Project:

Ant Biodiversity Within the Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology Center Serving as Indicators of Harmful Substances to Humans

Students:

Carlo Costigliola, Ceania Gonzales

School:

Patchogue-Medford High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Jennifer Gatz

Abstract:

The Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology Center is a former landfill converted into a hub for recreation and education, subject to frequent visits from people of the Town of Brookhaven area. The presence of pollutants in the area's environment, however, is possible, with similar landfill-turned-parks on Long Island also having issues with pollution. In this campaign, we aim to collect ant specimens from three locations at the center, measuring the phenotypic and genotypic differences of each location's collected specimen, the second via DNA Barcoding. Then, the status of ants as an indicator species will allow for the possible effects of pollutants on the biodiversity of each location to be seen. More importantly, the effects of these pollutants on human health can be discovered, again from the ants' status as an indicator species.

Poster:

Team samples: