Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Scharf, Andrea
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
OURE Program
Abstract
The predatory and territorial behaviors of the model organism P. pacificus provides a useful opportunity to study territorial defensive behaviors and optional predatory behaviors in relation to availability of preferred food sources. P. pacificus will be grown with C. elegans in shared cultures, in which E. coli will be placed and used to feed both species of worm. The number of predation events and territory defense events by P. pacificus against C. elegans will be recorded and tracked at differing levels of food concentrations. One potential issue is the different mouth morphs found in P. pacificus, with the stenostomatous (in contrast to the eurystomatous morph) being not able to attack or feed on C. elegans. This will be investigated by controlling a number of environmental factors, such as growth medium type, temperature, and culture movement. Understanding of these topics can be applied to further understanding of inter-species ecological pressures and preferences, as well as, having the potential to provide insight on inter-species resource partitioning.
Biography
Charles Green is a Biological Sciences student at The Missouri University of Science and Technology. He has completed 3 semesters and has had multiple semesters of research, as well as a published research paper. He is looking at multiple options to further his education in the future and is excited to continue research in biology.
Elena Zobel is a sophomore biology student at Missouri S& T. She is involved in the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research (OURE) program, the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) design team, the Kummer Vanguard Scholars program and the Missouri S& T honors collage.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Science Poster Session (Group) - Second Place
Location
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Competition or Prey: C. elegans Populations in the Presence of P. pacificus
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
The predatory and territorial behaviors of the model organism P. pacificus provides a useful opportunity to study territorial defensive behaviors and optional predatory behaviors in relation to availability of preferred food sources. P. pacificus will be grown with C. elegans in shared cultures, in which E. coli will be placed and used to feed both species of worm. The number of predation events and territory defense events by P. pacificus against C. elegans will be recorded and tracked at differing levels of food concentrations. One potential issue is the different mouth morphs found in P. pacificus, with the stenostomatous (in contrast to the eurystomatous morph) being not able to attack or feed on C. elegans. This will be investigated by controlling a number of environmental factors, such as growth medium type, temperature, and culture movement. Understanding of these topics can be applied to further understanding of inter-species ecological pressures and preferences, as well as, having the potential to provide insight on inter-species resource partitioning.
