Project:

Impact of Aquatic Invasive Plant on Macroinvertebrate Biodiversity

Students:

declan Doran, Dean Smith, Vance Bradley

School:

Connetquot High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

John Halloran

Abstract:

There are many different types of animals and plants that live on Long Island. However, there are invasive species that intrude upon the natural environment and negatively affect the area, such as water chestnut. We hypothesize that this invasive species will decrease biodiversity in aquatic macroinvertebrates. This is because water chestnut blocks the sun from photosynthetic organisms in the water, which decreases food supply for aquatic macroinvertebrates. We will gather samples from areas with and without water chestnut, and come up with an estimation of the biodiversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in both areas. We will ask for permission from Connetquot State Park before collecting our data there. We’ll use a net to collect macroinvertebrates, which we will document with photos and a data table. We will gather any unknown species. After reviewing data for known species, we will barcode the unknown species’ DNA to determine their identity. We will use this information to conc

Poster:

Team samples: