FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 27, 2020 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
kids & education
Bayside high school student helps biologists
discover two new deep-sea anemone species
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A high school student from Bayside
participated in the discovery of two new
species of marine animals as part of a
mentorship program with the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
Earlier in February, Bard High School
Early College senior Cherie Qu and
Reed College freshman Sadie Burke were
featured co-authors on a study in the
American Museum Novitates, detailing
their collaborative eff orts with AMNH
scientists in discovering two species of
deep-sea anemones.
Th e study describes the Scolanthus
shrimp and Scolanthus celticus, two
types of burrowing anemones measuring
around 1.5 centimeters long. Th ese species
exist along the Whittard Canyon, a
deep-sea valley off the coast of Ireland.
Through the Science Research
Mentoring Program (SRMP), Qu and
Burke aided AMNH biologists Drs.
Luciana C. Gusmão and Estefania
Rodriguez on the research last year. SRMP
is a museum initiative, where New York
City-based high school students conduct
“authentic scientifi c research” with scientists
as mentors.
According to the SRMP website, the
program’s main purpose is to “increase
access to science fi elds and careers for
NYC high school students.” Students can
choose to conduct research in several
fi elds including cultural and biological
anthropology, genetics and genomics, taxonomy
and astrophysics.
Dr. Gusmão and the students analyzed
the morphology and genetics of both
organisms in order to identify the anemones
as new species.
Following the discoveries, the team
chose to name the Scolanthus shrimp in
honor of the SRMP program and the participating
students, informally known as
“srmpers.” Th ey named the Scholanthus
celticus aft er the Celtic Explorer research
vessel, which collected the anemone specimens
using a remote operated vehicle
(ROV) in over 3,000-foot depths.
Th e study said that scientists have discovered
14 “valid” species of Scolanthus
anemone worldwide but only four species
have been recorded in waters deeper than
100 meters (328 feet).
Courtesy of Dr. Luciana C. Gusmão
Scolanthus shrimp
Courtesy of Dr. Luciana C. Gusmão
Scolanthus celticus
Photo credit: AMNH/M. Shanley
Staten Island native Sadie Burke (left) and Cherie Qu, of Bayside, at the 6th Annual Student Research Colloquium of the NYC Science Research Mentoring Consortium, where they presented research
describing two new species of burrowing anemones under the guidance of American Museum of Natural History biologists Drs. Luciana C. Gusmão and Estefania Rodriguez.
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