High school teachers and students will examine the ecology and genetic diversity of zooplankton-near microscopic crustaceans-in the ponds and marshes of the Ruby Mountains as part of the Desert Research Institute's Nevada Science Teachers Enhancement Project (NSTEP). The statewide project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation to provide teachers with better understanding of the scientific research process.
Ten science teachers and their students from Wells and Carlin high schools in northeastern Nevada and from Basic, Las Vegas and Western high schools in southern Nevada will conduct field experiments in the Ruby Mountains for three weeks beginning July 18.
Led by Dr. Peter Starkweather, a biology professor and associate dean of science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the group will collect and analyze specimens from alpine and sub-alpine surface waters. Starkweather said the project is a test of biogeographic theory-a theory describing how various forms of life evolve and develop when dispersed over a given geographic area.
He said scientists generally believe the deserts separating Nevada's north-south mountain ranges have created ecological "islands" with distinct collections of plant and animal life. Evidence of that may be found in different genetic strains in the zooplankton that the students can detect through the use of a technique called polymerase chain reaction.
Besides following a rigorous scientific work plan, the students will have to contend with living in field camp conditions at the state's South Fork Recreation Area in the Ruby Mountains south of Elko. Project staff will manage logistics and supervise the teams general activities throughout the field work period.
Dr. Paul Buck, a DRI archaeologist and director of the NSTEP project, said the students and teaches have completed an extensive seminar series to learn the scientific procedures they will employ in the field. Earlier this summer, other teams of students and teachers worked on studies of the geologic record of climate variation in the Death Valley area and on the amount of ultraviolet radiation exposure in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.
This fall the teams will begin analyzing their field data and write research reports on their findings. The teams will communicate among the various high schools participating through the Internet and will be posting their data and results on special project web sites set up by DRI.