Short Bio
My name is Emma Hoza and I’m from Vermont. I graduated from the University of Vermont in 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and minors in Biology and Computer Science. At UPR-RP, I am working in the Chiquillo Lab studying the globally invasive seagrass, Halophila stipulacea. My research question asks whether microbes are facilitating the spread of H. stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea. I will also investigate Caribbean seagrasses to determine whether they exhibit the same trends as those in the Mediterranean Sea.
A fun fact or hobby: In my free time, I love to cook and spend time outside. Following RaMP-UP program, I’m interested in continuing to develop as a researcher in graduate school or gain further professional experience.
Research
Mentor:
Kelcie Chiquillo, PhD
Co-mentor:
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, PhD
Project Title:
Microbial diversity might facilitate the growth and invasion success of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea
Project Description:
Seagrasses are enormously critical parts of ecosystems, serving as food sources, nurseries, preventatives against erosion and pathogens, and prominent carbon sinks. Halophila stipulacea is an extremely invasive type of seagrass, yet climate change has the potential to expedite its spread in its invaded territories, the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. Our project investigates seagrass-microbe interactions in both monoculture assemblages and in mixed assemblages, where the invasive H. stipulacea is growing with native Mediterranean seagrasses. We want to determine whether microbes are helping H. stipulacea be better invaders and if so, what ramifications this has for Halophila stipulacea and seagrass dynamics as a whole.