Research in biological sciences requires a certain amount of “playing in the mud,” Rhianna Metcalf said, but it’s also about learning from the data you gather while you’re there.
Assisting with research at Cedar Point Biological Station gave Metcalf, a senior biological sciences major from Lincoln, the opportunity to participate in hands-on research, expand her network and learn more about a passion she discovered at the station: parasitology. The experience has given Metcalf a greater appreciation for nature’s systems and how they interact.
“(Parasitology) is things infecting things infecting things,” Metcalf said. “Every layer, no matter how small, shapes the next, like a biological Russian nesting doll.”
Metcalf previously took the field parasitology course at Cedar Point and has worked in the Manter Laboratory of Parasitology. Already during the field parasitology course, she gathered data indicating that males and pregnant mice tended to be infected by parasites more frequently.
Metcalf’s piece of this new study, which looks at population cycles of mice, involves trapping different species of mice and collecting data about their physical characteristics, reproductive status, behavior and infection status, with a particular focus on ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas and botflies. Other teams will gather information about predators like owls and snakes. When compiled, the data collected can tell researchers more about, for example, if mice with certain behaviors are more likely to be preyed on by a certain predator or be infected with parasites. The study is in its first year of five and led by John DeLong, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of Cedar Point.
“We’re going to look for if certain predators are eating certain prey with different behavior,” Metcalf said. “We’re also going to see if those behavioral elements contribute to patterns in parasite infection.”
Metcalf said the data could give researchers more information about how the rise and fall in population of each species influences the population of the others. Additionally, Metcalf’s portion of the study deals with parasites that can also infect humans, so her data could provide more information about why these parasites might infect people.
“In theory, as mouse populations boom, we should see a delayed effect with botflies similar to predator-prey cycles,” she said. “That would inform what is causing these cycles …There was a fire out here earlier this year, and we already saw changes in landscape and where you could find abandoned rodent holes. How does that change how the owls prey on them? If all the grass is burned, where do the ticks go?”
Metcalf raised and showed rabbits in 4-H as a child, but this was her first exposure to parasites. From pin worms to mites to fungal parasites, she’s seen it all and developed an appreciation for animal health. Metcalf, who is now a rabbit judge, thought for years that she would become a veterinarian but eventually realized she preferred research to clinical work.
“I loved seeing all these different trends in infection patterns and I was like, ‘This is exactly what I want to do,’” Metcalf said.
Now that she’s getting deeper into the research world, Metcalf has grown to love the process even more, especially as she learns the intricacies of what is involved through her hands-on work. Metcalf is so passionate about the research happening at Cedar Point that she and another student founded a “Friends of Cedar Point” student group that is doing outreach and fundraising for student support.
“Having to do all the steps of collecting that data, and the trial-and-error process, makes me value the numbers that come out even more,” Metcalf said. “That level of investment definitely makes it worth it.”
Metcalf said collaborating with her own and other teams and Cedar Point has been eye-opening. She has worked with and lived alongside teams from the University of Denver and others and learned from them, as well as her own experience, which has been one of the greatest benefits of conducting research at Cedar Point. She has shadowed them and learned more about how to identify other species and their habitats in addition to the ones she is working with.
“I’m meeting people I wouldn’t have otherwise met,” Metcalf said. “It doesn’t take much to establish a network out here, learning about these niche things. It’s all intertwined, and it’s so beautiful.”
