Project:

Biodiversity of Macroinvertebrate Species within Sumpwams Canal

Students:

Reese Logan, Shaun Gentilin, Jeffrey Kaji

School:

Babylon Jr/Sr High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Andrew Sheltz

Abstract:

This project will compare samples of marine sediment to samples of marine macroinvertebrates from ten collection points stretching the length of Sumpwams canal on the south shore of Long Island. This is in order to determine if thickness of marine sediment could be causing a decrease in the populations of macroinvertebrates that are able to survive. The hypothesis suggested that there would be a larger biodiversity of macroinvertebrate species in locations closer to the mouth of the canal where the sediment is not as viscous from pollution. The aims of this project were to determine the biodiversity of marine macroinvertebrate species along a south shore Long Island canal, to compare the biodiversities in the different locations along the canal, to create a phylogenetic tree depicting the evolutionary relationship of marine macroinvertebrate species present within the canal, and to discover a potential effect of smothering on marine macroinvertebrate species within the canal. This will

Poster:

Team samples: