Biology Students Saving Turtles

Hamilton students Stephanie Dunn '03, Milagros Gordillo-Guffanti '05, Nichola Meserve '03 and Hannah Stahle '03 have spent 10 weeks of their summer doing science research under the direction of Professor of Biology David Gapp.  The group has been collecting blood and shell samples from turtles found in the Utica Marsh, Westmoreland, and the Rome Sands Plains.  A few years ago, turtles in the Utica Marsh died from diabetes. The research being done by Professor Gapp will hopefully prevent this from happening again. Along with looking for diabetes, the group has been performing several tests studying contractions of the small intestine, differences in regulations due to added hormones or elements, regional differences between smooth and circular muscle and the location of certain hormones.

The group, composed of three biology majors (Dunn, Meserve and Stahle), had taken classes from Gapp, which helped them become interested in summer research.  Stahle, a senior, had actually done research the previous year and felt it was a very beneficial and worthwhile opportunity. Dunn also emphasized the importance of doing summer research and taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to students by the professors and the program.

Dunn was also involved in another research project, under the direction of Professor of Biology Ernest Williams.  She has been researching a New York State threatened species of butterfly, the Frosted Elfin.  There are very few published articles on this species and Dunn and Williams were hoping to discover ways in which its survivorship could be increased. Dunn collected caterpillars and eggs of the Frosted Elfin from the Rome Sands Plains and then observed the butterflies, in efforts to learn more about the threatened creature.

Dunn was interested in doing research for Professor Williams because she had enjoyed an ecology class that she took from him. This research project provided her with more field work, while her studies with Gapp involved more lab work. Dunn noted that this ended up being a good balance since it exposed her to the two different sides of research.