Major
Environmental Science
Anticipated Graduation Year
2023
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Apocorophium lacustre, an aquatic amphipod commonly called scud, is an invader in Illinois waterways and poses a threat to food webs and native species. Little is known about the basic biology of scud, including their diet. Scud were collected from the Illinois River and their digestive tracts were removed and stained with DAPI, a dye that presents itself in various fluorescent colors depending on the type of organisms present. The samples are being analyzed under a fluorescence microscope to determine the percentage of bacteria, protozoa, algae, and detritus that scud eat.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Reuben Keller, PhD, Associate Professor
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Gut content analysis of invasive amphipod Apocorophium lacustre in Illinois waterways
Apocorophium lacustre, an aquatic amphipod commonly called scud, is an invader in Illinois waterways and poses a threat to food webs and native species. Little is known about the basic biology of scud, including their diet. Scud were collected from the Illinois River and their digestive tracts were removed and stained with DAPI, a dye that presents itself in various fluorescent colors depending on the type of organisms present. The samples are being analyzed under a fluorescence microscope to determine the percentage of bacteria, protozoa, algae, and detritus that scud eat.