Intel Science Talent Search

Interns at the Garden: Counting Bees, Fighting Invasive Plants

Posted in Behind the Scenes on July 15 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Hello from Leah and Francesca! We are high school students interning for the summer here at The New York Botanical Garden. We are working on research projects for science competitions like the Intel Science Talent Search (Another NYBG high school intern’s project made it into the finals of this prestigious competition this year!). We will both be seniors in September, Leah Buchman at South Side High School in Rockville Center, and Francesca Giordano at Yorktown High School. This summer we are both working on an expansion of projects that we began in the summer of 2010.

Leah’s Project

Last summer, I did a study on the diversity of bees within different areas of the Garden. I caught bees in 10 areas of the Garden and learned to identify the bees with help from Dr. John Ascher at the American Museum of Natural History. Using four different indices of diversity–evenness, abundance, richness, and Shannon-Weaver diversity–I was able to conclude that there is a higher diversity of bees in areas that have a greater diversity of flowers.

The specific area of the Garden that has the highest diversity is the Seasonal Walk. This summer I am looking at the gender of bees to see if there is any correlation to the flowers visited. For example I am hoping to answer questions like: Do male bees go to certain flowers while females go to others? Feel free to come stop by and say “Hi!” I will be the girl with the net and bright colored bowls in the Perennial Garden, Ladies Border, Seasonal Walk, and Home Gardening Center this summer.

Francesca’s Project

My research is a study on management of the invasive plant, Japanese Knotweed. Now you’re probably thinking: What is an invasive plant? Little did you know, but plants can be pretty vicious, especially Japanese Knotweed. It is a non-native plant that grows rapidly and blocks sunlight from reaching desired plants. Japanese Knotweed is also known for having an underground stem called a rhizome. This rhizome contains the stores of energy that the plant uses for growing, plus additional reserves. The rhizomes contain enough energy to allow one plant to sprout over 250 shouts just from a single underground stem! Our goal is to increase the diversity of the native plants along the Bronx River by using best management practices to control the Japanese Knotweed.

What we found so far is that two treatments–cutting and grubbing the Japanese Knotweed–are equally effective. In phase two, which is the project I am working on this summer, we will be repeating the same treatments from last year in the hope that they will further weaken the persistent Japanese Knotweed and increase native plant diversity. These plots are located long the Bronx River bank just south of Magnolia Way Bridge. Come check it out and see for yourself! I am also being assisted in my field work by the Explainers and the School of Professional Horticulture, and by volunteers including groups from American Express, Goldman Sachs, and Christodora.

We hope to see everyone here this summer!

High School Intern at the Garden Named A Finalist in 2011 Intel Science Contest

Posted in Science on January 28 2011, by Plant Talk

Grace Phillips, a senior at Mamaroneck High School, has been named a finalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. Phillips worked as a Cullman intern at the Garden for more than two years with graduate student Rachel Meyer on research related to the domestication of the eggplant. It is for this research that she is being recognized.  In March, Grace will travel to Washington, D.C.,–along with the 39 other finalists–to participate in final judging, display her work to the public, meet Nobel laureates, and to find out if she has won the top prize of $100,000.

In addition to being a tasty treat, the eggplant has been also cultivated for ages–from India, to China, and to the Pacific Islands–for the plant’s medicinal values. Hundreds, if not thousands, of local variations of the eggplant exist throughout Asia, varying widely in size, shape, color, and flavor; and are used medically for a variety of purposes. It is likely that the medicinal values of the eggplant come from a variety of potent antioxidant compounds found within the fruits.

Phillips studied what impact the role of centuries of human selection–based on taste and medicinal properties–have had upon the eggplant genome. This involved first studying the chemicals that are thought to be responsible for the gastronomic and therapeutic properties of the various local variations (also known as landraces). By correlating the presence of specific antioxidant compounds to specific tastes and medicinal attributes Phillips attempted to answer a simple question: Are certain medicinal uses of eggplants always associated with high concentrations of specific compounds?

After determining the various chemical compounds within the eggplants, Grace then began to study the genes that are directly related to the synthesis of these compounds, looking for correlations between gene activity and compound abundance. Phillips was then able to put all this information together and pose one final question: Are certain taste and medicinal qualities correlated with high levels of specific gene? Or, in other words: As humans selected for eggplants with specific culinary and therapeutic properties, what effect did this intervention have on the eggplant genome and on the plant’s gene functions?

Grace is one of seven finalists from New York State, second only to California’s 11 finalists. She appears to be the only finalist working in the field of plant sciences, and one of only a handful of students studying organismal diversity/evolutionary questions.  Grace’s work continues a long heritage of scientific study at The New York Botanical Garden on questions of plant diversity, human-plant interactions, and plant conservation. Everyone here at the Garden applauds Grace’s fantastic work and wishes her the best of luck in March!