Mentor/s
Ashley Stoehr
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Meiofauna are small invertebrates (0.04-1mm) that live between sand grains in aquatic environments (Coull and Giere 1988; Fig. 1). They can indicate ecosystem health since they are short-lived and their community composition can rapidly change with environmental and anthropogenic factors (Kennedy and Jacoby 1999; Balsamo et al. 2012). This project aims to establish whether visual identification at high taxonomic levels (i.e., phylum, class, family) could adequately analyze community changes along a degraded marshland (Seaside Park, Bridgeport, CT) or if genetic analysis is required to accurately identify meiofauna at the levels of family, genus, or species. Samples were collected tri-annually in 5 randomly selected quadrats along a 100 m transect and organisms were visually identified using a stereoscope. Because preliminary results suggest low diversity, richness, and evenness with nematodes dominating most samples regardless of year, season, or location, genetic analysis seems necessary to analyze community changes.
College and Major available
Neuroscience
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-26-2024 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-26-2024 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Community Composition of Meiofauna in Bridgeport, CT
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Meiofauna are small invertebrates (0.04-1mm) that live between sand grains in aquatic environments (Coull and Giere 1988; Fig. 1). They can indicate ecosystem health since they are short-lived and their community composition can rapidly change with environmental and anthropogenic factors (Kennedy and Jacoby 1999; Balsamo et al. 2012). This project aims to establish whether visual identification at high taxonomic levels (i.e., phylum, class, family) could adequately analyze community changes along a degraded marshland (Seaside Park, Bridgeport, CT) or if genetic analysis is required to accurately identify meiofauna at the levels of family, genus, or species. Samples were collected tri-annually in 5 randomly selected quadrats along a 100 m transect and organisms were visually identified using a stereoscope. Because preliminary results suggest low diversity, richness, and evenness with nematodes dominating most samples regardless of year, season, or location, genetic analysis seems necessary to analyze community changes.
Students' Information
Katie O'Riordan, Neuroscience, 2026