Project:

Biodiversity in the Peconic River

Students:

John Buerkel, Tyler Haug, Brad Governale

School:

Eastport South Manor HS, Suffolk

Mentors:

Robert Bolen

Abstract:

Pollution in the Peconic River can not only affect the surrounding ecosystem but also have negative health effects on the surrounding human population. Our goal, along gathering a general baseline of biodiversity for the river, is to determine if any of the species found are directly or indirectly hazardous to human health, or are beneficial in removing excess nitrogen from the river. This goal requires us to use DNA barcoding as a mean to identify the species we’ve gathered so that we can determine if they have any documented effects on their ecosystem. We gathered several species from the Peconic river, aquatic and terrestrial to determine their effects on the environment.

Poster:

Team samples: