Project:

Expedition: Aquatic Invertebrate DNA Barcoding

Students:

Vincent Cafiso, Jack Cain

School:

Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Robert Bolen

Abstract:

DNA Barcoding is a worldwide system used to identify and track species as they adapt to their environments. The dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are biological control species for mosquitoes which may carry diseases and can affect the recreational part of the location. With the biodiversity of the location thriving, so can the rest of the river and surrounding ecosystems along with it. As the environments animals are living in are changing at an alarming rate species are adapting as well, branching off into new species in the process.Barcoding also assists in determining a diverse ecosystem, if there is only one food source it would not be a very stable ecosystem because if a disease were to spread the whole food chain would collapse. The gene used in barcoding an invertebrate is the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), found in the mitochondria, is used because no other gene is found in almost all organisms on the planet. The reason as to why the CO1 gene can be used to distinguish spe

Poster:

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