Project:

Examining Biodiversity in Wantagh Park

Students:

Geoffrey Chiu, Samantha Garbowski, Hannah Rojas, Marissa LaMuro

School:

Wantagh High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Casey Clark

Abstract:

Our team will collect different species of invertebrates from two locations in Wantagh Park to investigate how variations in human activity levels impact the biodiversity of invertebrate bugs. We will study one area near a playground where there is heavy foot traffic and another area that is surrounded by water where there is minimal human interaction. Two types of traps will be set up at each location to collect samples. DNA will then be extracted from the bugs using the COI gene to identify them, and then compare the number of species between the two areas, as we hypothesize that a higher rate of biodiversity will be found near the water because less human interference will allow more species to thrive and grow.

Poster:

Team samples:

See all samples for project