This study was intended to identify the impact of salt concentrations on the diversity of Antarctic microbial taxa. Lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valley(MDV) of Antarctica are permanently covered with 3-5 meters of ice and have substantially increasing salt concentrations as the depth increases in the lakes. Salinity is a harsh stressor for most organisms […]
A43: Actinobacteria and Their Link to Unique Microbial Ecosystems in the Taylor Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Extremophiles, organisms that live in environments outside of the conditions that are well suited to life, need incredible amounts of adaptation to survive. One of the most extreme environments on earth are the lakes in the Taylor Dry Valleys in Antarctica. These lakes are subject to the polar night, as well as increased radiation.Low precipitation […]
A28: The Impact of Elevated Salinity on Palmelloid Formation and Disruption in Chlamydomonas Species
Soil salinity is a foreign term to most, yet it is now a global issue. With an increase in farming and irrigation worldwide, soil salinity is stunting crop growth and inhibiting its ability to produce viable yields. Salt exposure to photosynthetic organisms can severely inhibit their growth rate and cause cell damage, however, mesophilic green […]
C29: MBI575: Attachment of Bacteria to Algae as an Adaptation to Salt Stress in Antarctic Lakes
Antarctic lakes are extreme environments. Contrary to temperate lakes, they never mix and hence present a permanent stratification, following gradients of different abiotic factors such as salt that increases with depth. As the nutrients are very limiting in such environments, the biological communities are dominated by autotrophic organisms that fix the inorganic carbon and make […]
A53: The Effects of Male Competition and Lighting Conditions on Courtship and Copulation Success in Rabidosa rabida (Araneae: Lycosidae)
My study focused on the ecology and behavior of the wolf spider, Rabidosa rabida. Many species of wolf spiders serve an important biocontrol function in agricultural systems. Understanding wolf spider population regulation mechanisms may be important to discerning their biocontrol function. One important regulatory mechanism, copulation success, could impact population size, growth, and density. My […]
A66: Consequences of Lake Browning on Ectoparasite Prevalence and Location on Centrarchid Fish
Lake browning, or an increase in terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) entering a lake, can result in decreases in that lake’s water transparency. Decreases in water transparency may cause a reduction in underwater exposure to damaging ultraviolet radiation (UV). Centrarchid fish are known to host a variety of external parasites that are sensitive to […]
B10: Longterm Effects of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and Deer on Forest Floor Plant Composition
The negative impacts of overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and invasive species in deciduous forests have been well documented. However, their combined impacts are less understood. We tested the impacts of 11 years of exclusion of deer and removal of the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) on forest floor plant composition in deciduous forests […]
B29-P: MBI 475: An Adventure with Antarctic Enrichment Cultures in Extreme Shade
Lake Fryxell is a perennially ice-covered lake located in the McMurdo Dry Valley, Antarctica. Due to harsh conditions such as low temperature and light, its food web is composed entirely of microbes. In this project, the goal was to investigate the composition of Lake Fryxell’s microbial communities when placed under extreme shade as the abiotic […]
B33-P: The Effects of Heat Stress on an Antarctic Microbial Community
Our research involved enrichment culture samples collected from Lake Bonney in Antarctica. From these sample cultures our research group conducted two separate experiments: how does heat treatment affect the growth, physiology, and diversity of the microbial communities?, and are the isolated bacteria from these samples psychrophilic or psychrotolerant? For the first research project, OD600, countess, […]
C29-P: Nutrient Deficiency Treatment on an Enrichment Culture from Lake Fryxell
Novel bacteria taken from the Antarctic lake, specifically from Lake Fryxell is tested under a nutrient deficient stress with the purpose of learning about the diversity of microbial communities. The goal of the research is to observe the community structure under nutrient deficient conditions and how these conditions affect the original enrichment culture. The growth […]