E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Monday, April 12, 2010
Science Winners Head To San Jose
By John Fleck
Journal Staff Writer
Days spent in the Valles Caldera last summer trapping crayfish earned a pair of Los Alamos High School sophomores a trip to San Jose, Calif., next month for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
Nathan Clements and Joe Abeyta worked with scientists at the Valles Caldera National Preserve, protected federal land in the Jemez Mountains west of Los Alamos, to determine the effect domestic cattle might be having on the health of streams.
The pair are among six young New Mexicans who won top honors Saturday evening at the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair, held each spring at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro.
To study stream health, the pair adapted commercial crayfish traps. Crayfish are an "indicator species," meaning they provide an indication of the overall ecosystem's health, Clements said in a telephone interview Sunday.
They picked 18 streams, some where cattle are present and others where fences are used to keep the grazing animals away from the streams.
As measured by crayfish populations, the cattle do not seem to be having a significant effect on stream health, Clements and Abeyta found.
The pair and four other young New Mexicans will travel to San Jose next month to compete with about 1,500 top science students from around the world.
The other state science fair winners, who also won trips to San Jose:
• Nikita M. Bogdanov, Albuquerque Academy
• Alexander K. Kendrick, Los Alamos High School
• Jordon M. Grainger, Rio Rancho High School
• Gabriel T. Joachim, Cibola High School
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
