Samantha Arsenault

Samantha Arsenault

Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawai'i Pacific University

Master's of Science in Marine Science Candidate

More

Haven't created any projects yet! 

Haven't backed any projects yet! 

Tags:

project milestoneshellsmalacologyclimate changeHawaiiupdateprogressisotopepaleontologyclimate sciencephotosmethodshawaiigrantconservationexplanationisotopesbackgroundstudy site
Published on Aug 02, 2022

Shells Shipped Out!

Aloha everyone! Sorry for the silence! We have some exciting news. Our shells have been sent out for isotope analysis! Half of our shells were shipped to UC Santa Cruz's Stable Isotope Laboratory f...

project milestone
shells
malacology
climate change
Hawaii
update
progress
isotope
Group 6 Copy 479
Published on Jun 29, 2022

Drying Out Our Shells!

Aloha everyone! We are just about ready to ship our shells to the UC Davis Stable Isotope Facility! At this facility, our shells will undergo 13C and 18O isotope analysis, giving us valuable inform...

malacology
shells
Hawaii
climate change
paleontology
update
climate science
progress
photos
methods
isotope
Group 6 Copy 381
Published on Jun 21, 2022

Support from the Conchologists of America

I am very excited to announce that our project has been selected to receive a $2,200 grant from the Conchologists of America to support our research! The Conchologists of America fund laboratory re...

malacology
shells
hawaii
paleontology
climate change
grant
update
conservation
Group 6 Copy 41
Published on Jun 14, 2022

Shell Preparation - Deep Cleaning!

Aloha everyone! We are hard at work cleaning our shells to prepare them for shipping and isotope analysis. Time for another shell update! We are planning on sending oru shells to the UC Davis Stabl...

shells
Hawaii
malacology
paleontology
climate change
progress
photos
update
explanation
methods
isotopes
project milestone
Group 6 Copy 49
Published on Jun 13, 2022

Shell Preparation - Bath Time!

Aloha everyone! Exciting news! We have begun preparing our shells for shipping! Each isotope facility requires shells be prepared in slightly different ways, but they all have one thing in common: ...

shells
Hawaii
climate science
paleontology
malacology
progress
photos
project milestone
climate change
update
explanation
methods
isotopes
Group 6 Copy 194
Published on May 24, 2022

Support from the Paleontological Society

Aloha everyone! I am very excited to announce that our project has been selected to receive a 2022 Student Research Grant from the Paleontological Society! Specifically, we have been selected to re...

Hawaii
paleontology
climate change
grant
update
conservation
Group 6 Copy 200
Published on May 22, 2022

Preliminary Raw Data - 18O and Precipitation

Aloha everyone! I wanted to share with you some more of our raw preliminary data. We conducted isotope analysis on six shells (of multiple genera) in Summer 2019, which have given us valuable infor...

climate change
isotopes
Hawaii
paleontology
shells
malacology
background
explanation
methods
Group 6 Copy 76
Published on May 19, 2022

Preliminary Raw Data - 13C and Vegetation

Aloha everyone! I wanted to share with you some of our raw preliminary data. We have conducted isotope analysis on six shells (of multiple genera), which have given us valuable information about wh...

climate change
Hawaii
paleontology
shells
malacology
isotope
background
explanation
methods
Group 6 Copy 114
Published on May 12, 2022

Our Study Site - Ka'ena Point State Park

Aloha everyone! I would like to tell you all about the beautiful location our shells were gathered from.Ka'ena Point State Park is located on the dry, western-most point of O'ahu, and features two ...

study site
malacology
Hawaii
photos
background
conservation
Group 6 Copy 74
Thank you for asking! For our project, we will be using stable isotope analysis to "look" at this site's ancient environment. Stable isotopes are a great way to examine prehistoric environments, and the use of isotopes derived from snail shells has been well-established in earlier studies. However, we will be the first project to use this method in the Hawaiian Islands! We will be looking at two stable isotopes in our project - 13C and 18O - as well as 14C. 13C tells us what type of vegetation our snails were feeding off of, which can help us determine what type of vegetation was dominant in the area at the time each individual snail was alive. Different types of vegetation thrive under different environmental conditions, so by knowing what was available in the area for our snails to eat, we will be able to determine environmental conditions with this method. 18O is linked to two environmental conditions - precipitation (rainfall and humidity) and temperature. Looking into the 18O data combined with 13C data, we can better determine what the environment was like for our snails when they were alive. 14C tells us how long ago each individual snail lived. With this data, we can place our environmental data into a timeline, and examine how these conditions changed over time. With all this environmental data, we will be able to "look" into the past, and examine how this area's climate was changing thousands of years ago!
May 21, 2022
Why did a prehistoric community of snails in Hawaii go extinct?
View comment