Poster Sessions - 2018 Research Day

The Effects of Water pH on Dragonfly Nymph Richness

Type of Presentation

Poster Session

Location

CANCELLED

Start Date

4-6-2018 12:30 PM

End Date

4-6-2018 2:00 PM

Abstract

NOTE: This poster was cancelled by the author.

Dragonflies are known to be a good indicator species, which means that by observing the effects that the environment as well as human activities have on them, the general impact to other organisms in that habitat can also be assessed. Very few studies have examined the relationship between water pH and dragonfly diversity. The research that has been done has shown a general trend of increasing dragonfly richness (number of unique species) with increasing pH. This relationship has not been examined thoroughly for the life stage most impacted by the water quality, the dragonfly nymphs. This is due in part to difficulties in visual identification of nymphs. DNA analyses must be done in order to identify species within this stage and thus to determine the relationship that exists between pH and overall richness. To conduct this study, DNA barcoding is being used to identify nymph samples from 10 different ponds, between Indiana and Illinois, collected over the past 3 years. After the samples are identified, they will be correlated with pH values of the ponds sampled, which ranged from 7 to 11, in order to determine the relationship that exists between richness and pH. The hypothesis, based on the scarce research available on the topic, is that richness will be positively correlated with pH. This study aims to show how pond water pH affects dragonflies, which will increase the general knowledgebase of the impacts the environment has on them.

Identify Grant

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Scholar In Residence Fellowship.

Faculty / Staff Sponsor

Dr. Erin Grey-Avis

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Apr 6th, 12:30 PM Apr 6th, 2:00 PM

The Effects of Water pH on Dragonfly Nymph Richness

CANCELLED

NOTE: This poster was cancelled by the author.

Dragonflies are known to be a good indicator species, which means that by observing the effects that the environment as well as human activities have on them, the general impact to other organisms in that habitat can also be assessed. Very few studies have examined the relationship between water pH and dragonfly diversity. The research that has been done has shown a general trend of increasing dragonfly richness (number of unique species) with increasing pH. This relationship has not been examined thoroughly for the life stage most impacted by the water quality, the dragonfly nymphs. This is due in part to difficulties in visual identification of nymphs. DNA analyses must be done in order to identify species within this stage and thus to determine the relationship that exists between pH and overall richness. To conduct this study, DNA barcoding is being used to identify nymph samples from 10 different ponds, between Indiana and Illinois, collected over the past 3 years. After the samples are identified, they will be correlated with pH values of the ponds sampled, which ranged from 7 to 11, in order to determine the relationship that exists between richness and pH. The hypothesis, based on the scarce research available on the topic, is that richness will be positively correlated with pH. This study aims to show how pond water pH affects dragonflies, which will increase the general knowledgebase of the impacts the environment has on them.