Presenter(s): Saad Mirza—General Science
Co-Presenter(s): Elena Ortega
Faculty Mentor(s): Nadia Singh
Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation
Behavioral change frequently accompanies ecological divergence . This study observed C . elegans and C . inopinatus behavior . It is already common knowledge that C . elegans are found in rotting plants all over the world whereas the C . inopinata are only found in Japan . The basis of this experiment was to observe what kind of bacteria each nematode prefers . This was done by taking the two different nematodes, placing them in the middle of a petri dish separately . Two different types of bacteria would be placed on the left and right side which then allowed for observation of the behavior . Raw data was collected by counting the amount of nematodes on both left and right sides . Results showed that although bacteria was preferred over no bacteria, the two nematode species did not show any differences in their preferences even though C . elegans N2 is lab adapted and C . inopinata is not . This work sets the stage for future studies aimed at understanding the genetic basis of interspecific interactions and behavioral divergence .