Project:

Invertebrates in the Peconic River

Students:

Alex Madlinger, Sean Doherty, Bennett Leselrod, Kevin Ackerman

School:

Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Robert Bolen

Abstract:

We will be using the CO1 gene in the mitochondria because it is found in most organisms, and it mutates a lot to show recent versions of each organism. This gene can reveal the identity of organisms and reveal taxonomic relationships. There are thousands of CO1 sequences available for comparison which can help in the accurate identification of organisms. If we DNA barcode the different species, we collected then we will be able to correctly identify these organisms, compare the DNA between organisms, and determine relationships between organisms. DNA barcoding allows us to identify species in the Peconic River, identify novel species, and document the biodiversity of the Peconic River. We expect the results of our samples to indicate the taxonomy of the samples collected. We may even expect to see a novel DNA sequence that has not yet been identified.

Poster:

Team samples: