Project:

Ant biodiversity in Westchester county, NY

Students:

Haley Hamers, Aishwarya Punnoose, Maura McCormack

School:

The Ursuline School, Other

Mentors:

Oxana Litvine

Abstract:

Ants (Family Formicidae), a part of the order hymenoptera, are known to be one of the most abundant organisms on earth, populating almost the entire world excluding Antarctica. Ants are an essential aspect to the ecosystem, as they are important in organic decomposition, the dispersion of seeds, and are an important food source for many species. We aim to better understand the biodiversity of ants in Westchester County by utilizing iNaturalist. Furthermore, we aim to use different techniques of species identification including field guide identification and DNA barcoding.

Poster:

Team samples: