Tag: Science

Students: Khush Birjoo Mistry and Andrew Thomas Payne Bauer

Advisor: Dr. Megan Van Etten

Carnivorous plants come from a very exotic plant family with immense diversity and unique characteristics. These plants reside in multiple biomes worldwide, ranging from arid to tropical regions. Despite their impactful effect on the environment, they have been endangered for the past decades due to the rising levels of global warming and human interferences. Human preferences and awareness greatly contribute towards the frequency of carnivorous plants around the world. In this study, data was collected from students and faculty around the Penn State Scranton campus to obtain a consensus on the awareness and preferences towards the preservation of carnivorous plants. A survey was designed using carnivorous and non-carnivorous plant images, prompting individuals to prefer one plant over the other and to analysis carnivore plant awareness in the general population. Data gathered from the survey suggested that a significant amount of the population was able to recognize a carnivorous plant from a non-carnivorous plant, despite most of the population preferring a non-carnivorous plant over a carnivorous plant. Regarding preservation of carnivorous plants, a significant number of respondents agreed on the ecological importance of carnivorous plants. In conclusion the data suggests that despite majority of general population considering carnivorous plants to be threatening and uncomfortable, a high number of individuals believe in the preservation of these plants based on their ecological importance rather than their aesthetic appearance.

Student: Cameron Zynel

Advisor: Dr. Megan Van Etten

Plants are incredibly important – humans rely on plants for vital food sources, medicines, and other consumer goods and plants play a key role in nearly all ecological processes. Climate change has the potential to have drastic negative effects on plants and therefore all life on this planet. While numerous studies have documented the negative effect of increased temperatures, this is not the only stress that plants must deal with, which could exacerbate the negative effect of temperature. To address this gap, I examined how increased temperature along with increased competition, can affect the growth of plants, specifically the Fast plant (Brassica rapa). Competition decreased plant height rate and leaf size while increased temperature led to taller plants but smaller leaves. These results suggest that both temperature and competition affect plant growth, which could have potential repercussions, particularly in agriculture where competition is often very high.

Student: Amanda Delhagen

Advisor: Dr. Megan Van Etten

Rising temperatures due to climate change are projected to increase the average global surface temperature by 4.8°C by 2100 without mitigation efforts. Effects of elevated temperatures on plant traits like nutrient absorption and flowering time have been studied, but root development has received less attention despite the vital role roots play in nutrient and water uptake, and structure. This study investigated the impact of an elevated temperature of 76°F compared to the control at 68°F on root and above ground growth in Brassica rapa. The results showed that the higher temperature treatment stimulated a greater number of root branches, earlier flowering, and larger leaves. These findings show how root development is likely to be significantly impacted by rising temperatures.

First Place Empirical Category

University Libraries’ Excellence in Information Literacy Awardee

Student: Morgana Costanzo

Advisor: Dr. Meg Hatch and Dr. Robert Smith

Studying how different species affect tick infestation is crucial for managing tick-borne diseases and ecosystem health because understanding these interactions can help identify key species that contribute to the abundance of tick populations. We examined the presence or absence of ticks (Ixodes) on the heads and mandibles of songbirds captured at Lackawanna State Park in Lackawanna County, PA. We were interested in whether there was a relationship between bird species and number of ticks present. Of the 12 species examined, there was a significant relationship between tick prevalence and species, with American Robins (Turdus migratorius), Common Yellow Throats (Geothlypis trichas), Eastern Towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), and Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) differing significantly than the other species examined. There were also four species on which no ticks were observed. Among two bird species with a considerable number of captures, there was no seasonal difference in tick intensity. Our study contributes to others that found differences in tick prevalence among various species of songbirds and may contribute to the further understanding of tick-borne diseases in birds.

Key Words: migratory songbirds, tick prevalence, tick intensity, species differences, parasitology, avian ecology.

University Libraries’ Excellence in Information Literacy Awardee

Student: Ceiwynn Longworth

Student: Holden Kersey

Advisor: Dr. Asif ud-Doula

High-Mass X-Ray Binary pulsars (HMXB pulsars) are fast-moving, magnetized neutron stars in a binary orbit alongside a companion star, wherein X-Rays are emitted from their magnetic poles. These X-rays are generated when the neutron star accretes material from its companion and magnetic field deflects it to its poles. Magnetars are also neutron stars, but they are highly magnetized and slower-moving. What sets magnetars apart from normal neutron stars is the strength of their magnetic field which can be of the order of 10^9T-10^15G making them the most powerful known magnets in the universe. The aim of this project is to show how HMXB pulsars and magnetars differ from each other. We examined two catalogues containing HMXB pulsars (Kim et al. 2023) and magnetars (Olausen & Kaspi, 2014) and extracted data which empirically tell us about their characteristics such as the period, rate of change of period, magnetic field, and luminosity. Our results show the differences between the accretion-powered HMXB pulsars and electromagnetic-powered magnetars.

Second Place Empirical Category

Advisor: Dr. Asif ud-Doula, Dr. Gillian Pearce

Currently, exoplanets are classified into four different categories based on their size: terrestrial, super-earth, Neptunian, and Gas Giants. According to Kepler’s Third Law of planetary motion, the squares of the orbital periods of these planets are directly
proportional to the cubes of the semi-major axes of their orbits. The understand the factors that could cause a divergence from the relationship, and whether those differences are a trend in that particular exoplanet type. It is expected that exoplanetary systems will follow Kepler’s Third Law if: 1. the exoplanets are much less massive than the parent star, 2. gravitational influence between the planets is not significant, 3. the stellar system is clear of dust and debris, and 4. the system does not contain multiple stars. Our preliminary results show that there are several systems of exoplanets that deviate from such Kepler’s Third Law with majority being among the terrestrial type.
Further, this research aims to explore the factors that could cause this shift, whether it be experimental errors or the existence of a hidden celestial body in the planetary system influencing the orbit of a particular planet.