Project:

Biodiversity of Fungi in Northern New Jersey

Students:

Nikhil Jathavedam, Justin Byun

School:

Tenafly HS, Other

Mentors:

anat firnberg

Abstract:

With 144,000 species, the diverse fungi kingdom takes part in most ecosystems as a key decomposer, aiding in the .absorption and transfer of nutrients, modification of the soil environment, and modification of plant interactions with biota. Basidiomycota (fruiting fungi) are the main indicators of fungi in this research because they are easily observed and collected. The data collection will be organized, and aided by GPS trackers and video cameras. Using the coordinates of the samples and the transect lines, we plan to produce graphs illustrating the sample location. We will predict the species of the fungi using a computer app before the DNA analysis. Using DNA analysis, our group plans to reveal the biodiversity of fungi in New Jersey by identifying the species of fungi found in the woods using Bioinformatics analysis of the DNA sequences of our samples

Poster:

Team samples: