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Summer 2007 Research Projects
Susan Clayton, Psychology
Lyn Loveless, Biology
Rick Lehtinen,
Biology
Sharon Lynn, Biology
Melissa Schultz,
Chemistry
Michelle Solensky,
Biology
Susan Clayton, Psychology
General Area of Research: biology, sociology, political science
Project Description: The principal project will involve
surveying zoo visitors and observing their behavior, with the goal
of understanding their reactions to the animal exhibits and assessing
the implications for conservation attitudes. The project is designed
to assess the impact of different zoo exhibits on visitors' responses.
Several different types of exhibit will be examined, including some
innovative exhibits designed to encourage visitors to perceive similarities
between themselves and the animals (such as the Medical Center at
the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) as well as some more traditional exhibits
that merely put the animals on display (such as the seals and sea
lions, also at CMZ). Perceptions of the animals' similarity, vulnerability,
and conservation needs as well as respondents' emotional reactions
and feelings of connection will be assessed through questionnaires.
Visitors will be surveyed either before or after they have seen the
exhibit, so that a between-groups comparison can be made.
In a separate component of the study, observations will be made
of visitors' behaviors and comments while viewing the exhibit, with
a particular focus on expressions of sympathy or comparisons made
between the animals and humans.
It is probable that the project will include a trip to collect data
at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Students should be prepared to spend
about a week in New York for this purpose.
Students researchers will conduct the survey and make behavioral
observations. In addition to data collection and coding, students
will participate in a review of the literature. No specific training
is required, although courses in psychological statistics and including
a research methods component will be preferred. Familiarity with
literature search strategies and with Microsoft Excel are also helpful.
Students must be reliable, and able to conduct behavioral research
in an ethical and unbiased way. They have to be comfortable and professional
approaching strangers and soliciting participation in the survey.
As representatives of the College doing research in non-College settings,
they are expected to know how to be careful and responsible. psychology,
sociology, biology, political science Two summers of EAA research
( in 2005 and 2006). Both of these involved collecting data in zoos,
and one of them included travel to New York and to Chicago. EAA research
assistants conducted surveys and behavioral observations, as well
as working on literature reviews and doing data coding. In 2004,
I had a sophomore research assistant who participated in surveying
at an OARDC lawn-care seminar and at a local garden center.
Student Skills/Courses Required: No courses required, though experience with social science research methods and data analysis would be preferred. Students must have good interpersonal skills and be comfortable approaching strangers in a
public location to solicit research participation.
Lyn Loveless, Biology
General Area of Research: Evolutionary biology, Plant/Animal
interactions, Conservation biology, Population genetics
Project Description: This project will investigate
the interactions between a desert shrub, Erythrina flabelliformis, and
its hummingbird visitors/pollinators. The study will take
place completely off-campus, in SE Arizona, and the research will
be based at the Southwestern Research Station, in Portal, AZ. Study
sites are in the Chiricahua and the Santa Rita Mountains of SE
Arizona. This work will be done in collaboration with Dr.
Susan Wethington, director of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. The
questions we ask examine both the plant and the animal consequences
of this pollination system. From the perspective of the plant,
we will quantify the flowering behavior, nectar production, and
pollen presentation of individuals. We will measure visits
by hummingbirds, asking if different species visit this plant differentially. If
so, is that differential visitation a function of bird size or
beak length? Do different visitors remove or deposit different
pollen loads on stigmas, and, if so, can we conclude that some
species are more “effective” pollinators than others? From
the perspective of the hummingbirds, our central question is, how
important is Erythrina flabelliformis as a nectar source,
relative to other species of plants flowering at the same time
(such as Agave or Fouqueria)? How much nectar
does it provide, who uses it, and how might it contribute to the
breeding biology and population density of hummingbirds in this
region? The student will be involved in measuring flowering
patterns of the plant, making nectar samples, performing experimental
pollinations, quantifying visitor movement, and observing hummingbird
visits to this and other co-flowering species.
STUDENTS WILL NEED TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM TUCSON, ARIZONA,
FOR THIS PROJECT.
Student Skills/Courses Required: The student should
have completed either Bio 210 and 230 OR Bio 101 and 202.
In addition, it would be helpful (but not required) to have had
any of the following
-upper-level
courses :Field Botany, Population and Community -Ecology, Natural
History of the Vertebrates, or Evolution
-Students should have a valid drivers license and be willing to
drive in rustic conditions.
-Students should have a respect for, but no phobias about, rattlesnakes.
-Students should be willing to work long hours, beginning at 5:00
am or earlier, in hot,
dry conditions.
-Students should have a positive perspective, be well-organized,
and be
responsible
and highly self-motivated in carrying out duties.
Rick Lehtinen, Biology
General Area of Research: ecology, conservation biology,
wildlife diversity, environmental impacts, declining amphibians Blanchard
s cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) is a species of conservation
concern in Ohio. While formerly common in the state, in recent years
it has disappeared from many areas where it formerly occurred. My
research involves documenting the current conservation status and
distribution of this species and assessing hypotheses related to
its decline. Most of these hypotheses have to do with human-induced
environmental changes (e.g., habitat loss, pesticide impacts, climate
change, etc.) and therefore students will be involved in documenting
and assessing these environmental changes on a native amphibian species.
Project Description:
This project has two primary aims. The first is to conduct field
surveys for Blanchard s cricket frog in western Ohio. My students
and I have been monitoring 325 ponds, lakes and streams for cricket
frogs in western Ohio since 2004. In the summer of 2007, we will
again re-visit these sites to listen for calling males and assess
the status of each population. Students will help conduct these field
surveys and record the data from each site visit. These long-term
monitoring data will allow a rigorous assessment of the conservation
status of this species in Ohio. In addition, more basic scientific
questions regarding temporal and spatial population dynamics and
the nature of geographic range boundaries can be addressed.
The second aim of this project is to conduct controlled experiments
with cricket frog tadpoles in aquatic mesocosms (cattle tanks). These
experiments (which will take place in Wooster and which students
will help plan, set-up, monitor and analyze) will assess various
aspects of the ecology of the larval stage of the cricket frog life
cycle. Foremost among these will be behavioral and morphological
responses to predators and the impact of pesticides on survival and
development.
By participating in field surveys and conducting detailed experiments,
students participating in this program will have an intensive summer
research experience in the fields of ecology and conservation biology.
Willingness to be away from campus and be outdoors for extended periods.
Willingness to camp in tents and work in a team. Good map reading
skills a plus. Attention to detail a must. Ideally at least one of
the students would be at least 21 years of age (to allow the legal
use of rental vehicles).
Student Skills/Courses Required: Familiarity with
ecological survey methodology or experimental design is a plus. No
particular courses are required but any of the following would be
advantageous (BIOL 101, 202, 230, 311, 350, 356, or 401).
Although Biology majors are perhaps best suited, the subject matter and methods
are straight-forward enough that a motivated student of nearly any major with
the skills above could succeed. In the first year of the EAA program (2005),
I advised three students through the eight week summer program. The project in
2005 (and the role of the students) was very similar to the project proposed
above, with less focus on experiments. I have also had two sophomore research
assistants during the summer (one in 2004 and one in 2006). Both of these students
were primarily involved in assisting with the cricket frog field surveys in western
Ohio. In addition, many of my I.S. students conduct summer research for their
I.S. projects. Since the summer of 2004, I have supervised nine I.S. students
who have conducting their research during the summer. Most of these projects
have been field-based or experimental projects related to amphibian ecology (although
a few have been on other organisms). A number of these have been or are being
considered for publication in the scientific literature (e.g., Lehtinen and Skinner
2006; Lehtinen and Mycoff, in review).
Lehtinen, R.M. and A.A. Skinner. 2006. The enigmatic decline of
Blanchard s cricket frog: a test of the habitat acidification hypothesis.
Copeia 2006:159-167.
Lehtinen, R.M. and L.J. Mycoff. (in review) Palatability and anti-predator
behavior of cricket frog (Acris crepitans) tadpoles to fish. Journal
of Herpetology.
Sharon Lynn, Biology
General Area of Research: Environmental endocrinology; hormone-behavior interactions in wildsongbirds. (Specifically, my work focuses on stress physiology and reproductive biology).
Project Description:
Environmental endocrinology; stress, aggression, and parental care
in birds. This summer s fieldwork will be a continuation of an ongoing
project incorporating physiological measures of stress and reproductive
function into a larger study of breeding behavior and reproductive
success in eastern bluebirds in Northeast Ohio.
The Eastern bluebird is a cavity-nesting songbird that has suffered
population declines in this region as a consequence of increasing
development and competition from invasive species. However, because
bluebirds will readily nest in man-made nest boxes, a significant
effort is underway in Ohio to place nest boxes in appropriate bluebird
breeding habitat to accommodate bluebirds. Through local contacts,
I have secured access to over 50 established nest boxes in Wayne,
Ashland, and Huron counties to conduct the work described below.
In the summer of 2006, several College of Wooster students and I
banded over 70 eastern bluebirds nesting in these boxes, and I hope
to increase the population of birds marked with bands for individual
identification this year.
Students may choose among or collaborate on a variety of projects
that integrate ecology, behavior, and physiology of eastern bluebirds.
The overarching goal of this work is to understand the impact of
environmental perturbations on stress responsiveness and reproductive
physiology/behavior in Eastern Bluebirds. Some possible student projects
are listed below:
1. Establishing and maintaining a new bluebird trail.
A family member of one of my former research students has provided
us with 21 new bluebird nest boxes. One of the major project goals
for this summer s work is to use these boxes to establish a new
bluebird trail that will be monitored and maintained by College
of Wooster students. We will do this in collaboration with Dean
Sheldon, a founding member of the Ohio Bluebird Society. The work
will include monitoring these boxes on a regular basis, record
nesting data, banding birds, and relocating boxes as appropriate.
2. Investigating the relationship of testosterone and territorial
aggression in males. The primary goal of this project is to determine
whether perturbations such as territorial challenges by non-resident
males can induce a surge in testosterone secretion. This may provide
important information about placement of nest boxes in the future,
as surges in testosterone are well known to enhance territorial behavior,
but also disrupt parental care by males in many species of birds.
In addition, the information we gain about males physiological responses
to territorial intrusions by other males will inform a variety of
future projects. This work will involve setting up simulated territorial
intrusions (using a decoy and song playback), recording behavior,
capturing birds, and collecting small blood samples.
3. Characterizing the physiological response to stress as the breeding
season progresses. Last summer, we collected a great deal of data
that allowed us to characterize the hormonal response to stress of
eastern bluebirds (males and females) that were feeding young. This
year, I hope to expand this work to include additional stages of
breeding (e.g., incubation of eggs) and to include additional measures
of stress physiology, such as binding protein levels. This work will
include capturing birds at nesting sites and conducting a standardized
capture/handling protocol, which includes banding and measuring birds
and collecting small blood samples.
4. Investigating whether a bird s physiological response to stress
correlates with its behavioral response to novelty.
We have data indicating that bluebirds show a great deal of variation
in their physiological response to a short-term, standardized stressor
(capture/handling) and also show a great deal of variation in their
behavioral response to a novel object placed on their nestboxes.
We are interested in whether these two variables are related. That
is, do birds that show greater wariness towards a novel object have
a different stress response than birds that are more bold? This project
will be an extension of a project initiated last year. This project
would involve behavioral observations as well as capture/handling
as described above. Results of this project may provide us with useful
information regarding how birds respond to change, or novelty, in
the environment, and may be used to inform management decisions for
bluebirds.
Given the unpredictable nature of fieldwork, we will most certainly
need to be opportunistic about the data we collect, and I expect
new questions to arise as the summer progresses. I see this work
as an excellent opportunity to apply physiological techniques to
solve a variety of problems in a species of regional and local concern,
and to involve Wooster students in field research.
Student Skills/Courses Required: Summer students will be expected to conduct behavioral observations in the field, find nests and check nest status on a regular basis, and assist with banding birds and collecting blood samples for hormone analysis. Because they breed in nest boxes, finding and monitoring nests is fairly easy, and repeated measurements of nestlings and adults are possible. Students may also conduct lab work, including optimization of hormone assays for this species.
Required student skills: Prior experience with fieldwork is a plus, but not a requirement. Students will not be required to have developed skills in bird capture, handling, or blood collection techniques. Because fieldwork with animals is rarely predictable, my biggest concern is that students demonstrate some measure of flexibility and patience.
Required courses: Introduction to the Biology of Organisms (BIO 210) and Introduction to Populations (BIO 230).
Preferred (but not required) courses: preference will be given to students who have taken at least one upper level physiology course, (e.g., Comparative Animal Physiology,BIO 344; Vertebrate Reproductive Biology, BIO 399; or Neurobiology, BIO 380) and/or a course in which behavioral observation techniques are emphasized (e.g., Ethology/Behavioral Ecology, BIO 352).
Melissa Schultz, Chemistry
General Area of Research: Environmental toxicology
(a broad field of study encompassing the production, fate, and effects
of natural and synthetic pollutants in the environment), environmental
chemistry
Project Description: The primary research goal(s)
of the following proposed projects aim at trying to assess what role
wastewater treatment plays in introducing contaminants into the environment.
Wastewater effluent is a primary route into the environment for introducing
pharmaceuticals and personal care products that are often not removed
by conventional wastewater treatment. These untreated chemicals,
often biologically active, that aquatic and terrestrial environments
(e.g. via wastewater effluent, septic discharge or land application
of biosolids) may negatively impact metabolic pathways of the ecosystem
s organisms. Subsequent human exposure may occur through several
pathways through which contaminants may enter vegetation including,
irrigation with reclaimed water or land application of biosolids
as fertilizer. The latter is especially a concern for this region
of Ohio where there is a large percentage of the economy based on
the agricultural industry.
The students can choose from the following projects that investigate
different aspects of wastewater contaminants in the environment.
1. How suspectible are aquatic organisms living in receiving waters
to wastewater conaminants?
Previous research has indicated feminization and even intersex of
fish living downstream of wastewater treatment plants. Student(s)
involved in this project can choose a wastewater contaminant (e.g.
triclosan) or a class of wastewater contaminants (e.g. antibiotics)
to study in fish and mussel tissues collected from sites that have
wastewater and/or industrial influence. (I have acquired these samples
through collaborations with the U.S. Geological Survey). The only
condition is that the wastewater contaminants must be analyzed with
instrumentation available at the College of Wooster. The extractions
of the contaminants from fish and/or mussel tissues will be performed
by accelerated solvent extraction, and then the extracts will be
analyzed most likely by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The
overall goal(s) of this research project is to better understand
the occurrence of wastewater contaminants and the threat they pose
to aquatic organisms living in these ecosystems.
2) Do food crops irrigated with reclaimed water or fertilized with
biosolids pose a threat to humans?
Previous studies have indicated that accumulation by plants is an
important step for the transfer of toxic contaminants into the terrestrial
food chain/web. Plants and vegetables harvested with a certain quantity
of contamination may be consumed by humans or by livestock that further
serve as food for humans. Understanding the process of contaminant
accumulation by plants is essential to assessing crop contamination
and subsequent human exposure.
Student(s) involved in this project can choose a wastewater contaminant
or a class of wastewater contaminants to study the potential for
plant uptake. Controlled exposure experiments where the student will
grow plants (or use starts) exposing plants, specifically food crops
like radishes and lettuce, to: a) a spiking solution of the wastewater
contaminant of choice, b) Wooster wastewater effluent, c) Wooster
biosolids, and d) nothing (controls). After a set time, these plants
will be harvested and analyzed. Designated plants will be homogenized
and analyzed whole, and the remaining plants will separated into
specific plant compartment and then analyzed. The plant extractions
will be performed with the accelerated solvent extractor, and the
extracts will be analyzed most likely by gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry. The overall goal of this research project is to better
understand plant uptake of wastewater contaminants, specifically
in food crops, since it is a possible route of human exposure.
3) How does the wastewater disinfection treatment affect the formation
of disinfection byproducts?
Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are chemical, organic and inorganic
substances that can form during a reaction of a disinfectant, such
as chlorine, with naturally present organic matter in the water during
wastewater and/ or drinking water treatment. Often many of these
DBPs are toxic. The town of Wooster is presently upgrading their
wastewater treatment facility, including changing the disinfection
process from a chlorine-based treatment to an ultra violet (UV) disinfection
process. UV light has long been acknowledged as a means of disinfection
because of its ability to kill bacteria by penetrating their outer
membrane and impairing proper DNA function, and it creates no harmful
disinfection byproducts.
A student involved in this project will choose a class of DBPs,
adapt an existing analytical method for analysis. With the method,
the student will perform a survey of DBPs in wastewater water effluents
of surrounding communities that use conventional chlorine-based disinfection
as compared to the City of Wooster s plant which uses UV disinfection.
The overall goal of this research project is to better understand
the role that disinfection processes plays in the creations of DBPs.
Student Skills/Courses Required: Skills: A
willingness to learn, patience, and self-motivation are probably
the most important skills required in a student. I can teach you
the instrumentation and the laboratory techniques, but I don't know
how to teach enthusiasm or patience.
Required courses: Intro Chemistry (CHEM 111 & 112)
Preferred (but not required): Analytical Chemistry ( CHEM 215),
Environmental Chemistry (CHEM 216) Chemistry, BMB, Biology
Michelle Solensky, Biology
General Area of Research: Monarch butterflies have
become an icon for conservation efforts, in part due to their susceptibility
to environmental disturbances that results from their reliance on
habitat for breeding, migration, and overwintering aggregations.
During the summer breeding season, monarchs rely on the availability
of milkweed plants, primarily common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).
Once found in native prairies, common milkweed now appears primarily
in roadside ditches and agricultural landscapes (although even those
populations are now declining due to the use of herbicide tolerant
GMOs such as Round-up Ready ® corn and soybeans). Natural enemies
reduce monarch survival from egg to adult to about 2-5 percent. Much
research has focused on the direct impact of humans on monarch survival
(e.g. Bt corn, degradation of overwintering sites in Mexico, pesticide
use), but few studies have investigated the indirect effects that
may result from anthropogenic changes in natural enemy populations
and behavioral ecology. I am interested in investigating the effects
of habitat type and level of disturbance on interactions between
monarchs and a tachinid fly parasitoid. Lespesia archippivora infection
rates of up to 80 percent have been reported, so this parasitoid
has the potential to significantly impact monarch populations. Very
little is known about its host location behavior or host preferences,
or whether habitat type or host plant characteristics affect host
selection or rates of parasitism. Parasitoid research has thus far
focused on Hymenopteran parasitoids, leaving many questions about
Dipteran parasitoids unanswered.
Project Description: TDuring the past two summers,
I have worked with four COW undergraduate researchers to locate and
map more than one hundred milkweed patches in Wayne county. During
the upcoming summer (2007), I plan to work with a new group of undergraduate
researchers to monitor these patches for monarch eggs and larvae
every 2-4 weeks. Upon finding monarch eggs and larvae, we will record
characteristics of the habitat and host plant, and then remove the
eggs and larvae to the lab so that we can rear them and record whether
any parasitoids eventually emerge. This will allow us to test for
correlations between parasitism and habitat or host plant characteristics.
We will also establish a parasitoid colony from the tachinid flies
collected from infected monarchs, which will enable us to orchestrate
interactions between tachinid fly parasitoids, their monarch hosts,
and milkweed host plants to investigate tri-trophic interactions
and parasitoid behavior. During the first several weeks of the summer,
students will assist with the regular monitoring of milkweed patches
and rearing of monarch larvae. Upon establishment of a parasitoid
colony, students will choose from a long list of possible research
questions related to plant-host-parasitoid interactions to develop
a short independent study. The two-week lifespan of a monarch larva
is particularly amenable to this kind of student investigation. Perseverance
in hot weather, commitment to daily care of live organisms, and an
interest in ecological and behavioral research. Preference will be
given to Biology majors, but I will also consider other interested
students including BMB, Chemistry and Psychology majors. During the
summer of 2005, I advised one HHMI Summer Research Scholar and one
Sophomore Research Assistant. Both sophomores at the time, Amy Smith
(HHMI) and Natalie Cope (SRA) surveyed Wayne county for milkweed
patches, and mapped over 100 sites that contained common milkweed
plants. Our main focus during that summer was a study of the effects
of male monarch wing coloration on mating frequency. Amy and Natalie
were involved in not only choosing the specific research question,
but also in developing the experimental design (including a method
for manipulating male wing coloration with permanent markers) and
learning to use a digital image analysis software package to measure
wing coloration. We found some interesting patterns, generated several
new questions that Amy pursued this year (2006-7) as her IS research,
and both students traveled with me to a national monarch butterfly
conference in California in December to present the results of this
study in a research poster. This work has been accepted for publication
in a peer-reviewed journal (Annals of the Entomological Society),
with both Amy and Natalie as co-authors. During the summer of 2006,
I advised two HHMI Summer Research Scholars (a mentor and early researcher
pair) and a Sophomore Research Assistant. Amy Smith (now a junior)
continued during this summer, serving as a mentor to Evan Slanczka,
a first-year student. Amy and Evan studied the effect of temperature
on the relationship between male monarch wing coloration and mating
success, a question suggested by the previous summer s research.
Beth, a sophomore, studied patterns of sperm transfer in male monarch
butterflies, working closely with two senior I.S. students who were
studying related questions. All three also surveyed milkweed patches
in Wayne County for monarch larvae, collected and reared them to
record rates of parasitism. Because this parasitoid research was
not our main focus, we were unable to collect a sufficient number
of larvae to identify statistical patterns in the habitat data.
Student Skills/Courses Required: Perseverance
in hot weather, commitment to daily care of live organisms, and an
interest in ecological and behavioral research.
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