Young Naturalist Awards
YNA and STEM
2015 Young Naturalist Awards Winners, Finalists and Semifinalists
Winning Essays
2015 Winning Essays
The Effect of Water Temperature, Water Acidity, and Animal Age and Body Size on the Opercular Respiratory Rate of Brown Bullhead Catfish
Greening Under the Evergreens: A Biochar Soil Amendment Study
Harboring a Problem: Investigating Changes in Dissolved Oxygen Levels at King Harbor in Redondo Beach, CA
Mango Skins: An Effective Organic Pest Deterrent
Goldfish as a Model for Understanding Learning and Memory: More Complex Than You Think
Dripping with Life: Investigating Bacteria in Speleothem Carbonates from Natural and Artificial Surfaces
Temporal Changes in the Vertebrate Scavenger Community in Association with Wildebeest Carcasses
Digging the Dark: Broad-Scale Nesting Patterns of Sea Turtles vis-á-vis Satellite Measures of Artificial Lighting
The Effects of Varying Conductivities on Phytoplankton Concentration and Species Composition in the Presence of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Lake Mat...
The Identification of Cutaneous Bacteria on Salamanders that Inhibit the Chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Forecasting Hurricane Hazards for the Long Island Area
Chytrid Treatments and Their Compatibility with Amphibian Tissue
Removal of Copper (II) Ions from Contaminated Water by Encapsulation of Peppermint Tea Leaves in Alginate Beads
Occupancy Modeling of Bird Species in a Subalpine Lake Ecosystem
Using Agricultural Waste for Remediation of Chemical Contaminants in Water
A Study of the Effectiveness of Deer Repellents on the Eating Habits of White-tailed Deer
Urban Birds in Central Park
Weed Warfare: Investigating Allelopathy
Bacterial Activity in Different Water Sources: A Sequel Comparative Study
Floating Docks Provide Footing for Exotic Marine Species: Differences in Dock Substrate Types Within a Coastal Pond
Troubled Waters: An Analysis of Water Quality and Biota in the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River
Significantly Increasing the Concentration of Cellulosic Ethanol Using Cedecea davisae
Manipulating Mutant Chlamydomonas reinhardtii strains in Hydrogen production: A Novel Source of Renewable Energy
The Effects of Soil Nitrogen Content on the Caloric Investments of the Carnivorous Plant Drosera capenis
The Effects of Heat-Shock Therapy on the Immunity of Hard Clams With Quahog Parasite Unknown Disease
Analysis of the Composition of Mammalian Species in an Urban, Fragmented Area in Southern California
Optimizing Algae Biofuels: Applied Natural Selection to Improve Lipid Synthesis
Testing Water Quality Near a Public Landfill
Comparison of a Parrotlet's Seed Preference
Selective Territoriality Among Foxes
Living Waters: A Study of the Effects of Elevation on Water Quality and Biota in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Using Plant-Based Biofilters to Purify Household Wastewater
An Analysis of the Effects of a Wildfire on the Biodiversity of Wildlife in Southern Arizona
The Effect of Oil and Its Dispersants on the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica
Biochar Carbon Sequestration: The Effect of Feedstock and Particle Size on Physical and Chemical Stability
The Effect of Coprophagous Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae, and Hydrophilidae) on Methane Emission Rates and a Six-Month Species Com...
Pumpkin Purifier: Removal of Toxic Metals from Water Using Curcurbita Agricultural Waste
Genetic Analysis of the Brown, Brook, and Tiger Trout Populations in the Lake Champlain Basin
The Prevalence of Ophryocystis elektroscirrha Infections in the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus): A Study of the Protozoan Parasite in a Wild P...
Effects of Urbanization on Cutaneous Bacteria as Inhibitors of the Amphibian Fungal Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees
Butterfly Buffet: The Feeding Preferences of Painted Ladies
Are Dogs' Tongues Really Cleaner Than Humans'?
Plant Extracts as Natural Insecticides
The Effects of pH, Salinity, and Water Temperature on Palaemonetes pugio
Tiny Allies: The Effect of Coprophilous Beetles on Brassica rapa and Lolium perenne Growth and Biomass
Hamadryas Baboons, Papio hamadryas: Captive vs. Wild
Enhancing Algae Biofuels: Nannochloropsis oculata
Memory Retention in Landscape Learning of Honeybees, Apis mellifera
Evaluation of Fecal Contamination in Strawberry River
Effect of Neustonic Microplastic Debris on the Pelagic Insect, Halobates sericeus
The Effects of DEET on Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates, Pyrocystis fusiformis
Ethology of Friendship Among Adult Male Bonnet Macaques, Macaca radiata, at Arunachala Hill, India
Cryptic Species and Synonyms: A Reclassification of the Tropical Spurilla Genus
Cleaning the Water
Bear Brook: Strong Evidence of Pollution
The Role of Microbial Communities in the Breakdown of Wastewater Pharmaceuticals
Trails in the Snow: The Effects of Reforestation on Mammal Distribution in the Baraboo Hills
Diversity of Foliar Endophytes in Wild and Cultured Metrosideros Polymorpa Inferred from Environmental PCR and ITS Sequence Data
Which Way Out--A Study of the Exit Tunnels Made by the Goldenrod Gall Fly, Eurosta solidaginis
Effects of the Aquatic Environment on Growth of the Amphibian Pathogen Bactrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Quantifying the Relative Abundance of Juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhychus, in the Hudson River
Going for the Green
Project Phosphogypsum: The Effect of Phosphogypsum on the Water-retaining Properties of St. Augustine Grass
Investigating the Ecology of Chelydra s. Serpentina, the Common Snapping Turtle, in a Highly Urban Setting
Native Chesapeake Bay Grasses: A Solution to Nutrient Pollution?
You're Fired: The Use of Fire to Eliminate Non-Native Plants in a Prairie Restoration
Effects of Herbicide Application Following Mechanical Site Preparation on Long-term Forest Development: An Experiment with Picea glauca
Night visitors: A Study of the Hourly Distribution of Moth Activity at a Light Station
Facial Expression and its Relationship to Gesture in Western Lowland Gorillas
A Behavioral Test to Examine the Evolution of Color Vision in Vertebrates
Superabsorbant Hydrogels: A Study of the Most Effective Application of Cross-linked Polyacrylamide Polymers
An Analysis of the Microbial Community Associated with the Mucus of Ringed Coral (Montipora patula)
Fishing Pressure on Brown Trout Populations in Northern New Mexico Streams
Marching Hazard
Feeding Habits of Aves of Northern Illinois
The Effectiveness of Botanical Extracts as Repellents Against Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
River Crossings: Effects on Wildlife in and Around the Fort River
Irrigation or Evaporation?
Nesting Preferences of the Alfalfa Leaf-cutting Bee
Investigating the Effect of Silver Nanoparticles on Aquatic Organisms
Filtration Capabilities of The Eastern Oyster and Soft-Shell Clam
Colors Within: A Study of the Pigmentations in Deciduous and Broadleaf Evergreens
Grasshoppers in the Rockies: Surmounting Alpine Challenges
Birds of a Feather Feed Together
Gestural Communication by a Group of Western Lowland Gorillas
Juvenile Blue Crab Cannibalism
Providing Habitat for Threatened Drymarchon corais couperi Utilizing Gopherus polyphemus Burrows
Resilience of a Red Sea Fringing Coral Reef Under Extreme Environmental Conditions: A Four Year Study
Anthropogenic Radionuclides in the Estuarine Environment Near a Boiling Water Nuclear Reactor
Algae in the Wekiva River: Is It Helping or Hurting Water Quality?
The Toads of Delaware County
An Analysis of Water Quality on the Severn River over Two Years
An Analysis of the Effect of Roofing Albedo on Ambient Temperature
An Investigation of Water Quality in Mercer County Lake
Barn Owls on the Side of the Road
Thigmomorphogenesis in Pisum sativum Tendril Development
From the Desert to the Subalpine Forest
Human Factor IV: The Impact of a Boiling Water Nuclear Reactor on the Plankton, Benthic and Biofouling Communities in the Reactor's Intake and Disc...
A Survey of the Birds of Indroda Nature Park in Gujarat, India
Lichens as Indicators of Vehicle Pollution
More Than Meets the Eye: Do Himasthla Sp. B Cercariae Use Chemo-orientation?
Toxic Algae: A Threat to Florida Waters?
An Analysis of Mockingbird Nesting Behavior in Residential Areas
Waterworks: A Purification Process
A Study of Claridy Creek: Water Pollution and the Effects of Phytoremediation on Contaminants
Lead Levels in Residential Soil in Proximity to a Superhighway
Investigation of Water and Soil Quality Upstream and Downstream in a Pond Environment
Human Factor III: The Impact of a Boiling Water Nuclear Reactor
The Work Habits of the North American Beaver
Tillandsia usneoides: An Indicator to Air Pollution
Environmental Engineering of Pogonomyrmex Harvester Ant Mounds
Ozone Pollution and White Pines: Phase II
The Effect of Hatchery Cell Size on Growth of Juvenile Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun
The Pantano Wash: Investigating an Ecosystem
The Effect of Hedychium gardnerianum on the Surrounding Soil and Native Flora in Volcano, Hawaii
Exploring Earthworms' Influences on a Miniature Ecosystem
Does Effluent Water Affect the Ecosystem in Fountain Hills, Arizona?
Tidal Pools: Bacterial Variability, Marine Life Stability
Impact Study of Grovers Mill Pond and Dam Reconstruction on Big Bear Brook
The World Through a Bat's Ears
Dance of the Moons
Troubled Waters: A Six-Month Longitudinal Study of the Spanish Fork River System
Environmental Effects of Industrial Run-off on Daphnia magna
Got Cats? Get Worms!
A Search for Variable Stars in Two Northern Open Clusters: NGC 381 and NGC 637
Gopher Tortoises: My Endangered Fellow Floridians
A Comparison of the Bisbee and Morenci, Arizona, Copper Ore Deposits
The Growth Patterns of Aspens
Afpectus Lunae: Does the Moon Rotate on Its Axis?
Life in a Vernal Pool
The Mystery of a Lifeless Creek: Investigating Dissolved Oxygen and Fecal-Coliform Bacteria
Explaining the Divergence of the Marine Iguana Subspecies on Espa
The Impact of Plant Density and Diversity on Animal Populations in a Sonoran Desert Environment
Effects of Nitrate, Phospate, and Hydrogen Ion Concentration on Synedra Ulna: Diatoms as Indicators of Water Composition
Morphologic Variation in the Common Periwinkle
¡Que Vivan las Serpientes Muertas!
The Mysterious Peregrine Falcon
Selected Winning Essays: 1998-2003
My Fish-Shaped Home: A History of Changes
Deformed Frogs: The Big Mystery
Oscawana: A Dying Lake?
Saguaro Cactus: From Life to Death
Reading the Rocks in Cold Spring Harbor, New York
The Big Chill: Calming Signals Among Wolves
Investigating the Effects of Water Pollution on Daphnia magna
Biodiversity in Arizona
Comparing Streams in Southwest Washington to Determine the Needs of Salmon
The Natural Environment of New Lisbon, New York
The History and Geology of Rocks and Fossils in Helena, Montana
Fiddler on the Marsh
Survival in the Northeast Wilderness
A Beach Walk in New Mexico
Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the Rochester, New York, Area
Aquarium: An Ecosystem in Miniature
Reading the Rocks at Cornwall, Pennsylvania
Shaped by Nature and Man: The Geological History of the Palisades
Emit What You Eat: An Investigation of the Link Between Bovine Diet and Their Excreta Methane Emissions
Aspen Island
Exploring a Woodlot's Ecosystem
A Study of the Indigenous, Endemic, and Exotic Fungi in the Pu'u Maka'ala Natural Area Reserve in Volcano, Hawaii
Habitat Selection for Nest Cups of the Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) in Nome, Alaska
Aspen: A Keystone Species
A Study of the Geology of the Rocks of the Huntington Formation in the Izee and Olds Ferry Terrains of the Blue Mountains Region
Bobwhite Quail Decline in Texas
Investigating Vegetation and Small Mammals in the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming
A Comparison of Native Tree Seedling Growth on Fallen Hapu'u Ferns and the Adjacent Forest Floor in Volcano, Hawaii
Habitat Variety and Bird Abundance
Tardigrades as Environmental Bio-Indicators
Growing Up at Espenberg: Eggstatic About Foxes
Surviving Against All Odds: Investigating the Adaptability of the Common Periwinkle
From Uplift to Glaciation: The Geological History of the Pikes Peak Region
First Flights: Fledgling Bald Eagles in Southeast Alaska
Salmon Creek: A Search for the Missing Salmon
A Study of the Geology of the Rocks of the Huntington Formation in the Izee and Olds Ferry Terrains of the Blue Mountains Region Part of the Young Naturalist Awards Curriculum Collection
Part of the Young Naturalist Awards Curriculum Collection.
More in Young Naturalist Awards
by Matthew, Grade 11, Ohio - YNA Winner
The rock specimens that I collected were found along a 15-mile stretch of road north of Huntington, Oregon, on the west side of the snake river. They all came from the Huntington Formation in the Izee and Olds Ferry terraines, both of which are in the Blue Mountains Region.
Both the Izee and the Olds Ferry terraines, along with nearby Wallowa and Baker terraines, all formed as a sequence of volcanic islands during the Late Triassic, although the Izee terraine is a sedimentary basin created primarily from the erosion of the other three terraines. Their accretion to the North American front can be explained through a hypothesized series of events.
Approximately 370 to 270 million years ago (MYA), between the Late Devonian and Early Permian, the Wallowa terraine formed at an ancient subduction boundary west of the North American craton. Based on current paleomagnetic data, the island arc began its accretion onto the North American western front at about 11° to 19° North between 270 and 260 MYA. This process continued for several million years, until the first third of the Mesozoic, when the subduction zone beneath the island arc shifted, leaving the volcanoes forming the Baker terraine lying dormant and creating the new volcanoes of the Olds Ferry terraine. On the intra-arc region between the Olds Ferry terraine and the Baker terraine formed the sedimentary deposits composing the Izee terraine. Also about that time, 190-155 MYA, the Blue Mountains island arc, as it has come to be called, and the North American continent begin moving northward together. Finally, about 155-115 MYA, from the beginning of the Kimmeridgian of the Jurassic to midway through the Aptian of the Cretaceous, the entire Blue Mountains island arc collided with western North America. During the Tertiary, 65-5.3 MYA, the new front was covered by other volcanic rocks, and since the Late Miocene, 6 MYA to the present, has been uplifted and eroded.
Modern-day evidence of this model of continental accretion and subduction zone movement can be seen in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and their neighboring seamounts.It was during the Late Cretaceous as well that the western end of the continent saw the onset of plutonism; the Idaho batholith is one of these types of intrusive deposits prominent in this area. The onset of plutonism itself could have been due to the change in crustal plate movement. Since the subduction zone did not just disappear after the entire Blue Mountains arc was accreted, it can be assumed that it went on to form the Cascade volcanic mountain range.
The Olds Ferry terraine formed approximately 226-222 MYA, during the Late Triassic. The terraine mostly consists of volcanic (flow) and volcaniclastic (pyroclastic and epiclastic) rocks, although only volcanic (flow) rock specimens were collected on my expedition. In addition, siliceous plutonic bodies occur locally. The volcanic (flow) rocks range in composition from basalt to rhyolite.The Izee terraine, as stated earlier, is composed of clastic sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age. The sedimentary rocks formed primarily from igneous rocks of the Olds Ferry and Wallowa terraines.
The accretion process caused severe metamorphism, as did the more recent volcanic activity in the region. Therefore, almost all the specimens collected that originally appeared as igneous rocks in the Olds Ferry terraine, and as sedimentary rocks in the Izee terraine, were metamorphosed in one way or another.
Rock Descriptions
Metamorphosed porphyritic basalt
The first specimen, a slightly metamorphosed porphyritic basalt, shows oxidization and another form of slight discoloration on the external side, while large white phenocrysts are visible on the inward side. The phenocrysts, which are quartz and plagioclase crystals, range in size from 1 millimeter in diameter to microscopic grains of an indeterminable size. Their presence indicates two-stage cooling in the original rock. The basalts of the Huntington Formation are distinctly fine grained, with an aphanitic texture. Grains of interbedded fossilferous marine sediment on specimens collected from the Huntington Formation by other parties indicate that these lavas were erupted in a submarine environment.
Basalt porphyry
The second rock is an aphanitic-textured basalt porphyry. It has mostly phenocrysts of quartz and plagioclase, but a few unknown types of minerals are also present. The largest phenocryst is 4 millimeters in width, while the smallest are no larger than the surrounding matrix itself. This specimen is an extrusive deposit covering the Huntington Formation, coming from the well-known Columbia River basalts. The date of intrusion is somewhere in the Miocene, approximately 23 to 5.3 MYA. This specimen also shows signs of severe mechanical weathering. Judging by the way the outcrop that the specimen came from was cracked, and by the fact that local weather conditions make for frequent freeze/thaw, ice wedging is the most obvious agent.
Metamorphosed rhyolite
The third specimen collected is a weakly contact metamorphosed rhyolite. Much of the parent rock is still visible in this sample in the form of phenocrysts. The majority of phenocrysts are only about 5 millimeters in size. The texture is fine-grained crystalline. The rock is nonfoliated, with patches of biotite mica and potassium feldspar present. Slight oxidization on the outer edge provides evidence of chemical weathering.
Porphyritic basalt
The fourth rock is an unaltered fragment of porphyritic basalt, identical in all respects to the first specimen. The basalt contains relatively few phenocrysts that range in size from 1 millimeter to 3 millimeters. As with the earlier specimen, the phenocrysts are quartz and plagioclase.
The fifth sample of rock is a plutonic granite. It is one of the siliceous plutonic bodies that invaded the Olds Ferry terraine between the end of the Jurassic and the beginning of the Cretaceous periods. The specimen has a rough, phaneritic texture, coarsely crystalline and indicating the slowest rate of cooling. Large grains of pink potassium feldspar, along with smaller, darker grains of mica and some amphibole are visible.
Pyroclastic tuff
The sixth specimen, which is also one of the most interesting, is a pyroclastic tuff. It obviously came from a felsic to intermediate eruption, the latter being the more likely cause. The ash and debris would have to have traveled a considerable distance, as the site of discovery is located approximately 240 miles from the nearest volcano, Mt. Jefferson. The rock is finely grained and flakes off at the touch. There are several pieces of pyroclastic debris visible, the largest 1.5 centimeters in diameter. After settling, this layer of ash was covered with sediment, and then hardened. Since radiometric dating was not a realistic option for this writer, it is impossible to give an estimate as to the time of arrival. My best hypothesis is that it came from one of the Tertiary eruptions that blanketed the area before the last ice age.
Basalt with quartz band
While conducting my rock hunt, I repeatedly observed a series of quartz bands running through the exposed Huntington Formation basalts. Extracting one, though, was difficult. I finally succeeded in finding one weathered enough to remove. The bands are a post-arrival addition to the basalts. They are hydrothermal and formed when superheated water, saturated with silica, flowed through the cracks in the basalts and rhyolites caused by the regional metamorphism. Then, in a geologic blink that lasted approximately 10 to 20 thousand years, the western coast of North America expanded far enough, the subducting plate feeding the hot water moved farther and farther out, and the water quit flowing. The silica that had been collecting in the veins finally hardened into what it is today. The texture of the quartz is a typically fine-grained crystalline. Shades of color in the quartz vary, but white, clear, and light gray are its primary colors.
Metamorphosed breccia
After journeying approximately seven miles down the road, I left the exposure of the Olds Ferry terraine and began encountering the masses of sedimentary rocks present in the Izee terraine. The first, and most common, was a rough, terrigenous breccia composed primarily of angular chunks of the metamorphic and volcanic rocks previously encountered. The Olds Ferry rhyolite appears in the form of several pieces each 2 centimeters long by 1 centimeter wide. There is one grain made of granite approximately 3 centimeters long by 1.5 centimeters wide. The grains of rhyolite and granite, along with an unknown and extremely oxidized mineral, surround a much larger matrix of unaltered basalt from either the Baker terraine or the Olds Ferry terraine. Slight banding in some of the minerals is evidence of the metamorphism caused by the arrival to the front.
Metamorphosed arkosic siltstone
The next specimen collected in the Izee terraine arrived at an unknown time. It is an arkosic siltstone, slightly metamorphosed and featuring a series of thin quartzite bands. The unmetamorphosed particles are less than 0.06 millimeters in size and very smooth. The round grains provide insight that this rock formed as a result of the depositing of terrigenous sediments. This further complicates the matter of deciding on the origin of the stone. The silicate sand grain could have formed early on, weathered from the Blue Mountains island arc's rhyolites, or at a later date, brought in by the Snake River that flows close by. It is this writer's opinion that this rock had indeed formed elsewhere. I base this on the fact that this rock specimen is rounded in a way that points to a long period of time spent in a stream or river, and that no other specimens of an arkosic siltstone have been documented in the Izee terraine. I believe it was transported to the terraine by the Snake River after the Blue Mountains region formed.
The explanation for the metamorphosed quartzite bands in that scenario could stem from one of two places: either from exposure to the formation of the Idaho batholith, or, more likely, exposure to the formation of the Snake River plain.
Cataclasite
The tenth specimen is a cataclasite that originally formed at a normal fault in a layer of metabasalt in the Huntington Formation. When discovered, though, the hanging wall had slid far enough down that the footwall metabasalt was grinding against an unknown rock type, igneous in origin. The cataclasite is extremely flaky and shows over 17 different layers, most of which display oxidization and hydrothermal buildup. The fault that the cataclasite was found in ran for a considerable distance before disappearing back into the hillside. The fact that the rock was eroding more rapidly than the surrounding igneous rocks suggests that it does not weather well and was only recently exposed.
The area in which I collected my samples is very rich in geologic history yet is undocumented and lacks detailed geologic maps. The rock types found within are mostly igneous types that would be formed in an oceanic environment, along with sedimentary rocks that formed as other igneous rocks weathered. Most of these rocks were then metamorphosed as they accreted to the western front of the North American continent and exposed to the extreme volcanic activity that ensued. Some are post-arrival intrusive deposits, either the igneous plutons that caused the metamorphism, the sedimentary rocks moved possibly hundreds of miles by the Snake River, or ash deposits from the many active volcanoes in the region.
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