June 10, 2024

This spring, WSG Crab Team was joined by an undergraduate student assistant, Christopher Harris-Adams. Christopher Harris-Adams is currently pursuing his B.S. at UW’s College of the Environment researching microclimate variation in the greenhouse environment. We asked Christopher to share some of his story and introduce himself to the broader Crab Team community.

What brought you to Crab Team? What interested you in the position?

Presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Photo: Steven Adams

For quite a long time, I’ve been interested in the structure and functions of coastal and estuarine environments, so when I saw the opportunity to work in and learn about these environments while making a positive contribution with Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team my interest was piqued.

What is some background on you that Crab Team monitors might be interested to know?

I’m a local! I was born and raised in Tacoma, so I’m very familiar with the area and passionate about our coastal ecosystems. A fun fact about me is that estuarine environments are my favorite ecosystem type. I am also quite a bit of a plant ID enthusiast and would be happy to point out species out in the field.

Experimental setup of poplar trees in the Douglas Research Conservatory greenhouse. Photo: Christopher Harris-Adams

What other personal or professional experiences that you’ve had relate to what you might be doing as the student assistant?

This is actually my second position geared toward managing invasive species. My first was the summer after my first year at UW, when I worked as a restoration intern with the Washington Conservation Corps. There, I worked with my team to remove terrestrial and aquatic invasive species like reed canary grass, Japanese knotweed and the infamous Himalayan blackberry.

I also have experience as an undergraduate research assistant. Since the beginning of this school year, I’ve been conducting research into plant-associated microclimate creation and microclimate variation in the greenhouse environment with the Plant Ecophysiology and Modelling laboratory (PEML). A microclimate is any relatively small area that differs from the larger climate around it with respect to a number of variables such as temperature, humidity, light availability, etc.  This work asks two questions: 1) Does the number of plants per unit area in a greenhouse meaningfully impact microclimate variables? 2) In general, how do microclimate variables change throughout the greenhouse environment? Studying these variables can provide insight into the dynamics of greenhouse microclimate variation, which can inform greenhouse design and management strategies in the future. As an undergraduate research assistant with the PEML, I help collect and analyze data, work with volunteers to manage experimental plots, and generally try to help out where I can.

What are you particularly looking forward to as part of the program?

I’m excited to learn about the protocols and techniques associated with wildlife monitoring such as eDNA and genetic work. I am particularly interested in assisting with the green crab specimen catalog to support genome mapping efforts. I’m a bit of a data nerd, so I am absolutely looking forward to working with Crab Team monitoring data.

— Christopher Harris-Adams

Header Photo: Recording mortality and in-planting chestnut trees at Pack forest. Photo: Christoper Harris-Adams