Potential Projects for 2023

Below are a sampling of projects that are available for 2023 interns:

- Sarah Dendy, OEB Ph.D. Candidate, Jim Mallet Lab

How do insects use habitat fragments in a city? Once, the Boston urban area hosted thousands of species of moths, an incredibly diverse group which would have been the dominant herbivore in historic forests. Now, very little habitat remains, but a small network of parks called the Boston Urban Wilds persist as green spaces in a relatively undisturbed state. Which moths exist in habitat fragments today, and what factors allow them to live there? Which parks are best for which moths, and why? For this project, the student will travel to field sites and catch moths over the course of about an hour after nightfall. During the day, the student will photograph the captured moths, pin them and identify them from a set of guides. Pinning is a delicate, and time consuming, but rewarding process, so patience is desirable. Tentatively the student should expect to work four days per week, to make up for time spent working at night. Days off will also be given around the full moon due to diminished moth catching efficacy.

- Yan Gong, OEB Postdoctoral Researcher, Elena Kramer Lab

Angiosperms are the most speciose lineage in the plant kingdom, and much of this diversity is attributed to the evolution of their unique floral organs. During the past 150 million years of angiosperm evolution, many floral traits have evolved to facilitate plant-pollinator interactions and promote pollen transfer. Among these, the development of nectaries and the production of nectar are of the utmost significance. In many angiosperm lineages, nectar, the sugary solution produced by nectaries, is the primary reward to pollinators. This interaction boosts the sexual reproduction success of angiosperms and ultimately accelerates the expansion of angiosperm habitats and their diversification. We are using the model system Aquilegia (columbine) to study the development, function, and evolution of both nectaries and nectar. This lab-based project will provide an intern with training in a wide array of techniques from traditional histology to cutting-edge microscopy and genome-scale molecular biology. There will also be opportunities to work with an array of Aquilegia species.