Isaiah Smith

Collected, uploaded, and cleaned data describing the morphology and ecology of fossil reef corals to the Ancient Reef Traits Database, a collection of many thousands of data points used for research in paleontology, extinction, and climate change.

A.) Examined the effect of phylogenetically-influenced sampling heterogeneity on diversity metric estimation methods using simulated data sets and model-based reconstructive software. B.) Modeled the effect of range size on marine plankton extinction risk using various palaeontological databases containing temporal and spatial data for millions of specimens stretching back millions of years.

Created detailed, programming-and-statistics-oriented study guides for other FAU Palaeobiology master's students for three separate courses: Macroecology, Analytical Palaeobiology, and Programming and Statistics. The primary tool used in these lectures was the R programming language and its associated packages.

Characterized novel microbes from deep subsurface groundwater and lakes; processed and analyzed genetic sequencing data; and assisted with a variety of geochemical and microbiological analyses.Characterized novel microbes from deep subsurface groundwater and lakes; processed and analyzed genetic sequencing data; and assisted with a variety of geochemical and microbiological analyses.

Analyzed invertebrate biodiversity trends in the fossil record and assisted graduate students with data collection and sample processing at various remote field sites.

Prepared lessons for one-on-one tutoring sessions, created detailed study guides, and provided hands-on writing help for students in earth and environmental science classes.

Examined how dissolved nutrient concentrations affect organismal growth rate and ecosystem composition and tested the effect of variations in salinity on the toxicity of algal blooms.