The Galapagos Science Center on San Cristobal, Galapagos (Photo courtesy of GSC)
UNC doctoral student Sarah McGlothlin will spend the next year leading original research at the Galapagos Science Center, a research facility co-founded and co-operated by UNC-Chapel Hill and Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She isn’t a marine biologist or an oceanographer, though. McGlothlin is a social worker and one of the inaugural Kenan Galapagos Fellows.
Sarah McGlothlin (Photo submitted by subject)
The impact of climate change on maternal health
Her research will examine how climate change affects maternal health in the Galapagos’ San Cristobal Island, which is a medically underserved and geographically isolated region. Specifically, McGlothlin will be studying how climate-induced stressors — like temperature fluctuations, pollution and water quality issues — influence community resilience and how that impacts maternal health.
“My research will use a culturally co-designed process and explore the local maternal care landscape, including home visiting programs, through which I’m hoping to identify gaps in maternal care and the unique ways that environmental stressors impact maternal health,” said McGlothlin. “Then, based on the needs that emerge, I hope to conduct a readiness assessment to determine the feasibility of merging a home visiting program with environmental health support to strengthen maternal well-being within the community.”
McGlothlin joins Hanna Brosky and Isabel Silva as the first cohort for the Kenan Galapagos Fellows Program, launching this fall. The program, which seeks to propel research in the Galapagos around pressing global challenges, was established thanks to a $1.5 million grant to the UNC Center for Galapagos Studies from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
Hanna Brosky (Photo submitted by subject)
Urinary tract infections from contaminated water
Like McGlothlin, Brosky is also studying human health in the Galapagos. A PhD student in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Brosky will seek to understand urinary tract infection transmission in relation to contaminated drinking water.
Brosky isn’t new to the Galapagos Science Center, as she spent the past year analyzing a subset of water samples for uropathogens from households in San Cristobal Island. She focused on the presence of E. coli in the drinking water and worked in collaboration with the local water treatment plant.
Brosky hopes that by improving the understanding of waterborne UTI infections in the region, her findings can help researchers mitigate antimicrobial resistance and further the understanding of UTI risk factors.
“Research on urinary tract infections and environmental health must be purposefully designed to integrate efforts from governments, hospitals and laboratories,” said Brosky. “By fostering these critical local collaborations, this work will advance our understanding of UTI transmission and antibiotic resistance, contributing to more effective public health strategies.”
Isabel Silva (Photo by Johnny Andrews)
Climate change’s impact on marine food webs
Silva has studied marine communities in the Galapagos for the past seven years. In that time, she has accomplished over 400 scuba dives in the process of setting up and maintaining underwater field experiments.
Her PhD research is focused on improving the understanding of how primary producers, or organisms that convert light energy to organic matter, respond to factors like ocean warming and the broader implications of these responses on nearshore habitats.
Silva is studying Galapagos seaweed communities, which are considered the base of the food chain because they fulfill the pivotal role of being a food source for herbivorous aquatic species. Marine iguanas, turtles, fish and sea urchins all consume seaweed and, in turn, become food for top predators in the ecosystem. Silva’s work will investigate how ocean temperature, directly and indirectly, influences algal communities.
“It is crucial to understand the effects of rising temperatures in coastal habitats, as responses of marine organisms can be species-specific,” said Silva. “In seaweeds, warming can lead to physiological stress, disrupting key metabolic processes like growth, respiration and photosynthetic activity. Investigating how these changes cascade through food webs and affect ecosystem function is essential, as it can ultimately influence human livelihoods.”
Galapagos ocean temperatures are predicted to warm by 2-4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Silva hopes her work will provide insight into the near-term changes that might occur in this marine system.
A model for understanding
The initial Kenan Galapagos Fellows Program research projects span disciplines, yet all aim to help build healthy ecosystems on a changing planet. The geographically isolated, biodiverse nature of the Galapagos Islands makes the region an important model for understanding similarly challenged environments around the world. As a result, the center offers unique opportunities for researchers to enhance their understanding of the ocean, biodiversity, ecosystems and human health.
“This fellowship program and support from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust provide excellent opportunities for UNC graduate students to conduct innovative science in one of the world’s most iconic places and to bring their research results back to local and global communities, helping to address the most critical challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Amanda Thompson, director of the UNC Center for Galapagos Studies and co-director of the Galapagos Science Center. “We are deeply grateful for this funding that will help propel our work forward and increase our knowledge through research, education and community outreach.”
Written by Audrey Smith
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