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Grad student wins EPA research fellowship
Idjadi, from Vernon, N.J., is among 100 students selected nationwide, based on a rigorous assessment of research proposals. His research, which focuses on processes on coral reefs that promote coral species diversity, is aimed at helping resource managers to more effectively maintain and restore coral reefs, which are experiencing degradation all over the world due to natural and human-induced causes. “I was overwhelmed when I heard I that received the award,” Idjadi, who lives in Bear, said. “I knew how many accomplished researchers would be applying and how few proposals get funded so I felt that it was a long shot. The application consists of a complete research proposal, which details the project you would plan to do if you received funding, a curriculum vitae and all your academic records. The application is then reviewed and rated by scientists who work in a related field.” Idjadi said that corals, although they appear to be stationary, colorful rocks, aggressively attack each other with tentacles and digestive filaments and by overgrowing and shading each other as they compete for light and space. “Despite the fact that coral species differ greatly in their ability to compete, poor competitors coexist alongside strong competitors. My work has shown that the spatial arrangement of corals on the reef, particularly when corals are aggregated, can help reduce the ability of strong competitors to exclude weak ones. This might be one of the many important mechanisms that promote coral diversity,” Idjadi said. Idjadi explained that he has conducted his experiments on French Polynesian reefs because they are relatively diverse and in fairly good shape, factors that allow him to observe the natural interactions of corals on a dense reef. However, the results of his work can be applied wherever corals occur and are in competition with each other, such as the Hawaiian islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Idjadi earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and his master’s degree from California State University-Northridge. Both degrees were in biology. His UD adviser is Ronald Karlson, professor of biological sciences, whose research focuses on large-scale patterns in coral diversity. Idjadi, who has been at UD for four years, received the Best Student Coral Reefs Paper award at the Benthic Ecology Meeting in 2002. He spends his free time shaping fiberglass and surfing on his my own surfboards. Article by Martin Mbugua To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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