Project:

A Temporal Investigation into Aquatic Macroinvertebrate biodiversity in the Massapequa preserve using innovative DNA barcode tec

Students:

Vincent Apap, Liv Vertescger, Laurel Heilbronn, Gabriel Garcia

School:

Massapequa High School Ames, Nassau

Mentors:

August Eberling

Abstract:

The Massapequa preserve is a commonly used ground, filled with biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Biodiversity is important because it creates a more resilient ecosystem. The research question that is being asked is how do humans influence biodiversity. The objective of this experiment is to collect samples of aquatic invertebrates and use them to determine the biodiversity of the area. To do this, 9 different organisms were collected by entering the preserve in waist high waders and using a net to catch any possible macro-invertabrates and then putting them into test tubes filled with ethyl alcohol. In this experiment, we use a process called taxonomic identification. Our tubes were then brought to Cold Spring harbor lab to be DNA barcoded. After this process, DNA barcoding will be used to determine the genetic code and level of biodiversity of the collected aquatic invertebrates.

Poster:

Team samples:

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