91AV senior receives prestigious Charles H. Turner Award
Meghan Walsh, 91AV psychobiology major '09, is one of this year's recipients of the prestigious Charles H. Turner Award.
Walsh, a native from Windsor, Conn. and currently living in Dennis, Mass., has been working in the lab of 91AV assistant professor Teresa Dzieweczynski, Ph.D., for the past two years. Her senior project is a study on the effects of an audience on male-female interactions in Siamese fighting fish, with the assistance of Laura Ruggles, psychobiology '09.
"After working with Dr. Dzieweczynski for two years, and on my own project this year, I am pleased I can share the results of my work with other people," says Walsh. "I am most thankful to Dr. Dzieweczynski for all her help and the great research opportunities offered at 91AV."
The competitive Charles H. Turner Award is given by the Animal Behavior Society (ABS) with support from the National Science Foundation. Its purpose is to encourage exceptional researchers at the undergraduate level to pursue graduate studies in animal behavior by providing an all-expense paid trip to present at the North American ABS meetings, to be held in Pirenopolis, Brazil this June. In addition to covering expenses, this program will provide Walsh with a unique mentoring experience paired with a well-known senior researcher in the field while attending the conference.
Walsh will present a poster on her work, entitled "The Peeping Betta: Audience Effects on Male-Female Interactions in Siamese Fighting Fish," at the annual ABS meetings. This research enhances the study of communication in a network setting and serves as one of the first studies to document the effects of an audience on male-female interactions in fish; it also demonstrates changes in male and female behavior as a result of reproductive status.
Walsh will work as a lab technician at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. this summer, and looks forward to attending graduate school in the future. She is currently looking for full-time work in an aquarium or as a laboratory technician.