Makenna Tabino

Makenna Tabino will graduate from Eastern Washington University with a B.S. in Biology (Wildlife Management Track). As a Running Start student, she spent her last two years of high school attending EWU as a full-time student. She is passionate about ecology and conservation, especially in regards to wetlands. Some of her interests include restoration ecology, wetland management, and community (multi-species) interactions.

Summer 2023, Makenna worked on a research project with her mentor, department chair Dr. Rebecca Brown, to investigate the long-term effectiveness of aquatic mowing on maintaining wetland vegetative diversity. This project was in collaboration with the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited, led by manager of conservation programs Chris Bonsignore.

2023 EWU Faculty Research Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Brown

Research Title: Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam Removal in the Elwha River, WA, Through Soil Seed Bank Analysis

Abstract: Located in Olympic National Park, the Elwha River is the site of the largest dam removal project in the world. It is also the site of the second largest ecological restoration project in the history of the National Parks Service. Following dam removal, active restoration (seeding and planting) took place in terraces and valley walls, the two dominant landform types found in the former reservoir. While extensive research has been conducted surrounding the plant community in the former dam reservoirs, the soil seed bank remains an unexplored aspect of the area’s ecology. The objective of this project is to use the composition of the soil seed bank to determine the long-term effectiveness of seeding post-dam removal in the former Lake Mills reservoir. In the summer of 2023, soil seed bank samples were collected from 40 locations within the former Lake Mills. Each sample consists of eight 10-cm soil cores collected approximately 1 meter away from the perimeter of revegetation sampling plots. These samples are currently undergoing cold stratification; once the process is complete, they will be grown in the EWU greenhouse for a minimum of six months. The species richness and diversity of each sample will be recorded and compared with the observations of the 2023 revegetation survey

Another Great Summer of Research at McNair!

10/03/2024

The Eastern Washington University (EWU) McNair Scholars Program is proud to announce the successful completion of its 2024 Summer Research Internship. This year 11 participants engaged in a diverse range of research topics, from the experiences of women of color in math courses at EWU and censorship of radio around issues of sexuality in the … Read more

McNair Scholars Present at EWU’s 2024 Student Research & Creative Works Symposium

05/10/2024

EWU McNair is proud of our 6 scholars who presented at this year’s symposium. Since the beginning of the symposium at EWU in 1997, McNair has encouraged scholars to participate, either to present a prospectus of the their upcoming summer research, or to present research done in the last year. Presenting research is an excellent … Read more

McNair Scholars Makenna Tabino & Claudio Escalante Attend the 32nd Annual Murdock Conference

11/29/2023

Scholars Makenna Tabino and Claudio Escalante attended the invite-only 32nd Annual Murdock Conference, designed to advance “new knowledge in the natural sciences”. This year’s theme was One Brain: Neuroscience and Window into Mental Health, Co-hosted by Pacific University on November 10-11, 2023. Makenna Presented her Cattail Research Project, Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam … Read more

EWU McNair Scholar Makenna Tabino Completes Summer Research Internship

11/07/2023

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Makenna Tabino for completing her McNair Summer Research Internship! She worked with mentor & department chair Dr. Rebecca Brown on Makenna’s summer 2023 research, “Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam Removal in the Elwha River, WA, Through Soil Seed Bank Analysis“. Her research project is a collaboration with the nonprofit … Read more

McNair Scholars Connect with Research Librarians

06/16/2023

Dr. Liya Deng recently visited our classroom to inform McNair Scholars of all the research resources available at the EWU Library. Dr. Deng discussed using Research Guides, Databases A-Z, Academic Search Ultimate, and JSTOR, and best practices for key words and filters. Dr. Deng has always provided McNair Scholars with kind and generous support on … Read more

17 McNair Scholars Present at EWU’s 2023 Student Research & Creative Works Symposium

06/10/2023

On May 10, EWU held the 2023 Student Research and Creative Works Symposium. The Symposium is back in person since 2022, allowing excellent shared engagement as scholars discussed their research (both proposed and completed) with fellow students, faculty, and the EWU community. Many scholars shared their work in poster format in the PUB, while others … Read more

Makenna Tabino Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

06/09/2023

Congratulations to new McNair Scholar Makenna Tabino! Makenna was selected by the McNair Scholars’ selection committee on the basis of her passion for research, commitment to attaining a PhD, and overall potential for success in graduate school. The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU selects motivated and talented juniors and seniors who … Read more