Awesome Update 5: Return of the Awesomeness

On Thursday we finally left the bleak plains of New Brunswick for the (not so) mean streets of Camden, Maine. Dr. E made some excellent choices for us, such as listening to Pat Benatar on the radio and climbing a nearly vertical trail over a mile up the side of Mount Megunticook. We also made significant progress in sampling, collecting Elliptio and Cariosa from 5 different sites in two days. The weather has improved a great deal, and Dr. E can finally sleep with less than 5 layers of clothing. We plan on attempting to drive our beaten and battered Ford Windstar the 8 hour journey home tomorrow, hopefully to the tune of "Love is a Battlefield." I was promised the honor of pushing us the rest of the way if the Windstar takes a union break.Worth the agony? Debatable.

New Bruswick, Canada, and St. John...

Well, we survived Canada and St. John. The weather was good for the most part, but the 49-50 degree nights were hard on us campers, especially me (who stupidly brought only a summer bag). We hit five sites in three days and collected many Elliptios from each site. Our only sampling trip to the Miramichi River in NE New Bruswick was not very successful with only one live Elliptio collected. Otherwise the trip was great and we met some great people at the New Bruswick Museaum (special thanks toMarry Sollows and Don McAlpine). Also, this part of the trip included the only time we have collected Elliptio's from a population with Margaritifera margaritifera (a federally endangered species) which can be confused with our species .

Awesome Update 4

Due to the inclement weather that seems to occur in every area where we wish to collect mussels, we have not been able to do so. The water levels have risen a great deal and made our jobs very difficult. Since we could not collect any specimens this week, we have been doing some lab work. We are amplifying the cytochrome oxidase subunit I of the mitochondrial genome of Etheria specimens. This involved nanodropping, PCR, electrophoresis, sequencing, and lots and lots of waiting.
The good news is that we are finally going on a field trip to Canada on Sunday morning. We plan to collect lots of mussels and eat some really good camp food.

awesome update 3

Good news, the wetsuits fit!

Awesome Update 2

As we mentioned in awesome update 1, there are over 297 recognized taxa of Unionids in North America alone. Since we are not yet mussel experts, we would thus have a hard time telling the difference between mussels in the field. To help solve this identification problem, we visited the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. At the museum, we were taken up to the collection room that is unavailable to the public. This room was more like a warehouse of specimens- cabinets upon cabinets completely full of samples of all types of organisms. In the Unionid section, cabinets were arranged by genus and species and further broken down into geographic regions. We carefully went through the drawers of areas that we are interested in- PA, ME, NY, NC, NJ, Nova Scotia, etc. We photographed samples from different areas so that when we are in the field, we will be able to identify mussel species that are similar in appearance and habitat. Some of the pictures we took are posted below.

About Zach

My name is Zach Goldstein, and I'm a rising senior at TCNJ. I'm pre-med double majoring in Biology and History (don't ask why), and I look forward to the MUSE project with Dr. Elderkin as an engaging learning experience that incorporates the outdoors and camping, two of my long-time interests. My past research experience has been in Dr. George Studzinski's cancer lab at UMDNJ-NJMS, where I studied the effects of vitamin D and plant-derived antioxidants on a human model of acute myelocytic leukemia.

Outside of school, I enjoy lifting and throwing hammer on the TCNJ track and field team (for those unfamiliar with the sport, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILWc2n7FP-Q). I am also a fan of anything and everything Chuck Norris, particularly the 1994 film Hellbound, whose finale features an epic kung fu showdown between Chuck and Satan.

About Cara

My name is Cara Zetterstrom and I am one of the three contributors to this blog. I am currently a rising senior at The College of New Jersey. My major is biology and secondary education. I applied for this position because I am very curious by nature and I have always been drawn to anything that relates to science. I particularly enjoy ecology and genetics and this job suits me well. Even though I plan to be a teacher and not a researcher, this experience will serve me well in becoming a well-rounded scientist.
In my spare time, I enjoy being at the beach, writing poetry, exercising, hiking, and playing with animals despite my allergic reactions to them. I like to have fun in everything I do. I hope to learn a lot from this summer experience and sharpen my scientific knowledge while having fun.

Awesome Update 1

Introduction:

As part of the Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) at The College of New Jersey, Professor Curt Elderkin will be mentoring two rising seniors in the field of conservation genetics (Zach Goldstein & Cara Zetterstrom). Together we will identify mussels and properly take tissue samples to bring back to the TCNJ laboratory for genetic analysis.

Purpose:

Knowledge of the genetic structure of the target species is essential for the development of effective conservation plans. Throughout the summer, we will be collecting samples from Elliptio camplanata in areas including the Susquehanna watershed, Canada, New York, Maine, and possibly North Carolina. In addition to these trips, we will be visiting a museum in Philadelphia in order to become more familiar with the shell anatomy of Elliptio camplanata, and other common Atlantic slope species, to aid us in our field identification of freshwater mussels.

Background:

Unionids are a family of bivalve mollusks known as river mussels found throughout habitats around the world, with 297 recognized taxa in North America alone. Often comprising upwards of 90% of the benthic invertebrate biomass, Unionids subsist as filter feeders by burrowing a muscular anterior foot in the substrate of the benthos and leaving their posterior end slightly exposed. Although relatively immobile as adults, Unionids are motile as juveniles and often attach themselves to hosts such as the yellow perch, banded killifish, and largemouth bass.

The Unionid genus Elliptio is a medium-sized mussel so named for its oval shape. The Eastern Elliptio occurs along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Florida. It is found in virtually every water body in Maine that is capable of supporting mussels. It is found in a wide variety of habitats, including small streams, large rivers, freshwater tidal waters, and all types of ponds and lakes. Despite their dominance of benthic biomass, over 70% of North American freshwater mussel species are listed as threatened or endangered.