(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipients) The Wisconsin DNR is requiring the Village of Mazomanie to remove or repair the Lake Marion Dam on Black Earth Creek in western Dane County. Generally dams have …
Peromyscus maniculatus & Microtus pennsylvanicus show no habitat differentiation in Biocore Prairie – Lauren Brooks
(Hilldale Award recipient) Two rodent species Peromyscus maniculatus and Microtus pennsylvanicus are known to coexist within prairie ecosystems. Despite overlapping resource requirements, I hypothesized that these species exhibit habitat differentiation, with M. pennsylvanicus found in …
Vegetative ground cover is important parameter for species distribution of Peromyscus maniculatus and Microtus pennsylvanicus – Kara Bretzman
Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse) andMicrotus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) are two common small mammals found in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. P. maniculatus is known to be a vegetative generalist, whereas M. pennsylvanicus is exclusive to grasses and forbs. This study measured relative …
QTL Analysis of Anthocyanin Expression in Brassica rapa – Max Wilson, Jaffna Mathiaparanam, John Riley
Anthocyanin pigmentation is used as a quantitative trait to study genetics in educational settings. We are conducting a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) analysis to identify the genes involved in expression of anthocyanin pigments in hypocotyls …
A Study of Trichome Expression in Brassica rapa and Future Educational Opportunities – Natalie Tupper, Sophie Carr, Kimberli Ward
Our research will use a QTL analysis to identify the location and nature of genes in the Brassica rapa genome that condition the expression of trichomes, hair-like tissues that form on leaves of seedlings. The …
Quantitative Investigation of Flowering Trait Genes in Brassica rapa aimed at Enhancing Genetics Education – Alexander Lopez, Noah Richter, Jacob Zasada
This study seeks to determine the location and nature of genes that control flowering in Brassica rapa, a model organism used for teaching genetics principles, for future application in classroom settings. Time and height of …
Alkaline Phosphatase Structure Influences Heat Stability – Joseph LHuillier and Adam Miller
Alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme structure is highly conserved among phyla, but differences in AP heat stability exist. Human placental AP (HPLAP) contains a heat-stable amino acid 429, a hydrophobic pocket, and an RY cluster– all …
Nonacclimated Root Frost Tolerance in Goldenrod Species in the Biocore Prairie – Emma Geiduschek
(Lakeshore Nature Preserve Student Engagement Award) Rising winter temperatures are increasing the number of freeze-thaw cycles in the soil, exposing plant root systems to more extreme frost events. Plants with relatively higher root frost tolerances …
To Till or Not to Till: No Till Better for Suppressing Clonal Weeds in the Biocore Prairie – Christina Fisher
We studied how soil tilling influences the abundance and coverage of weeds in the Biocore Prairie in preparation for planting prairie seeds. Tillage generally decreases weeds overtime by increasing seed germination and depleting the seed …