Project:

A survey of Coquillettidia perturbans in Long Island

Students:

Julia Torres, Margo Rosh, Alisa Kelly

School:

Oyster Bay High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Steve Acquaro

Abstract:

Understanding the population of mosquitoes on Long Island is crucial for many reasons. DNA barcoding, aims to generate high-quality barcodes for a wide variety of species. Mosquito populations on Long Island are worth researching due to their role in disease transmission. We think there will be a significant difference over time between sprayed and untreated locations. We plan on collecting species from the New York Department of Health. These species will be sprayed and unsprayed contributing to BarcodeLI's initiative to document and catalog regional biodiversity. Environmental considerations are also notable as mosquitos of this kind play roles in our own local ecosystems serving as nutrition for other wildlife out there. Mosquitoes are difficult to identify because sometimes their morphology doesn’t really represent the species. By integrating detailed morphological analyses with COI barcode sequencing, this project aims to differentiate polymorphic and cryptic mosquito species.

Poster:

Team samples: