Sarah Steffy from Taylor University and Sam Powell from Covenant College are the two students participating in Au Sable’s Summer Undergraduate Preparation in Environmental Research (SUPER) program. This comprehensive 13-week program includes guided research instruction and 16 college credits of field coursework at the Au Sable Great Lakes campus in northern Michigan.

As part of their research this summer, Sarah and Sam will be assessing the presence and impact of harmful Didymosphenia geminata (commonly known as “Didymo” or “Rock Snot”) blooms in the Boardman River and Little Pigeon River. Didymo blooms appear to be connected to low nutrient levels in cold waters (i.e. trout habitat) and can have a significant impact on resource cycling and water chemistry.

Sarah and Sam will collaborate with Au Sable staff, members of the Conservation Resource Alliance, the Greenwood Foundation, and Professor Laurie Furlong, who specializes in Stream Ecology, to develop independent research projects studying this fascinating (and alarming) system.