NCC Biology Students Awarded for Research

Nash Community College Associate in Science students perform graduate level research, preparing for, and successfully transferring to, major research centers at area universities, taking firsthand experience with them. Three NCC students presented posters at the Meeting. Nash-Rocky Mount Early College student Trina Phan presented a poster titled “Using Genomic Data to Test for Introgression Between Putative Species of Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus).” NCC Career and College Promise student Natalie Bernat presented a poster, “Developing an eDNA Protocol to Distinguish Two Closely Related Species of Waterdogs (Necturus) in Turbid Coastal Waters.” Bernat’s research is funded through the Duke Energy Water Resources Grant. NCC student Henri Vega-Bernal presented “Looking for Morphological Differentiation in deeply Diverged Lineages of Tiny Salamanders (Desmognathus aeneus).”

NCC Biology Instructor and Lead Researcher Dr. David Beamer shared his research, “Giant Genomes and Low Genetic Diversity Across Independent River Drainages: What’s Going on with Waterdogs (Necturus),” in a special presentation. Dr. Beamer’s study is also funded through the Duke Energy Resources Grant. NCC alumna, Kabryn Mattison gave a talk about her survey of endangered bird species in Indonesia and the conservation implications. Students enjoyed meeting NCC Alumnus Nathaniel Akers, who was also in attendance.

Phan, Bernat and Vega-Bernal were jointly awarded in the “Best Undergraduate Poster” category. “This event gave our students another scholarly outlet to present their research, answer questions, learn about others’ scholarship and establish new connections for future research collaborations,” Beamer said.

Much of NCC Biology’s research has been focused on North Carolina’s Neuse and Tar River basins and main tributaries: home to a unique species of salamander, the Neuse River waterdog. The Neuse River waterdog is a completely aquatic salamander with feathery gills on each side of its head. They are currently a candidate for federal endangered species listing mainly due to their sensitivity to environmental conditions. NCC Biology students originally began surveying Neuse River waterdogs for a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission study in 2011. Alumnus Akers was among the first cohort of students to participate in NCC’s waterdog research during the data collection phase. Akers is a UNC-W graduate and currently works as a researcher for the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.