Student Scientists

in science, everything is related...

Solutions to problems might be in places that we do not expect, like studying mice in order to save owls. What makes science so interesting is that there are so many angles to a problem... even a person like me can look at some something and make observations and come up with ideas. John, 9th grade The Young Naturalist Awards and STEM www.amnh.org

Can pumpkin waste clean polluted waters? What native species returned after the Arizona wildfires of last year? Are non-native fish endangering brook trout in Lake Champlain? These are some of the questions that 13 student scientists explored through the American Museum of Natural History’s 15th Annual Young Naturalist Awards, a nationwide science-based research competition for kids in grades 7 through 12 supported by the Alcoa Foundation.

“The Young Naturalist Awards are a superb example of students using the scientific process to engage in creative and original investigations of the world around them,” said Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History. “We are proud to help foster a love of science and nature in all the participants and especially in the outstanding winners, who are to be congratulated for their exceptional work.” Young Naturalist Winners 2012.pdf

Young Naturalist Awards 2012

Winner Spotlight: Parasitic Infections in Monarch Butterflies

Danielle P. Ethington

Age 17, Grade 12

San Clemente High School

San Clemente, California

Research Essay: The Prevalence of Ophryocystis elektroscirrha Infections in the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus): A Study of the Protozoan Parasite in a Wild Population of Western Monarchs (click here to read Danielle's research essay from www.amnh.org)

Danielle’s curiosity and passion for nature led her to initiate a year-long scientific study that concentrated on the host-parasite relationship between monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (a protozoan parasite usually fatal to the host) infections transmitted between butterflies and to the environment. At the conclusion of her study, Danielle analyzed scale samples from 746 wild monarchs in 17 test gardens in coastal San Clemente and found the average annual rate of infection in to be 41 percent, with a seasonal high of 81 percent by November. Both these figures represent substantial increases over the 30 percent annual average estimated for migrating monarchs in California during winter.

“Now that a baseline average infection rate and seasonal population statistics have been established for the southern region, additional collection years may correlate monarch cycles and migration with climate change. Further research needs to be done to verify whether or not monarchs from the southern region migrate. If not, are the causes the environment or human behavior?” Danielle Ethington, Grade 12 Young Naturalist Winners 2012.pdf

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