My research project is on the thermal tolerance of a specific type of caddis fly in North America; Pycnopsyche guttifera trichoptera is the scientific name. It’s essentially about the differences in survivability between flies that are exposed to oxygen from their environment, as opposed to those not exposed to oxygen from their environment, in a way that relates to heat. 

For these flies, oxygen is very important during their larval stage, when they’re aquatic. When water is heated, much of the dissolved oxygen content goes down because that oxygen evaporates in the air. Cold water can hold a large amount of dissolved oxygen content. When the temperature of the water in which they’re residing goes up, that oxygen content goes down. 

That can cause metabolic stress because they don’t have as much oxygen to utilize for aerobic metabolism. There’s a question about whether the harm caused to the species is caused by the physical heat that’s being applied to them, or due to their metabolic stress.

 

How did you come up with this project?

That sort of species is easy to capture and they’re found in the particular area of Michigan where I was doing research, so they’re an ideal specimen to be utilized. But the other thing is that this sort of study, even though it’s very niche and not super exciting or sexy, is very relevant nowadays because a lot of studies are assessing the effects of thermal pollution on smaller bodies of water, lakes, rivers and streams. You’re able to assess specific effects of certain factors on the metabolism of an organism. It’s not that isn’t extremely well- understood in a way that is relevant to thermal pollution that’s happening nowadays because of runoff from areas that have higher amounts of thermal pollution, or because of heating with nuclear reactors, and other things like that. 

 

What is the impact this fly has on the ecosystem?

The caddis flies are good indicators of a lack of pollution of any type, whether heat or chemical pollution, in an aquatic environment. They’re extremely sensitive, especially in their larval stage. They’re not full-fledged flies; they’re not very mobile. They’re confined to the ecosystem once you find them, so they can’t migrate to resist pollution. They have a worm-like structure; they’re still developing in their larval stage, so they’re very sensitive to temperature changes and the chemical composition of the stream. They’re also a good indicator of a lack of pollution because they occupy all niches within the food chain. They’re shredders and collectors; most of them feed on decaying organic matter. Some of them also make nets to catch things like food particles, or they scrape the moss off logs and rocks. So essentially, if they were to die, there would be a large gap in the food chain. 

 

What has the process of research been like?

The research process is really daunting because of a few factors. One is that you don’t really know what you could be doing wrong, which is a weird thing. Every time you fix a problem, you’re thinking of better ways that you could have fixed it if you knew the things then that you know now. Hindsight is always 20/20 when you’re doing a research project. 

 

It’s a turbulent process; it’s tough. You have to be able to adjust constantly, and you have to be able to find novel solutions and have a good support group. I certainly couldn’t have done it without running to my advisor Dr. Houghton every other day. 

 

What do you plan to do post-graduation, and is it related to your research?

I’m planning on taking a gap year before going to medical school. It’s great to have research experience like this on the pre-medical track, even though this sort of experiment is not super applicable to disease states in humans, or anything like that. A lot of medical schools want to see it, as it’s important to be able to design an experiment and manipulate variables to answer a question that you’re attempting to understand. As a medical doctor, even if you’re not in a research lab all the time, you still have to be very involved in what the newest research is saying so that you can constantly adjust your treatment and advice to patients. Being familiar with what the research process looks like as opposed to unsound research, and being able to manipulate variables to study questions is a valuable skill in any capacity.