Project:

Biodiversity of Beetle Species in Forest City Community Park

Students:

Abigail Akselrod, Ikshu Pandey, Brandon Langone

School:

East Meadow High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Debbie Langone

Abstract:

Biodiversity is essential to the stability of all ecosystems. Beetles have an important impact in an ecosystems biodiversity. It is estimated that there are over 350,000 beetle species on Earth. These beetles play various roles in their communities, some which are harmful and some which are beneficial to other life. Furthermore, beetles have a direct impact on Humans. Various beetle species have been known to destroy crops or trees. Others, such as the Australian Ladybird beetle, are utilized to control pests that would otherwise destroy crops that humans have planted for consumption. Our goal for joining this campaign project this year is to collect 20 different beetle species from Forest City Community Park, located on the South Shore of Long Island, to determine the biodiversity of beetles in this particular area. Once we have positive identification on these species, we would like to research their known roles in the environment. It is our hope to then expand on this research next

Poster:

Team samples: