Project:

Effects of human disturbance on moss biodiversity in Central Park

Students:

Sadie Waldron, James Cannon

Institution:

Manhattan Center for Science and Math, Manhattan

Mentors:

Lydia Paradiso

Abstract:

Mosses are small, nonvascular, spore-bearing land plants. Mosses bind to metals at the cell surface which makes them an excellent indicator of environmental pollution. We will visit several sites in Central Park with varying levels of human disturbance and record the species and numbers of mosses in each. Then, we will use statistical methods to determine whether there is a measurable effect of human disturbance on moss biodiversity. We will also compare three different methods for identification: DNA barcoding, iNaturalist, and morphology.

Poster:

Team samples: