Five UTEP students traveled with UTEP associate professors of biological sciences Vanessa Lougheed, Ph.D., and Craig Tweedie, Ph.D., to the northern tip of Alaska for three months in summer 2011 to study the effect of climate warming on tundra ponds and plant communities in the Arctic. From polar bear sitings and 24-hour daylight to firsthand knowledge of the effects of a changing climate, they came away with valuable research experience, important data on a subject with global implications, and an appreciation for the indigenous culture of the Arctic.
From left, Vanessa Lougheed, Ph.D., and the students in her Aquatic Ecology Lab ' Christina Hernandez, master's student in environmental science; Francisco Reyes, who graduated in December with a bachelor's degree in environmental science; and Christian Andresen, Ph.D. candidate in environmental science and engineering ' take a break from their work revisiting historic research sites last sampled in the 1970s. Their goal was to determine how arctic tundra pond environments have changed with climate warming during the past 40 years.