Impacts of climate change on alpine grasshopper communities
Caroline Williams, Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
We are using grasshoppers from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to study the biological impacts of recent anthropogenic climate change, from the level of genes and molecules to whole organisms and communities.
Role: The undergraduate will work with postdoc Monica Sheffer to carry out qPCR on frozen grasshopper specimens. They will learn the theoretical and practical aspects of lab techniques including RNA interference, measuring gene expression, and micro-dissections. They will carry out animal husbandry on our cricket colonies.
Qualifications: No previous research experience required. Required traits: reliable, detail-oriented, excited about science, steady hands, willing to handle crickets including injecting, euthanizing, and dissecting them. Desirable but not essential: experience reading primary literature, work experience with good references, some molecular biology or physiology coursework.
Undergraduates in the Williams lab attend lab meetings and take part in the intellectual life of the lab. They interact with graduate students and the PI and have the opportunity to form long-term mentoring relationships. For exceptional students, there may be opportunities to contribute to a publication or present at a conference. Students often stay in the lab for multiple semesters and contribute to diverse research projects including independent research and honors theses.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Monica Sheffer, Post-Doc
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Related website: https://www.trenchproject.com/grasshopper
Related website: https://www.trenchproject.com/grasshopper