Vanessa Villarroel
Kathryn Vlasic
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering College of Science and Engineering May 2017 Mentor: Andrew Simons Mentor’s Department: Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Materials Science and Engineering College of Science and Engineering May 2017 Mentor: Dr. Vivian Ferry Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Ontogenetic Changes in the Morphology and Diet of Skipjack Shad (Alosa chysochloris)
Solid-State Ligand Exchange Methods with Cdse/Cds Quantum Dots To Obtain Uniform Coverage
The skipjack shad (Alosa chrysochloris) is a freshwater fish native to the Gulf of Mexico drainage. This species is listed as an endangered species in Minnesota, where it has been extirpated. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources states that research on the biology of this fish is needed to aid conservation efforts. Consequently, I conducted the first quantitative diet study of skipjack from the Illinois, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. I accomplished this by dissecting prey from the digestive tracts of 112 skipjack provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. I visualized prey with dissecting and binocular microscopes, identified them to the lowest possible taxonomic level, and measured the size of all prey using photographs and imaging software. I then quantified gill raker morphology from 12 individuals belonging to three different size categories. Finally, I used my diet and morphology data to test three hypotheses: (1) juveniles have different diets than adults, (2) gill raker and denticle (secondary projections from gill rakers) quantity is negatively correlated with prey sizes consumed, and (3) gill raker spacing and length are positively correlated to fish size I tested my hypotheses by calculating diet dissimilarity indices and conducting linear regressions in program R. My poster will discuss the results of my statistical analyses and the relevance of my findings in the contexts of fish conservation and biology.
Quantum dots are used for semiconductors because of their ability to absorb and transmit light at specific wavelengths. This control is obtained through the size of the quantum dots. The integration of quantum dots into electronic devices is specific to the materials and geometry of device used. Here, the quantum dots were adhered to the surface of a substrate which was glass covered in a layer of titanium oxide. A solid state ligand exchange occurred between oleic acid capped CdSe/ CdS quantum dot core/ shells and 3-Mercaptopropanoic acid (3-MPA). Layers of 3-MPA capped quantum dots were built up on the substrate via dip coating. The uniformity of the film was characterized using optical microscopy where the length of time of the ligand exchange will be compared.
2016 Undergraduate Research Symposium | 155