Have you ever noticed pocket gopher mounds dotting the campus? They represent Geomys breviceps, Baird’s pocket gopher. Isabel Tresidder, a student enrolled in a NTCC Independent Biology Research class this semester under the tutelage of Dr. Chris McAllister, is studying parasites of pocket gophers on the NTCC Campus.
Thus far, they have discovered a possible new species of tapeworm as well as ectoparasitic lice. Once the parasites are identified and sequenced for DNA by experts, she and Dr. Mac plan to submit the findings for publication in a scientific journal. This is the first time, to their knowledge, that pocket gophers on campus have been studied.
To learn more about biology classes at NTCC and possible research opportunities, please contact McAllister at 903-434-8286 or cmcallister@ntcc.edu.
