One of the distinguishing features of COPLAC colleges is their focus on undergraduate research. Small class size, close faculty-student
interactions, and funded research opportunities allow top students to work alongside faculty mentors in significant research projects at
all 26 member institutions. COPLAC now hosts a series of regional UR conferences for students at member campuses, and many of these same
students go on to present their work at the annual meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Metamorphosis is part of COPLAC’s effort to highlight some of the best recent work in undergraduate research. Each semester, faculty
committees at member campuses select two outstanding projects for inclusion in Metamorphosis.
The first edition of Metamorphosis will feature papers of presenters at the Southeast Regional Undergraduate Research Conference
held November 2009.
Research papers and posters can be viewed by moving your cursor over the green categories
listed below (View All, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Professional Programs).
View All is the default view.
The Search bar allows you to search the database by author name, topic, title or key words
within the document.
Regional model for identifying Peromyscus leucopus and Peromyscus maniculatus
Rauleen Caballas
Truman State University
Mentor(s): Dr. Stephanie Foré and Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Distinguishing between Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) and P. maniculatus (deer mouse) with morphological characteristics is difficult, especially when the species co-occur, and biochemical markers require time and money. The objective of this study was to develop a regional discriminant model based on foot and tail lengths to categorize P. leucopus and P. maniculatus into one of three groups; those that are clearly one species or the other and those that fall in a grey area in between. Museum specimens from six contiguous counties in northeast Missouri were used to develop the model. The model was validated with set of specimens that included all outliers in which species identification was determined with mitochondria DNA markers specific for the two species. This conservative model based on foot and tail lengths was 82.8% accurate with greater accuracy for P. leucopus. Accuracy of the model is increased if the cut off value for group assignment is increased but this increases the number of specimens that fall in the grey area which require genetic identification to confirm species identity.
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Untangling the passionflower vines: preliminary insights on the phylogeny of Passiflora subgenus Decaloba based upon trnL-F sequences
Nicolle M. Siddall, Anna P. McLean, and Kristen Porter-Utley
Keene State College
Mentor(s): n/a
Passionflowers (genus Passiflora) are vines, lianas, and trees known for their incredible morphological diversity, stunningly beautiful flowers, and edible fruits. Passionflowers allure a variety of diferent pollinators including bats, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and wasps. Passionflower butterflies also use Passiflora as host plants, and the relationship between these two groups of organisms is a classic example of co-evolution. The genus is currently composed of five subgenera: Astrophea, Decaloba, Deidamioides, Passiflora, and Tetrapathea. Due to its economic importance, subg. Passiflora has been the focus of most scientific research in the genus while the equally fascinating and species rich subg. Decaloba has been largely ignored; recently published revisionary studies of Passiflora have included at most 35 species from subg. Decaloba. There are many rare species in the subgenus that are currently recognized as threatened or endangered, and it is the largest lineage in the genus possessing species found in both the New and Old World. I present here a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the subgenus based upon the gene sequences of trnL-F. These sequence data will also be combined with sequences of three other genes (ncpGS, ndhF, and ITS) and used in a separate phylogenetic analysis of the subgenus.
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Who turned down the heat? Activity patterns of Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) under a cue conflict temperature regime.
Jody Rintoul
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus
Mentor(s): Dr. Doris Audet
Daily activity patterns in animals are the product of complex interactions between an
internal biological clock mechanism and extrinsic factors. This study was performed to
investigate the potential effects of temperature on the activity patterns of 12 female Mongolian
gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) under a 12:12 photoperiod. Gerbils were group housed and kept
in either normal conditions with warm temperature (27oC) in the light and cool temperature
(18oC) in the dark, or in a reversed temperature pattern. Data were collected remotely using webcams
and the gerbils’ activity levels compared between conditions. There were subtle but
significant differences between groups in the overall activity of gerbils. Weekly food
consumption and the mass of gerbils at the end of the experiment were also significantly different
between experimental conditions. These results support the hypothesis that ambient temperature
is involved in the regulation of activity patterns in gerbils.
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