Characterizing Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Food Webs Using DNA-Based Methods
Poster Number
040
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Faculty Mentor
Cynthia Tant, Ph.D.
Abstract
Aquatic food webs are complex, and their study can provide valuable information on movement of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. Most food web studies involve microscopic analysis of gut contents that can be time consuming, and many prey species lack features that persist long enough in a predator’s gut for taxonomic identification. The application of newer, molecular-based approaches has the potential to provide previously unavailable resolution in aquatic food webs. We sampled and identified a variety of benthic macroinvertebrates at the Winthrop Recreational and Research Complex in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Individuals from selected predator taxa were used either to create gut content slides to identify prey categories or to extract DNA from gut contents for a variety of analyses. DNA extracted from selected individuals was sent off for analysis via next-generation sequencing. DNA extracted from other individuals was amplified using PCR with group-specific primers to determine presence or absence of those taxa in predator guts. These comparative data will ultimately provide baseline taxonomic data on food web interactions in lake, wetland, and stream habitats at the Complex.
Course Assignment
BIOL 471-Tant
Recognized with an Award?
Undergraduate Poster Competition, South Carolina Entomological Society Annual Meeting, October 2017
Previously Presented/Performed?
South Carolina Entomological Society Annual Meeting, Georgetown, South Carolina, October 2017
Start Date
20-4-2018 2:15 PM
End Date
20-4-2018 4:15 PM
Characterizing Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Food Webs Using DNA-Based Methods
Richardson Ballroom (DIGS)
Aquatic food webs are complex, and their study can provide valuable information on movement of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. Most food web studies involve microscopic analysis of gut contents that can be time consuming, and many prey species lack features that persist long enough in a predator’s gut for taxonomic identification. The application of newer, molecular-based approaches has the potential to provide previously unavailable resolution in aquatic food webs. We sampled and identified a variety of benthic macroinvertebrates at the Winthrop Recreational and Research Complex in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Individuals from selected predator taxa were used either to create gut content slides to identify prey categories or to extract DNA from gut contents for a variety of analyses. DNA extracted from selected individuals was sent off for analysis via next-generation sequencing. DNA extracted from other individuals was amplified using PCR with group-specific primers to determine presence or absence of those taxa in predator guts. These comparative data will ultimately provide baseline taxonomic data on food web interactions in lake, wetland, and stream habitats at the Complex.
