Participants
Click on name to see their abstract and elevator pitch video.
Dietary analysis of wild primates is essential for understanding their ecological needs and guiding conservation strategies. The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) is a critically endangered species endemic to a small region of the Andean forest in northern Perú. To investigate its feeding ecology during a period of seasonal resource scarcity, we used DNA metabarcoding to identify plant and invertebrate taxa that it consumed during the dry season. We analyzed 25 fecal samples noninvasively collected in May 2008 from La Esperanza, Perú. For taxonomic identification, we performed amplicon-based sequencing on the Oxford Nanopore MinION platform targeting the trnL gene for plants and cytochrome oxidase-I (COI) for invertebrates. We tested two hypotheses regarding L. flavicauda’s dry season diet. First, we hypothesized that reduced fruit availability would lead to an expansion in dietary breadth. We predicted that fecal samples would contain a wide range of plant taxa, including non-fruit items such as leaves, seeds, or stems. Second, we hypothesized that invertebrate consumption supplements nutrient intake during this period. We predicted that invertebrate DNA would be present in a substantial proportion of samples, representing a variety of arthropod taxa, such as insects and arachnids. These findings will contribute to identifying critical food resources and habitat features necessary for the conservation of this highly threatened primate.
Photoluminescence (PL) spectrometry is a technique used to analyze materials by examining the light their electrons emit after absorbing photons; the electrons are excited by the photons to a higher energy level and emit light as they fall back down to a lower energy level. This method gives insight on the characteristics of superconductors that the Hu Lab studies, such as band gaps and any defects in the material. In order to investigate these characteristics, a full PL spectrum must be captured with a spectrometer to graph relative intensities of the various wavelengths the material emits. However, the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera in a spectrometer can only capture one frame of a limited amount of wavelengths at a time. Therefore, it is necessary to rotate the grating, which determines which region of wavelengths is captured, in between frames. The frames must then be stitched together to form the full PL spectrum. This project’s aim was to create a script to automate this data collection process. Utilizing the PVCAM C Library and python, this script continuously takes frames and turns the grating until a spectrum of the desired range is captured, then averages out overlapping values to display a final graph of the PL spectrum. Because the CCD’s units are pixels, the motor that turns the grating has a step value corresponding to its position, and the PL spectrum’s x-axis unit is nanometers, part of my project was also to find conversions between the three units so that the data collected could be interpreted on a graph. Using a mercury lamp, we were able to compare the data collected with the known mercury emission spectrum. In doing so, we were able to match up the peaks of our data with the known data to find a conversion between pixels, steps, and nanometers. This project allows the spectrometer data to be displayed in an interpretable format and expedites the PL spectrometry data collection process used to research superconductors.
Coral reefs provide many services to help both marine organisms and humans, from creating habitats to aiding fisheries and boosting tourism. Coral bleaching occurs when the algal symbiont, which lives in a coral’s tissue, leaves the coral due to heat stress. This dysbiosis from coral bleaching often leads to starvation of the host and mortality. The primary driver of bleaching is rising ocean temperatures. Coral susceptibility to bleaching varies by coral species and can be driven by variation in coral physiology, symbioses, and habitats. Further, some algal symbionts make corals less susceptible to rising temperatures, which may help maintain symbiosis through warm periods, increasing coral host survival by decreasing the extent of bleaching. Cryptic corals, meaning corals of the same species but different genetic lineages, vastly increase the genetic diversity within a coral reef. A diverse ecosystem is more resilient to climate impacts as it has more room for natural selection. Unfortunately, the genetic diversity of coral lineages has only been recognized relatively recently, limiting the research done on the topic. Here, we investigate how coral lineages of the species Siderastrea siderea differ in their morphology and associated algal symbionts. We compared coral morphological differences, such as tissue thickness and corallite densities, and extracted and prepared DNA for ITS2 sequencing. In counting corallite densities, we found that the trend followed our expectation of the shallow lineage (L1) having more dense corallites than the two deeper lineages (L2 and L3). This morphological difference between lineages has to do with their average depth in the water, dictating their efficiency in taking in light for their symbionts to photosynthesize. While we were unable to complete our DNA sequencing analysis, we expect to find differences in types of algal communities between lineages, which may explain lineage-specific physiology. Further research will help guide restoration efforts by optimizing lineage and symbiotic relationships for potential heat tolerance.
Charidotella sexpunctata, the golden tortoise beetle, is a species of beetle native to the Americas. The elytra of these beetles are capable of changing from a reflective gold to an orangish-red during development and from certain stimulus. However, it is unknown which types of stimulus cause this reaction in C. sexpunctata. In order to identify triggers for the color change, a procedure was created to possibly incite a color change. C. sexpunctata were placed in a Petri dish and faced with five different stimuli: tapping from a finger intermittently for 5 seconds, strokes from a paintbrush intermittently for 5 seconds, vibrations via vortex intermittently for 5 seconds, periodic darkness for 10 seconds, and continuous predator calls. The subjects were under each stimulus until their elytra turned completely red, and then isolated to return to gold for the remaining time of each 30 minute session. During this process, the time when the elytra started to turn red, when the transformation was complete, and when the transition back to gold was complete were recorded. All sexpunctata subjects changed completely to red in response to touch from a finger and paintbrush. The other stimuli tested had a 70.6% turning rate for vibrations, 58.8% for darkness, and 47.6% for american robin calls. The results of this experiment provided knowledge previously unknown to the field.
NEXMIF is an X-linked gene whose loss of function is associated with XLID98, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and seizures. To further study the function of NEXMIF, we previously developed Nexmif knockout (KO) male and heterozygous (HET) female mice, which demonstrate ASD-like behaviors and memory impairments. Due to random X-chromosome inactivation, the HET female brain is a mosaic of neurons that either express (wildtype, WT) or lack (KO) NEXMIF. Unexpectedly, WT neurons exhibit impairments similar to the KO neurons, such as decreased dendritic spine/synaptic density and reduced expression of synaptic proteins, all crucial for proper cognitive function. We hypothesized that there may be a reduced presence of crucial secretory proteins in the HET brain which may contribute to synaptic dysfunction in the WT neurons. Indeed, we previously found that Cerebellin-1 (CBLN1), a secreted protein critical for synapse formation, is reduced in the HET brain, and that CBLN1 treatment can rescue synaptic/spine density in Nexmif knockdown (KD) neurons. As a next step, I sought to determine whether CBLN1 treatment could also rescue the expression of excitatory synaptic proteins, such as GluA1 and SynDIG1. To test this hypothesis, we modeled the HET brain in vitro via a primary neuron co-culture technique, in which neurons are separately transduced with either control (WT) or Nexmif KD viruses, and then cultured together at a ratio of 50:50 WT:KD. When treated with CBLN1 for 72 hours (DIV12-15), we found significant rescue of GluA1 and SynDIG1 protein levels, relative to 100% WT neurons. Furthermore, we observed through immunostaining that viral MYC-tagged CBLN1 localizes well to the dendrites, the key location for synaptogenesis and synaptic transmission. Overall, these findings suggest that a reduction in secreted CBLN1 may contribute to the synaptic impairments observed in the HET brain. Looking ahead, we hope to uncover the full potential of CBLN1 in rescuing both neuronal and behavioral impairments in vivo in HET mice.
Over the course of this century, climate change is predicted to cause northeastern temperate forests to experience warmer temperatures during growing season and a decrease in duration and depth of snowpack in winter. Subsequently, a loss of insulating snowpack will generate an increased number of soil freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) per winter. Prior studies have demonstrated that warmer temperatures during the growing season were correlated with an increase in tree stem biomass carbon, while soil FTCs were correlated with a decrease. The joint effects, however, are understudied, which is why the Templer Lab established the Climate Change Across Seasons Experiment (CCASE) in Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in 2012. CCASE is made up of six 11 by 13.5 m2 plots: two control, two heated by 5℃ with heating cables, and two with both heating cables and winter soil FTCs, induced via shoveling snowpack. Three of the variables measured at CCASE are canopy dieback (1: no canopy dieback – 6: heavy canopy dieback), assessed in 2025; mean annual tree growth from 2022-2024, measured in kg carbon / year and calculated with the use of dendrometer bands; and beech bark disease severity (0: no beech bark disease – 6: heavy beech bark disease), assessed also in 2025. The results of this data monitoring showed some unexpected variations in how different species reacted to the same treatments, as for red maples, both of the warming treatments increased mean annual growth, and didn’t impact canopy dieback, while for American beech, only the plots with just warming had increased mean annual growth, while both warming plots had decreased canopy dieback. Additionally, for American beech, more severe beech bark disease was correlated with an increase in canopy dieback across all treatments. Furthermore, the health of American beech was overall less than that of red maples, with the mean annual growth being half as much, and the canopy dieback being 1.5 times as much, across all treatments. This could be attributed to the CCASE plots all being established around three mature red maple trees, as well as the American beech population being stunted by beech bark disease, but there could also be more currently unknown factors at play. Understanding the complex, and even sometimes seemingly contradictory impacts of climate change on northeastern temperate forests is crucial to developing forest conservation efforts and policies that have a chance at mitigating these ramifications before they can cause irreversible damage.
Anthropogenic climate change impacts ecosystems across the planet. One consequence of climate change is ocean warming, which can have harmful effects on marine life. This study investigates how increased temperatures affect sea anemones and their mutualistic relationship with anemonefish. Anemonefish (Amphiprion spp.) rely on anemones for protection via stinging cells called nematocysts that deter predators. In return, the anemones benefit from nutrients in their fish’s waste, oxygenation from fish movement, and protection from predators. However, when sea anemones are exposed to elevated water temperatures, they may lose the symbiotic dinoflagellates that provide the majority of their energy via photosynthesis. This condition, called “bleaching”, is well known in corals but less understood in sea anemones. In this experiment, sea anemones and anemonefish were placed in two water baths with high water temperatures (31-32°C) and two water baths with normal temperatures (25-26°C). We then tested two main hypotheses: a) that anemone sizes would differ between the bleached and control groups, impacting the size of available anemonefish habitat during heat events, and b) that anemonefish would have greater color contrast with bleached anemones compared to control anemones, potentially making them more visible to predators. To address these hypotheses, anemone size and color was measured weekly in July 2025. For hypothesis a), the areas of elliptical anemone oral discs were calculated using the formula for the area of an ellipse. Data was analyzed in R, and a t-test revealed that heat-treated anemones shrank significantly compared to the controls (p<0.001, Welch’s t-test). For hypothesis b, color contrast between the fish and anemones was assessed using the Euclidean Contrast formula, with RGB values extracted from image histograms. Fish in bleached anemones showed significantly greater color contrast than those in control anemones (p < 0.001), while contrast differences in control anemones were not statistically significant (p= 0.119). These findings suggest that anemones shrink during bleaching and that the bleached condition reduces camouflage for anemonefish. This study highlights how climate-induced bleaching may impact not only anemones but also the survival of their symbiotic partners.
Tropical reef-building corals depend on symbiosis with diverse algal and bacterial communities. However, rising sea temperatures threaten this relationship by causing coral bleaching, in which corals react to heat stress by expelling their algal symbionts. Prolonged bleaching leaves corals vulnerable to starvation, disease, and mortality. The potential loss of coral reefs would have global consequences, as they support over a quarter of all marine life. Several factors impact a coral’s ability to survive in warmer temperatures, including algal symbiont identity and physiological characteristics of the coral host. However, the exact dynamics of these relationships and their influence on coral resilience remain unknown for many coral species, highlighting a gap in our understanding. One emerging area of interest is diel thermal variability (DTV), which refers to daily fluctuations in temperature. These fluctuations may play a critical role in shaping coral responses to heat stress. Higher DTV has been suggested to enhance bleaching resilience by promoting host buffering and favoring the persistence of stress-tolerant symbiont communities. Here, we tested the hypothesis that corals inhabiting environments with greater DTV host more stress-tolerant symbiont communities than those in more thermally stable environments. We extracted DNA and amplified the ITS2 locus of the algal symbiont from Siderastrea siderea coral samples collected from environments with similar mean temperatures but differing DTV levels in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. We will soon sequence and compare the symbiont communities of these corals to assess community identity and diversity. In addition to symbiont composition, we examined another potential indicator of thermal resilience: coral tissue thickness. By measuring and comparing tissue thickness across corals from each site, we aim to determine whether thicker tissue is associated with environments of higher DTV, which could suggest an additional mechanism by which corals buffer against temperature stress. Together, these findings will help clarify how environmental variability shapes coral biology and resilience, with implications for predicting reef persistence and informing conservation strategies under climate change.
Pine encroachment is an important ecological process in New England forests, as it alters native ecosystems by enabling pine saplings to establish in the understory of deciduous forests. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) form symbiotic relationships with pine roots, enhancing nutrient uptake and helping pines establish in new environments, including deciduous forests. However, the effects of pine encroachment and EMF on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that soils from oak-dominated forests will have higher nitrogen levels than soils from areas with pine encroachment, while pine encroachment soils will have slightly higher carbon levels. This is because oak leaves decompose faster, releasing nitrogen into the soil, whereas pine needles break down more slowly, potentially leading to carbon accumulation over time.We also hypothesize that soils with EMF present will have higher carbon and lower nitrogen levels than sterile soils. EMF promote carbon transfer from trees to roots, some of which leaks into the soil, increasing soil carbon. At the same time, EMF absorb nitrogen from the soil and transfer it to their host trees, reducing available soil nitrogen. Additionally, we hypothesize that soils grown with oak and pine trees will show similar nitrogen and carbon levels, and that non-sterile soils (with EMF) will lose more nitrogen and gain more carbon over time as the trees grow. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a six-month greenhouse bioassay using pine and oak saplings grown in four different soils from two forest types: pure oak forests and oak forests with pine encroachment, with samples collected from both urban and rural locations. Half of the soils were sterilized to eliminate plant and microbial communities, including EMF, while the other half were left non-sterile. This allowed for a comparison of plant-soil interactions with and without mycorrhizal fungi. To prepare the soils for total C and N analysis, I measured out subsamples using a spatula and tweezers, then ground each into a fine powder using steel beads and a ball mill. I weighed approximately 10–11 mg of each sample using a microbalance and sealed them in tin capsules, ensuring no leaks. The mass of each sample was recorded to the thousandth of a gram. Total carbon and nitrogen content was then measured using an elemental analyzer. Results showed that encroachment soils had higher carbon levels and similar nitrogen levels compared to pure oak forest soils. There was no significant difference in carbon or nitrogen levels between sterile and non-sterile soils, or between soils grown with oak vs. pine trees. Interestingly, non-sterile soils lost both carbon and nitrogen, while sterile soils gained both over the course of the experiment.
Amphiprion percula, clown anemonefish, live in a hierarchical society where the breeding female, denoted as a rank 1, has size and behavioral dominance over the rank 2 breeding male. The most common method of determining fish size is either measuring the standard length or total length of each fish. Standard length is the distance between the fish’s head and the caudal peduncle. While total length is the distance between the fish’s head to the end of their caudal tail. There has been much scientific debate about which method of measurement is the most fitting for research. In the wild, it is observed that the larger the female is in size, the more eggs she will lay. To see if this phenomenon is also supported in a laboratory setting, I conducted an experiment with the clown anemonefish at the Buston Lab. I hypothesized that there would be a direct correlation both between female body size and clutch size, as well as female-to-male body size ratio and clutch size. I collected size data from the Rank 1 and Rank 2 fish from 60 tanks and photos of clutches taken on their 5th day. Image J, an image processing program, was used to count the number of eggs in each clutch. Based on my results, my hypothesis was not statistically supported. However, a positive trend between the female body size and the clutch size was observed. More data is needed to make statistically significant conclusions. This research is intrinsic to understanding trends in reproductive output to manage wild clown anemonefish populations, particularly in light of increasing anthropogenic stressors including climate change and exploitative fishing practices.
Nanomaterials are known to exhibit unique properties when their thickness is reduced to the 2D limit, only 500 or fewer atoms thick. Nanomaterials that are made up of single or a few atom thick layers are known as 2D materials. In this project, we studied a van der Waals layered 2D material AgCrP₂S₆ (ACPS) via Raman spectroscopy. Particularly, we investigated the thickness dependence of Raman spectroscopy signals, as we had noticed unexpectedly high signals when measuring thinner flakes. In Raman spectroscopy, a laser made of photons excites a sample. Some photons transfer part of their energy to a vibration within the material and scatter with less energy, which we measure as a quantized peak on the graph. Therefore, Raman spectroscopy allowed us to measure the vibrational characteristics within the material, with each peak and its intensity corresponding to the photons interacting with a specific vibration. This enabled us to characterize the change in the intensity of Raman peaks as the number of layers of AgCrP₂S₆ decreases. We found that peak intensity is highest when measuring the thin, ~50nm “pink” and thinnest, < 30nm “blue” flakes. We utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to quantify the sample thicknesses. An inverse relationship between AgCrP₂S₆ thickness and Raman peak intensity was observed: Raman peaks became more intense in thinner flakes. We discussed the potential origin of this relationship and attributed it to changes in the thin flakes’ electrical and optical properties. This phenomenon reveals thickness as a tuning knob of AgCrP₂S₆ for its uses in multifunctional electronics, nanodevices, and materials engineering.
Recently, research into anisotropic 2D van der Waals layered materials has grown and evolved due to potential applications for their directional tunability in non-volatile memory storage devices and multifunctional nanoelectronics. Strong covalent bonds along the a and b crystal axes and weak van der Waals forces along the c axis allow these materials to be exfoliated into atomically thin flakes, which exhibit emergent properties distinct from those of the bulk material due to out-of-plane translational symmetry breaking. AgCrP2S6 is one such 2D van der Waals semiconductor which is unique because of its anisotropic structure along all three crystallographic axes. Raman spectroscopy—a technique in which laser excitation interacts with quantized lattice vibrations known as phonons through inelastic scattering—was utilized to characterize vibrations in AgCrP2S6 and illuminate the crystal’s underlying structure and electronic properties. The crystal was synthesized using chemical vapor transport and mechanically exfoliated into thin flakes, which were then deposited onto SiO2/Si substrate. Raman spectra were measured on AgCrP2S6 flakes. 14 AgCrP2S6 Raman modes were observed in the range of 130 to 700 cm-1. A detailed study was performed on the phonon mode at 155 cm-1, which was initially hypothesized to exhibit edge dependence; however, measurements on various edges demonstrated no significant effect from edge defects. Polarization-dependent Raman spectra were then measured and used to characterize the anisotropy of this mode. The data was subsequently fitted to a corresponding Raman tensor, revealing heavy polarization dependence, with maximum intensity at a polarization angle perpendicular to the a axis and minimum intensity along the 1D ribbon-like chains of Ag+ and Cr3+. This highlighted the relationship between crystal anisotropy and vibrational directional tunability, paving the way for future research into the effects of crystal structure on Ag+ mobility. This work deepens our understanding of the anisotropy of AgCrP2S6 and contributes to the development of tunable memory storage devices and binary logic devices on the nanometer scale.