24th Annual Student Research Conference
Ecological Population Modeling
Saroj R. Rai
Dr. Peter Rolnick (Retired), Faculty Mentor
The passing of phenotype from mothers to daughters, irrespective of genotype is called the maternal effect. This effect is investigated by studying the growth curves of a group of unicellular ciliate protozoa called Paramecium Aurelia. Belonging to the same culture but cultivated in two different times in the culture's history, old and new, the growth curves of Paramecium from both samples were compared. We also compared the time it takes to complete one division. The culture starts with a negligible toxin level which increases over time. If the maternal effect holds true, Paramecia from the new sample are healthier and hence their future generations should grow at a faster rate than those whose preceding generations were cultivated in old medium. A preliminary analysis of our data shows no support for a strong maternal effect.
Keywords: Population Modeling, Maternal Effect
Topic(s):Physics
Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 1-3
Location: MG 1096
Time: 8:30