Hi everyone! My name is Megan Saunders and I am a junior studying integrative biology at Saint Mary’s College. I just joined Dr. Young’s research team this fall. In particular, I wanted to do research with Dr. Young due to her focus on the morphology of different organisms. After undergrad, I plan to attend physical therapy school, so being able to research how organisms move and furthermore, what that says about their lifestyle is a really cool opportunity!
I have recently begun my research project, which is a continuation of Dr. Young’s work on phylogenetic turtle limb bone scaling. Dr. Young collected bone measurements from skeletal specimens at 5 different museum’s and previously analyzed the limb bone scaling patterns within the Cryptodiran clade, a clade of turtles which retract their head in a vertical plane. For my research project, I will be comparing scaling patterns of Pleurodires, which are “hidden-necked” turtles that retract their heads in a horizontal plane, to the Cryptodires. All in all, studying limb bone patterns in organisms is important to understanding their natural history, or why organisms have evolved specific structures to suit their lifestyle. So far this semester I have been reading previous morphological studies on Pleurodires and Cryptodires to acquire foundational knowledge in order to generate a hypothesis for my research. Additionally, I have been researching published Pleurodiran cladograms in order to create a tree topology for comparisons of limb bone scaling between species. I recently submitted my research proposal and hope to begin data analysis during the second semester! Hi everyone, it’s Madeleine again! I spent this past summer taking the GRE and applying to DPT programs. I am currently waiting for responses from the schools I applied to. It has been the perfect time to begin my research as I wait!
Dr. Young and I had originally hoped to begin my data collection last spring, but it took longer than we expected for our paperwork to be processed by the IRB on campus. I collected my data over the months of September and the first half of October. I ended up collecting data from 59 subjects, which was more than I had originally planned on. Over the past few weeks I have been analyzing the videos and have begun to combine my data with Allie’s data from last year. Over the next few weeks I will conduct my statistical analysis and begin to write my senior comprehensive paper. This has been an exciting process for me! I cannot wait to finish my analysis and see if there are any significant results. I will be presenting my research at Belle Biology Days at the end of February on the Saint Mary’s College campus. |
AuthorsAlok Agwick Archives
February 2024
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