Project:

Arthropod Species Identification in Manhattan

Students:

Olivia Beal, Chloe Won, Ariadni Markantonaki Kouletaki, Isadora Zucker

School:

Dwight School, Manhattan

Mentors:

Michael Paul

Abstract:

DNA barcoding is a method used for the identification of species, through the specific sequence of DNA found in the genome of the organism. Compared to barcoding, classical taxonomical identification techniques used to catalog species often fall short of the certainty needed to make such claims confidently. This is especially true for arthropods, which group together a very diverse range of species. There are around 10 million species of arthropods on Earth, close to 25,000 in New York alone; thus, DNA Barcoding enables us to more confidently identify the specific species of arthropods present in a given area. For this project, we will distinguish between species of arthropods and any observations that would aid our research in identifying the biodiversity of arthropods in Manhattan and how that impacts our environmental actions and concerns for the future.

Poster:

Team samples: