Well this good news blows that last good news out of the water! I am going to be presenting not one but TWO research papers at NCUR )the national conference for undergraduate research.) It is the most competitive and most recognized undergraduate research symposium in the nation (possibly the world). It's pretty incredible that I made it in, I beat out 3500 other applications. as you can tell I'm going to have a bit of a big head for a couple of days until I get back to applying for NSF summer programs, and start getting seriously humbled again.

Here are the two abstracts that I submitted, and will be presenting in April,
Trichobilharzia ocellata is a parasitic trematode that causes the infection in humans known as “swimmers itch.” T. ocellata could be controlled via the control of its intermediate host, the gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis. Color based traps could be created for L. stagnalis if color preference were known. Little information on L. stagnalis behavior exists. At the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge 35 randomly selected L. lymnaea stagnalis in the size range of 45-55mm were collected from a coulee. Color preference trial runs were conducted with 7 different colors in water from the coulee. The trial duration was 45 minutes, at which point, the number of snails in each color field were counted. A light meter was used to test Lux levels penetrating the colored materials in order to rule out a possible brightness preference. Between trials the trays were cleaned, the coulee water refreshed, and snails were replaced. Research statistics discovered the snails had a strong preference for purple with a secondary preference of green. There was no correlation between Lux level and color preference. These results could be used in L. stagnalis population control methods, collection for study, or continued behavioral studies.


Naegleria fowleri is an opportunist parasite that infects humans, and other mammals, causing a very rare, but almost always fatal brain infection, primary amebic meningoencephalitis. The criterion for initiating tests for N. fowleri in a water-body is currently based on temperature, leading to most testing occurring in the southern United States. The flaw in this criterion was shown in 1991, Detterline et al, discovered the presence of N. fowleri in Spirit Lake, Washington. This discovery is noteworthy due to the fact that N. fowleri was not thought to be commonly found in northern habitats, outside of man-made artificially heated waters. By exploring the physiological requirements and life-cycle of N. fowleri, I was able to indicate a probable blooming date in Spirit Lake and its possible effects on the biological community. The eruption of Mt. St. Helens was the key factor to inducing the proper conditions for the bloom. Using the known physiological requirements for temperature, water acidity, dissolved iron, dissolved O2, prey availability, and competition presence levels, the probable initiation of the bloom was dated at July 1981. The limiting factor for the bloom was in line with J. L. Griffin's (1972) flagellate-empty habitat hypothesis. This approach of viewing the presence or absence of competition as the limiting factor in the growth of N. fowleri populations, as opposed to the currently observed factor of temperature, could lead to more efficient detection rates in other possible N. fowleri habitats.