Project:

The Effect of Vegetation on the Biodiversity of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in a Freshwater Pond

Students:

Katelyn Roberts, Katelyn Schaefer, Julianna O'Neill

School:

Shoreham-Wading River High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Dana Schaefer

Abstract:

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are water-dwelling organisms that are vital to their surrounding ecosystem and environment. They can inhabit marine or freshwater environments. In this experiment, DNA barcoding will be used to identify the species extracted from the freshwater pond on the Shoreham-Wading River High-School campus. The samples will be collected using tools such as skimmers, long-handled steel round point shovels, and leaf packs. Barcoding the samples using DNA is necessary because it is difficult for taxonomic identification alone, as organisms in the same family appear similar, and it provides an accurate, reliable method of identification. Samples will be collected from the sediment (benthic) and water column. The overall goal for the experiment is to determine how the amount of vegetation affects the number of macroinvertebrates. The expected results for this study is that there will be a higher population of macroinvertebrates in vegetated areas than non-vegetated areas in

Poster:

Team samples: