High School Teacher & Students Delve Into Conservation Genetics at the Lake Erie Center
By: Jeff Grabarkiewicz, Lake Erie Center
Continuing education is an important component of any teacher’s professional development. It not only keeps educators up-to-date on academic and technological advances in their respective fields, but also provides new lessons to take back to the classroom. During the summer of 2007, Tim Bollin of Toledo Early College High School (TECHS) began his journey into the realm of conservation genetics in Dr. Carol Stepien’s Great Lakes Genetics Laboratory (GLGL) at the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center (LEC). His experience is funded by Dr. Stepien’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) award. Reflecting on his time at the LEC, Bollin said “I knew virtually nothing about conservation genetics when I started this program.”
Bollin has been teaching in the Toledo Public School system for 21 years, including four years at DeVilbiss High School and 15 years at Woodward High School. More recently, Bollin was one of the founding teachers of TECHS, a school that focuses on preparing underrepresented students for the rigors of college classes. “The students that attend our school typically do not have real-world experiences with science” explains Bollin, “from my point-of-view, the purpose of the program is to immerse students into rigorous, real-life science so they have a better idea of what science is about and are equipped to make informed decisions regarding science related careers.” In addition to increasing scientific awareness and competency, students have the opportunity to accrue two years of college credit through a partnership with the University of Toledo. The school was formed with financial assistance from KnowledgeWorks, a foundation
supported by Bill and Melinda Gates.
To foster his research experience at the LEC, Bollin has been paired with Amanda Haponski, one of Stepien’s students. With Stepien, they have compared the genetic structure of rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) populations throughout Ohio, in a study formally titled “Genetic Divergence Patterns of the Rainbow Darter Etheostoma caeruleum: A Watershed Analysis from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences and Nuclear Microsatellites.” Rainbow darters are brilliantly colored, small, bottom-dwelling fishes that occur primarily in the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins. Rainbow darters range from northern Michigan all the way south to Alabama, and east-west from Iowa to central Pennsylvania. The research is focusing exclusively on populations in the Lake Erie (four tributaries) and Ohio River drainages (two tributaries). Within these two watersheds, Tim has helped to analyze fish from the Blanchard River, Chagrin River, Cuyahoga River, Grand River, Big Darby Creek and Little Miami River.
While DNA extraction and sequencing is often performed by a laboratory technician or graduate student at the GLGL, Bollin and Stepien seized this unique opportunity to get his high school students involved. Students at TECHS have participated in both fish collection and will soon perform laboratory analysis, including DNA extraction, amplification, and analysis. “It’s a great way to expose students to molecular genetics,” Bollin said. “I think it will be a great experience.”
In the future, Stepien, along with Bollin and Haponski, plan to deposit their DNA findings in the National Institute of Health Genbank database, submit a scientific paper for publication, and present their findings at a professional conference.
The LEC is committed to providing students and teachers of all backgrounds with real-world, hands-on experience that will enhance their understanding of Lake Erie. For example, in the new NSF-funded $2.4 million GK-12 program, Stepien (along with co-principal investigators Drs. Daryl Moorhead, Tom Bridgeman, Cyndee Gruden, and Tim Fisher) will partner graduate students with area high school teachers and their students to build an Environmental Science Learning Community at the land-lake ecosystem interface. Stepien says, “Through this program, we will expose students and teachers to meaningful research through a combination of classroom instruction and field experience. Study topics will include research areas such as fish genetics, toxic algal blooms, exotic species, and terrestrial impacts on water quality.”
For more information on this project or other educational opportunities at the LEC, contact Jeff Grabarkiewicz at (419)-530-8374; www.utoledo.edu/as/lec.