s important to let the data speak for itself and even null results contribute to our understanding. The summer rushed by and I have ended my time in the SPUR program with a feeling of satisfaction looking back on all that I did with excitement for a new field that I found I love.

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