Project:

Exploring Biodiversity of Spiders Through DNA Barcoding of Cobwebs

Students:

Amina Bektasevic, Momi Sultana, Samantha Batista, Jarely Sabater

School:

High School for Health Professions and Human Services, Manhattan

Mentors:

Rocheli Apilan

Abstract:

Biodiversity is very essential in our everyday life. Every organism plays a role in maintaining our planet. The role of spiders is very important in keeping biodiversity. They stabilize the population of insects in our ecosystem. In this research, we will examine the biodiversity of spiders using DNA barcoding. This experiment will give a better understanding in the biodiversity of spiders in our homes. In addition to using DNA barcoding, we will use phenotype and genotype, since extracting DNA from the web can be difficult. In this experiment, we hope to learn more about biodiversity and how we can protect it. Biodiversity is a big part of our world and it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves about it.

Poster:

Team samples: