Overview
What is a Nematode you might ask? I did not know what it was either until only recently. A Nematode is a tiny, microscopic worm that lives in the ground. It has a huge affect on plant and soil health. There are good and bad Nematodes. Our world would not look the same if we did not have these Nematodes in our soils. There role in the ecosystem is vital.
According to a recent discovery, a new species of Nematodes have been discovered in the Nebraska sandhills living in the mud of high concentrated alkaline lakes. Not many species of animals interact with these lakes because of the alkalinity. In fact, there are only a couple other places in the world that match the PH levels here. So why is discovering Nematodes here such a big deal?
Discovering Nematodes here could help understand this ecosystem better. Because these water are so high in alkalinity, not many species are able to live here. This needed to be researched more. That is exactly was Tom Powers and Dorota Porazinska and their team were tasked to figure out in their study.
Tom powers
Tom Powers, otherwise known as TOP, is a professor at the University of Nebraska teaching pathology.
TOP is one of the leaders in charge of the group. With years of experience in Nematodes, biology, pathology and so on, he is an expert in this field.
TOP wants to get the Nematode name out to the public more. No one even knows what a Nematode is and there needs to be more of an awareness.
Dorota Porazinska
Dorota is a professor at the University of Florida and also teaches about Nematodes and other related topics at the University.
She is also one of the leaders of the charge and wants to learn more about this new species of Nematodes.
She likes the idea of getting younger people involved in this kind of work. Making sure the grad students are involved and investing into the younger generation.
How do they collect the data?
time to get dirty
Samples are collected from the mud of the banks surrounding these ponds. A shovel and buckets are used to collect the samples so they can be brought back to the lab for testing. Kayaks and dredging supplies were also used to collect these samples from harder to reach areas.
what ponds do they pick?
Several different ponds were used for collecting samples. A couple were on ranches that had given permission to use. A few more were on Wildlife Management Areas that is open to the public.
Where do the sample go?
The samples are sent to labs for more testing. Research labs at the University of Nebraska and Florida will test these Nematodes and their environment to try and come up with answers.
Take aways
The whole team has just as many unknowns as they do questions about these new Nematodes. It is now just a waiting game on what the research will tell. Regardless of what the results are, there will be more trips and questions that need to be answered. Most importantly, awareness for the Nematodes needs to be spread. These are vital creatures to our ecosystem and they need to be recognized.
"And I would love that those that study with me, the younger generation becomes even more passionate about soil biodiversity. And so they can carry the the message, the the work, the, the research into into the future" Dorota