2011 Winning Essays

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...