Project:

A look at invertebrate biodiversity in East River Park compared to Stuyvesant Cove through taxonomy and DNA barcoding

Students:

Evan Farley, Roxanna Delgado

Institution:

Bard High School Early College, Manhattan

Mentors:

Ayse Aydemir

Abstract:

This project will investigate the relative invertebrate biodiversity of East River Park compared to Stuyvesant Cove in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Using invertebrates collects from the same traps, both taxonomy and DNA barcoding will be used to compare results. Shannon's Index and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test will be used to quantify the data. Stuyvesant Cove is expected to have higher levels of biodiversity because it is closed off to the public compared to the open-access of East River Park.

Poster:

Team samples: