The world of invertabrates
By Jessica Soria
If you were to look at a sample of water from a stream, you might presume no life could possibly exist. On the contrary, microscopic creatures thrive in such ecosystems. These tiny creatures constitute the meal plan for larger animals such as crabs and small fish. And those animals are the prey for even larger fish that eventually end up being served as a tasty meal on a silver platter.
Although we may never see these small creatures, any change that affects these animals can, in turn, can have a huge effect on the rest of the food chain that depends on it, including humans.
It was these tiny animals that I investigated this summer, thanks to the MARC U STAR program, an internship program that I applied for in spring quarter. MARC U STAR guarantees students a nine week research experience with a MARC U STAR Faculty Mentor.
During my internship, I worked with Dr. Reznick, who works in the Department of Biology. His research mostly centers on evolution by natural selection and testing evolutionary theory in natural populations, specifically guppies from the island of Trinidad. The project I was involved in looked at the impact of adding guppy species to four Trinidadian streams that previously had no guppies by measuring the average invertebrate abundance.
My role in the project was to process stream samples that came in from Trinidad. Stream samples were collected from both experimental areas of the stream and areas that had no guppies, which served as the control group. Along with other volunteers, I used two sieves to separate the sample into coarse and fine parts. Then, we collected all the invertebrates from each part, identified, and measured them. This was the first time I had done anything of this nature so this was a new experience for me, but one I thoroughly appreciated. I enjoyed learning new lab techniques and developing the skill to analyze academic papers that were relevant to my research. Working in a lab was also an exciting opportunity for me to learn what research means. Dr. Reznick would also share stories about his own experiences while helping me develop my project.
Ultimately, the research I conducted culminated in an end-of-the-summer presentation (a requirement of the MARC U STAR program) about the research I had completed and the experience I gained from the program. Presentations were seven minutes long and presented to fellow MARC U STAR students as well as their mentors. It was surprising yet satisfying to see that, despite sometimes feeling research was going slow, it did eventually build to a bigger picture and contribute to the enormous wealth of knowledge that already exists.
