May 27, 2013 - August 2, 2013
Faculty advisor: Dr. Oliver Frauenfeld (Texas A&M University)
Research topics:
Publications:
Presentations:
Research topics:
- Impacts of Vegetation and Precipitation on Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Tropical Pre-Montane Transitional Cloud Forest
- Characterization of Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Tropical Pre-Montane Cloud Forest in Costa Rica
Publications:
- Teale, N., Mahan, H., Bleakney, S., Berger, A., Shibley, N., Frauenfeld, O., Quiring, S., Rapp, A., Roark, B., Washington-Allen, R. "Impacts of Vegetation and Precipitation on Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Tropical Pre-Montane Transitional Cloud Forest," Biotropica, 46(6), 667-676 (2014).
- Berger, A. C. "Characterization of Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Tropical Pre-Montane Cloud Forest in Costa Rica." Honors and Undergraduate Research Thesis, Texas A&M University, 42pp.
Presentations:
- Berger, A., Frauenfeld, O. “Characterization of Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Tropical Pre-Montane Cloud Forest in Costa Rica,” Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Tampa, FL , and Texas A&M University Student Research Week (2014)
- Berger, A., Teale, N., Frauenfeld, O., Rapp, A., Quiring, S., Roark, B., Bleakney, S., Mahan, H., “Characterization of Throughfall Heterogeneity in a Transitional Cloud Forest in Costa Rica,” presented at the REU poster session, Texas A&M University, and Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA (2013)
During the summer of 2013, I was a research intern for the Texas A&M REU in Costa Rica. I spent 6 weeks in a tropical cloud-forest in Costa Rica, collecting and analyzing meteorological data to study and quantify water reaching the forest floor. This study was part of a larger project to quantify the water budget of a watershed, since it is important for locals to understand how the forest impacts the water they receive. The agricultural sector in Costa Rica is currently growing, often to the detriment of forested areas. Changes in land cover can impact local climate, which in turn affects the tropical forest environment, and subsequently the water budget of the forested watershed. The knowledge gained from this research project will help farmers make informed and safe land-use decisions. Over the summer, I developed skills in designing projects, writing for publication, analyzing data, communicating, and working collaboratively with other team members. I knew then that I wanted to improve and use these skills throughout my career to impact people’s lives through science. I continued this research as an Undergraduate Scholar during my junior year. I conducted more in-depth analyses of the data collected the previous summer, and wrote an undergraduate thesis on throughfall heterogeneity in a tropical Costa Rican cloud forest. I presented my thesis during an oral session at the American Association of Geographers meeting in March 2014.