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Carrie Malina Tribble

Profile

  • Time Zone
    Pacific

  • Organization
    University of California - Berkeley

  • Role
    Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  • Research Interests (300 words)
    I am interested in how plants have adapted to live in different places and different conditions over millions of years. I study how different plants are related to each other (phylogenetics) and what those relationships can tell us about the evolution of traits of those species. Some of the traits I am most interested in are chemicals that plants produce to defend themselves from herbivory and the underground storage organs plants use to store starches, such as bulbs and tubers. I believe that by studying the way plants have adapted to new climates in the past we can better understand how they may respond to anthropogenic climate change today.

  • Profile Question 1
    What was the first science experiment you ever designed? How did it turn out?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):
    When I was in 7th grade, I decided to test the effect of underwater music on fish growth. I had 3 treatments: 1) constant music, 2) part-time music, and 3) no music (control group). In each treatment I had 4 replicates (4 fish). I measure the weight of the fish at the beginning of my experiment and every week during the experiment. I found that the average weight of fish with constant music was less than the average weight of fish in the other treatments by the end of the experiment. However, I realized that I did not have enough evidence to conclude that music was detrimental to fish growth. The difference in the average weights of the fish was small, and the effect could have been random.

  • Profile Question 2
    What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):
    It's easy to think of plants as stationary, but the more I learn about plants, the more I realize that they move too. Many plants use their roots to explore below the ground and find areas with lots of water. Sunflowers rotate their flowers to follow the sun over the day. Venus fly traps move quickly to close their traps when they sense a bug inside. The more I study plants, the more I realize that they can do a lot of the things we can do, and a whole lot of things we can't as well.

  • Profile Question 3
    What is your favorite plant? Why?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):
    My favorite plants are carnivorous plants. Plants have evolved the ability to digest insects and absorb their nutrients multiple times. Most plants that do this live in habitats with little nutrients, such as swamps or bogs. One of my favorite carnivorous plants is the genus nepenthes. These plants are native to tropical forests in South East Asia and often grow hanging off of cliffs. I love carnivorous plants because they invert our normal expectations of how plants and insects interact, and because they are a great example of how the same trait (being a carnivore) can evolve multiple times under similar selective pressures.

  • Help represent the outreach efforts of your societies. Please click all those organizations you are a member of:
    Botanical Society of America

  • Availability
    I am NOT available, please temporarily remove me from the available mentor list

  • Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?
    2

Recent Posts

Table 4 Carrie Malina Tribble

Hi Hailey and Lili, 

 

Great! It has been wonderful to work with you for this project. Let me know if you have any questions about the experiment or science in general. 

Cheers!

Carrie

Table 4 Carrie Malina Tribble

Hi Hailey and Lili,

How did the experiment go? I'm excited to hear about your results! 

Carrie 

Table 4 Carrie Malina Tribble

Hi Hailey and Lili, 

That sounds great! Do you think it might be worth including a couple more types of plants? I don't know how much time or space you have for the experiment, but including a few more plants might help you determine if…

more

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NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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