Project:

Biodiversity of Algae at Garvies Point

Students:

Jaida Ciampi, Virginia Graziosi

School:

Glen Cove High School,

Mentors:

Kerry Bunyan

Abstract:

Bioindicators are organisms used for assessing the health and cleanliness of an environment. It is imperative to use bioindicators such as algae to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems, as these bioindicators respond to environmental pollution. In this research experiment, algae, a vital photosynthetic organism, will be collected. The collection will occur at two ponds, a vernal and a spring fed pond in Garvies Point, sampled from the water and logs or rocks surrounding the pond. Contaminants were found at Garvies Point in the past, and since then a groundwater remediation system was put in place. The species of the algae will be identified to determine the health of the aquatic environment using the rbCL gene found in chloroplasts, a gene commonly used to identify different plant species. It is hoped to find correlations between the species of algae and the health of the environment, using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to amplify the gene and gel electrophoresis to visualize

Poster:

Team samples: