An Alaskan Adventure: The Search for its Fauna and Microorganisms

An Alaskan Adventure: The Search for its Fauna and Microorganisms

Dr. Arena's Biodiversity of Alaskan Ecosystems course inspired me to get a closer look at the diverse assemblage of organisms, which inhabit one of America's and the World's most pristine and wild places. I was able to enroll in the "Tracking Wild Life" course offered by the Alaska Geographic Institute in Denali National Park, AK. I learned techniques utilized by hunters to track and harvest wild animals, to identify local fauna and determine their activity around Teklanika River in Denali National Park. Track width, length and shape were recorded, as well as whether claw marks, pads and toe tracks were visible. Additionally, I took water samples from the Kenai Fjords glaciers in the city of Seward, AK and brought them back to NSU for isolation and identification of the microorganisms present. Marine agar, M9 minimal salts and nutrient broth were used to grow and isolate the bacteria from the samples. 16s rDNA sequencing will be used to identify the species of bacteria present in the samples. The final results and details of my observations will be presented.