NEVBD-TEC Summer Internship Program

 As my internship with Suffolk County Vector Control comes to an end, I have had the chance to look back at how much I have learned throughout the summer. Over the past several weeks, I have participated in mosquito and tick surveillance, nekton trapping, vegetation sampling, and other fieldwork that has given me a much better understanding of both vector control and environmental science. During the final part of the internship, we continued working with many of the sampling methods we had learned earlier in the summer. By this point, activities like mosquito and tick sampling had become much more familiar. Instead of focusing only on learning how to perform each procedure, I was able to pay more attention to the environmental conditions around us and understand why we were collecting the information in the first place. One of the biggest things I learned this summer was how unpredictable fieldwork can be. Weather constantly affected our schedule, and conditions could look complet...

As the internship continued, I was able to build on the field skills I developed during the first month while being introduced to several new projects. By this point, I felt much more comfortable with the sampling techniques we had learned, which allowed me to focus more on understanding why we collect the information and how it contributes to public health decisions. One of the highlights of this part of the internship was participating in nekton sampling. We set fish traps, identified the species we collected, and recorded our observations. Before this internship, I had never considered how fish populations could be connected to mosquito habitats. It was interesting to see how aquatic ecosystems are monitored and how collecting information about these environments provides a broader understanding of the conditions that influence mosquito development. As we rotated back into mosquito and tick surveillance, I started noticing how much conditions could change from week to week. Altho...

       The first four weeks of my internship have introduced me to many different aspects of vector surveillance and shown me that every day in the field is different. Coming into the internship, I expected to spend most of my time collecting mosquitoes, but I quickly learned that the work involves much more than that. Between mosquito surveillance, tick sampling, and other field activities, I've been able to experience several sides of Suffolk County's vector control program.      Much of my first few weeks was spent assisting with mosquito surveillance. One thing that surprised me was how few mosquito larvae we were finding. Before starting, I assumed we would see large numbers at almost every site, but that wasn't the case. It made me realize how much weather and environmental conditions influence mosquito development and why consistent surveillance is necessary, even when populations appear low. Every trip into the field contributes to a better un...