We are thrilled to announce that Bridget Murphy has been awarded the Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) at the AGU 2024 conference for their exceptional poster presentation, “Contrasting Phenotypic Plasticity of Photosynthesis and Xylem Architecture in Response to Summer Warming and Drought in a Slow-Growing and Fast-Growing Family of Field-Grown White Spruce.”
Bridget’s work was recognized with the Forest Ecophysiology Outstanding Poster Presentation Award, followed by the OSPA which is conference wide, a remarkable achievement at one of the world’s largest gatherings of Earth and space scientists. Held in Washington, D.C., from December 9-13, AGU 2024 brought together over 25,000 researchers from more than 100 countries to explore the theme “What’s Next for Science.”
Bridget’s participation in AGU was made possible by the Graduate Student Research Award from the Centre for Global Change Science at the University of Toronto.
Their research, conducted in collaboration with co-authors from the Ensminger Lab, examined how white spruce seedlings from fast- and slow-growing families respond to summer drought and warming in a common garden experiment at the Koffler Scientific Reserve. Despite experiencing temperatures up to 34.5°C and soil moisture as low as 16.3%, white spruce seedlings demonstrated resilience across both growth strategies. Their findings highlight that family differences played a stronger role in shaping growth and xylem development than environmental conditions like summer warming or drought.
Congratulations to Bridget on this well-deserved recognition! 🎉
