Tiered Mentoring Program How ants respond to climate change Dr. Chelsea Miller and Dr. Richard Londraville

Climate change is happening all around us—even in Northeast Ohio. Dr. Miller's and Dr. Londraville's labs are teaming up to study different aspects of how climate change affects the biology of a local species, the acorn ant (Temnothorax curvispinosus). These are tiny ants that have their entire colony inside a tree nut, such as an acorn or hickory nut. Dr. Miller's lab specializes in ecology, and is interested in questions such as how climate change affects which nuts the ants nest in, their foraging area, and their colony behavior.  Dr. Londraville's lab specializes in molecular biology, and is interested in questions about which genes are activated in the winter, and how that might be altered under climate change.  We have an excellent group of students working on ants now, and are interested in recruiting students who are willing to work outside in local parks, in addition to working in the lab. 

What you would learn:

• Field biology techniques, such as transect/quadrat sampling, insect collection, and standard habitat characterization methods
• Modern molecular techniques, such as DNA sequencing and analysis.
• Experimental design and data management and analysis

How much time it will take:

You should expect to attend a weekly lab meeting (1 hour), and then 5-10 hours/week for the research.  It's likely we will have to coordinate schedules of many busy people, so you might have to be flexible.

Our goal would be for you to present a poster at this year's Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium in April (great bullet point for your CV!).  Who knows—maybe your work could be included on a future lab publication?