13 April 2001

Description of the SIP:
All Kalamazoo College students do a Senior Individualized Project (SIP) for one ten-week quarter during the senior year. Most biology students do these projects during the summer before the senior year. The projects involve moderately original, full-time, work carried out with direction from scientists in academic, industrial, or government settings. Usually, students work on a small part of an ongoing project in the laboratory or field, but they must be able to gather and analyze a reliable set of data in the ten-week period that they can then interpret and discuss. Long-term projects, involving the collection of data that cannot be interpreted until some future data, are not appropriate for the SIP. Biology students submit the results of their projects as written senior theses that are reviewed by classmates and faculty in Biology and are then graded. Many of these projects have resulted in publications with the students as co-authors. The SIP is a college graduation requirement and students may do their work in any area, but Biology majors are required to present their work, as a seminar or as a poster, during our annual Diebold Symposium in the spring.

So, what do I have planned?

I will perform most of the work on my SIP at Drexel University under the guidance of Dr. Sotherland, Dr. Spotila, and Barbara Bell (one of Dr. Spotila's graduate students). My SIP will focus on measuring differences in hatching success arising from incubating snapping turtle eggs on two different substrates (sand and vermiculite) and at two egg depths (half-buried and completely buried in the substrate). Metabolic rates of embryos will be measured to monitor development and metabolism of the hatchlings, along with measuring several indicators of hatchling size. Results from my research will elucidate factors affecting embryonic development of turtles while providing useful information about optimal conditions for incubating turtle eggs. A proposal is attached with a detailed description of my project.

Dr. Sotherland will help collect eggs and get the experiment set up. We will work together, along with Dr. Spotila and Barbara Bell, as I get established in the lab at Drexel and in the field from mid-June to early July. Then, I will work with Dr. Spotila and Barbara during July and August as I incubate the eggs, measure metabolism, and measure hatchlings as they emerge. When I return to 'K' in August, I will work with Dr. Sotherland to analyze the data and write my thesis.

The SIP research must be carried out at Drexel University because my project will be part of a larger investigation that is examining the effects of an oil spill on local wildlife. There was a 2.2 million gallon oil spill at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, near Philadelphia, in February 2000. Dr. Spotila and two of his graduate students are currently studying the effects of the spill on freshwater turtle home ranges, using radio transmitters, and turtle reproduction and embryonic development by raising eggs and hatchlings. My project will help determine the optimal conditions for incubating these eggs so that effects of the contaminants from the oil spill can be examined with minimal interference from the incubation protocol. While doing this study I will also gather data on the impact of occluding different amounts of the shell surface (i.e. gas exchange area) with the substrate in which the eggs are incubated.

Since my project will involve developing a protocol for producing "normal" levels of respiratory gases in egg incubation chambers during development, skills I obtain as a result of my SIP will prepare me for possible future work with Dr. Sotherland on leatherback eggs. Additionally, beyond the scope of my project, I will possibly be involved in oil-spill related field projects at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

I became interested in herpetology after completing a research project focusing on the effects of bush encroachment on diurnal lizards in Namibia. My research project in Namibia was with Round River Conservation Studies, while I was enrolled at Utah State University on study-abroad in the fall of 1999. I was considering work on a salamander project at Lillian Anderson Arboretum for my SIP, but I also favored working off campus so I had the opportunity to interact with other biologists at other institutions. Last summer, I completed a Research Experience for Undergraduates internship at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Colorado. My experience included completion of a ten-week research project on ants. As a result, there was also a SIP possibility for me to return to RMBL and work again with Dr. Billick of Truman State University. I have decided that I prefer to focus on herpetology, and Dr. Spotila is a well-known, highly respected herpetologist and ecologist. It seems to me that doing my SIP at Drexel with him makes good sense.

The idea for this SIP arose during Dr. Sotherland's sabbatical at Drexel University working with Dr. Spotila, and they invited me to work on the project because of my past work with Dr. Sotherland and because of my interests in herpetology. They believe the project will work well for a SIP because I can carry out the experiments and successfully collect interesting (and useful) data on a large sample of organisms. This SIP supports my personal goal of increasing my knowledge of herpetology while supporting my objectives of broadening my scope of experiences and contacts in preparation for graduate school.

4 April 2002

Final SIP Abstract and Extras:

EFFECTS OF INCUBATION CONDITIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SNAPPING TURTLE (CHELYDRA SERPENTINA) EMBRYOS

Pictures from my SIP (Click Here!)

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