Project:

How does the use of pesticides affect the biodiversity of any species located on residential properties in Northport, NY?

Students:

Erin Navas, Emma DeMarco

School:

Northport High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Bryan Horan

Abstract:

Ants are small insects that typically form colonies or nest in lawns or in structures. Ants can damage the lawns by loosening the soil, or eating plants. In addition, each ant species could potentially cause problems if they invade your house. Homeowners will often apply pesticides to their lawn to help rid of these pests. The purpose of our Long Island DNA Barcoding research project is to determine which species of ants are present on lawns in a residential development. Ultimately, we want to answer the question: Does the use of pesticides affect the abundance and biodiversity of the ant species living in a specific environment? We hypothesize that lawns treated with pesticides will have fewer ant species than untreated lawns.

Poster:

Team samples: