2011 Winning Essays
Part of the Young Naturalist Awards Curriculum Collection.
Twelve winning essays from the 2011 contest year of the Young Naturalist Awards by students from grade 7 - 12. Winning essays ranged from an investigation the effects of acidification in the Chesapeake Bay on grass shrimp, to the feeding preferences of painted lady butterflies, to a study of the effects of open ocean plastic pollution on a marine insect.
Article
The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees
People see winter as a cold and gloomy time in nature. The days are short. Snow blankets the ground. Lakes and ponds freeze, and...
Article
Butterfly Buffet: The Feeding Preferences of Painted Ladies
Can you imagine a world without butterflies? Although butterflies are insects, most people think they are beautiful, peaceful creatures...
Article
Are Dogs' Tongues Really Cleaner Than Humans'?
"Abby! Don't let the dog lick you! Her tongue is full of bacteria!" Ever since we got a dog a few years ago, my mom has...
Article
Plant Extracts as Natural Insecticides
Every year my family and I wage a constant war for homegrown fruits and vegetables. We weed-whack, fence, and cover our plants to...
Article
The Effects of pH, Salinity, and Water Temperature on Palaemonetes pugio
The objective of this research was to determine the effects of acidification, a change in water pH, on the grass shrimp Palaemonetes...
Article
Tiny Allies: The Effect of Coprophilous Beetles on Brassica rapa and Lolium perenne Growth and Biomass
Countless shades of green carpet the ground below a sapphire sky stretching to the horizon. Cows graze peacefully nearby. I take...
Article
Hamadryas Baboons, Papio hamadryas: Captive vs. Wild
As I headed to the exhibit where the hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) resided, I knew something interesting would happen over...
Article
Enhancing Algae Biofuels: Nannochloropsis oculata
The idea that algae could help power our modern society without the drawbacks of fossil fuels is inherently appealing.
Article
Memory Retention in Landscape Learning of Honeybees, Apis mellifera
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) play a vital role in U.S. agriculture as pollinators of several crops, including carrots, almonds and...
Article
Evaluation of Fecal Contamination in Strawberry River
As a young child I spent many hours enjoying the cool refreshing water of Strawberry River. My favorite swimming hole was below an...
Article
Effect of Neustonic Microplastic Debris on the Pelagic Insect, Halobates sericeus
Welcome to our plastic world. From cups to bags, bottles to CDs, clips to pipes, a nifty collection of polymers is here and thriving....
Article
The Effects of DEET on Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates, Pyrocystis fusiformis
Puerto Rico is home to three bioluminescent bays, protected inlets that hold millions of marine bioluminescent dinoflagellates. These...