Author: Abbigail Merrell Majors:Biology and Animal Science
As a senior in both Fulbright College and Bumpers College majoring in Biology and Animal Science, I worked on research in the Biology department in the Westerman lab during the fall 2020 semester. The Westerman lab conducts behavioral research with butterflies. At the beginning of my research, I planned on researching mate choice copying, which is when a female watches another female choose a mate and her choice is influenced by what she has viewed. I was really excited to research something that hadn’t been studied much in insects, but unfortunately, the year of 2020 had different plans. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, undergraduate research was halted, and I was no longer allowed to do research in the lab physically. I instead decided to write the majority of my thesis over the summer and wait until undergraduate research was allowed again to complete the behavioral assays. Over the summer, I also worked in the Westerman lab analyzing data for other studies using JMP and R Programming. As the fall semester rolled around and progressed, I unfortunately realized that there was little chance that I would be able to get back in the Westerman lab again to finish my research on mate choice copying. With the help of my mentor, Dr. Erica Westerman, we decided to start over with a new research project, using the data I had been analyzing over the summer.
Dr. Westerman, who I first met after taking her Zoology class in my Sophomore year, proposed that I join in on the research she and graduate student Grace Hirzel had been completing for the last few years. The research was based on a collection of surveys filled out by Animal Behavior Students, Zoology students, and Botanical Garden of the Ozarks visitors who wished to participate. Students and BGO participants were instructed to fill out a survey sheet that included latitude, longitude, weather, date, time, butterfly color, butterfly size, butterfly activity, and the color of the flower the butterfly was seen on if the butterfly was on a flower. The goal of this research was to collect information on butterflies of Northwest Arkansas. Does butterfly color correlate with the color of the plant they are seen on? Are certain butterfly colors behaving differently than other butterfly colors? Can weather be used to predict butterfly activity? Can weather be used to predict the color of butterfly most likely to be seen? The goal of this survey, designed by Dr. Westerman, was to find answers to these questions and others.
As the semester progressed, I continued to analyze data from this research. I completed dozens of analyses, but was particularly interested in a few. From the research that has been completed so far, I have determined that butterfly color can be used as a predictor for the color of flower they will be seen on. Blue butterflies were recorded on blue flowers more than the other butterfly colors, and brown butterflies were recorded on yellow flowers more than the other butterfly colors. Butterfly color can be used as a predictor for butterfly behavior. For example, brown butterflies were recorded sitting more than any of the other colors of butterflies. Weather, as well, can be a predictor for butterfly behavior. Butterflies were recorded feeding the most on cloudy days than the other weather conditions. Weather can be used to predict butterfly color as well. More yellow butterflies were recorded on sunny days, and more black butterflies were recorded on cloudy days.
On January 5th, 2021, I had the opportunity to present my research at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. I presented my research in a 12-minute talk as a part of the symposium “Biology Beyond the Classroom”, a live session followed by a Q&A. I have also been invited to publish a paper that I will be working on this spring with co-authors Dr. Westerman and Grace Hirzel. Dr. Westerman is also continuing to gather surveys, so I will be re-running the analyses for updated results. Over this coming semester, I will be continuing to run analyses and I will be writing my thesis. I am grateful to the Honors College for funding this research and allowing me to find answers to the questions I’m interested in.