Our geo-science and environmental science students hail from a wide range of institutions and disciplines. All are interested in scientific research and are participating in our study of biogeochemical processes in northern upland and wetland ecosystems.
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Dan Ackerman Carlton College Environmental Studies major I arrived in Sweden prepared to study nutrient cycling in the fungal community. However, a number of unfortunate factors made such a study an impossible dream… So I've decided to study the "diet" of Pinguicula vulgaris (A.K.A. the common butterwort), a carnivorous plant common in moist areas around Abisko. These meat-eaters grow on bare ground in poor soils where no other plants dare to colonize. Using a mass spectrometer, I determine the nitrogen isotopic ratio for the bugs trapped in the leaves, the leaves themselves, the roots, and the soil in which the specimen is growing. Depending on how closely the isotopic signature of the plant parts matches that of either the bugs or the soil, I will estimate what percent of the plant's nitrogen is acquired from insect consumption versus uptake from soil nitrogen pools.
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