Ledyard High School students enrolled in UCONN’s Early College Experience “Introduction to Oceanography,” presented research posters at the 2nd annual Marine Sciences High School Symposium on May 25.

Twenty-eight posters were submitted from seven different Connecticut schools. Oral presentations included students explaining the background for their projects, how they carried them out and the results and conclusions. Students worked independently, sometimes for weeks or months on the projects.

Ledyard seniors Anna Tworzyanski and Victoria Paradise presented a project on the antibacterial action of marine algae on three types of bacteria and compared their results to those of standard antibiotic treatments. Juniors Samantha Beacham and Kelly Banach submitted a poster investigating chlorophyll concentrations in the Thames River Estuary.

Other schools joining Ledyard were Waterford, Norwich Free Academy and the Science & Technology Magnet School in New London.

The day ended with the launch of a weather balloon and discussion of atmospheric science by Dr. James Edson, marine sciences department head. A tour of the Rankin seawater lab concluded the day, with high school students learning about current research on ocean acidification and the effects on larval fish.