Alexis Kropf '12
Female size patterns in egg production of the island apple snail, Pomacea insularum .
Click on the small photo icon for my own personal gallery:
Research Summary: I worked in the apple snail lab as a summer research student after my first year (Summer of 2009). I've
loved going out in the field and enjoyed my time spent at Stoneham pond (called Crazy Pond b/c we don't know really how the snails survive
there), Armand Bayou and even THE Everglades. Although I continue to diversify my interests (see below), I've maintained a small hold in the lab.
My research followed up on oviposition preference experiments done by Colin Kyle '09.
I took his approach and modified it to test how female size influenced the number of eggs laid by the snails. Surprisingly, we found that smaller
snails had higher fecundity and laid larger clutches than larger females. During the next summer (2010), I helped contribute to a
manuscript (soon to come out in Current Zoology) that will report these findings.
Where I've been and Where I'm going:
I've been in Chile for the past semester (Spring 2011) pursuing my interests in
public health and medicine. As a double major in anthropology and biology, I have my sights set on medical school. I
recently finished up my Independent Research Project on perceptions amongst university students on a reproductive health
procedure and I currently work as an administrative intern at a Chilean health clinic. I'll be back at Southwestern in the Fall.
