Research students under direction of Professor Shalini Varma from the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, represented Hudson Valley Community College at the 15th annual Mohawk Watershed Symposium on March 21.
The Symposium is held every spring at Union College in Schenectady and features a series of presentations focused on the maintenance, preservation and restoration of the Mohawk Watershed, which a crucial part of the ecosystem for not only the Capital Region, but the entirety of New York State. Guests from the Department of Conservation, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and the NYS Water Resources Institute of Cornell University were featured among the esteemed exhibitors.
HVCC students had the opportunity to present their ongoing collaborative research projects and display two posters among the featured academic abstracts. Their data regarding the highly invasive fish species, Round Goby, as well as the investigation of antibiotic resistant genes in the Hudson River was highlighted alongside that of other local agencies and researchers.
Local water sampling for data collection was done independently by the students and they were able to successfully extract eDNA utilizing the campus science center’s laboratory facilities. While the experimentation and lab work is ongoing and spans multiple semesters, their findings will be of value to the Riverkeeper Organization and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in the greater interest of keeping our river and the many life forms it supports clean and safe.