Nannoworks Laboratory graduate student Kirsty Mary D. Camba recently completed a two-month research internship at Academia Sinica, Taiwan, under the Taiwan International International Internship Program (TIIP). During the internship, Camba worked at the Marine Paleontology Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Chien-Hsiang Lin, where she conducted research on marine sediment cores recovered through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).
Left: Kirsty Mary D. Camba delivering her oral presentation during the internship closing program. Right: Camba (left) and Dr. Jose Dominick Guballa, postdoctoral researcher (right), during the awarding of certificates.
Laboratory work in progress: Camba conducting microscopy analyses for her two research projects during the internship.
Her internship involved two research projects using sediment cores from the northwestern Australian margin. The first focused on the recovery and distribution of fossil fish otoliths, examining 542 marine sediment samples spanning approximately the last 5.1 million years to investigate changes in ancient fish communities and marine ecosystems. The second project involved the refinement of calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy from IODP sediment cores to improve the age model and chronological framework of the sedimentary record.
Through the internship, Camba gained hands-on experience in marine micropaleontology including sediment sample processing, fossil identification, microscopy, and the analysis and interpretation of marine sediment records. The TIGP-IIP provided an opportunity to strengthen her research skills while collaborating with researchers at Academia Sinica and gaining international research experience in Taiwan.