By Caroline Grauman-Boss—
Tuesday, June 28th, Dr. Vik Iyengar of Villanova University and Dr. Erika Iyengar of Muhlenberg College joined us for dinner and an after-dinner presentation of their research. The next day, the Salish Sea Sciences team rose early to be in the field with Erika at 5:00am to participate in slug surveys with her. Students identified different slug populations and learned about their habitats, habits, and the effects of invasive species. Students will have the chance to study maritime earwigs with Vik at False Bay on Friday, July 1st.
Dr. Vik Iyengar at False Bay with Salish Sea Sciences: Photo by Tom Grauman
To get a sense of the kind of research the Iyengars do and why they do it, please take a look at the following links:
- the homepage of Dr. Vik Iyengar at Villanova U. and his page about his research on maritime anthropods, specifically earwig mating systems.
- the homepage of Dr. Erika Iyengar at Muhlenberg College.
Both professors have a deep history pursuing research at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. We are fortunate to have them here this summer and that they are making the time to share their knowledge with us.