Junior Petra Vande Zande, sophomore Tori Sindorf, senior Aaron Warner, and sophomore Ryan Webb will be conducting detailed research at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Hastings under the supervision of Robert Keys, associate professor of science at CU. They will be living on-site at the research institute along with many other college students from both West Michigan and northern Indiana.

This is Key’s fifth year overseeing the performance of such research.

“We generally do it every summer,” he said. “We’ve done four other research projects prior to this one.”

Vande Zande and Sindorf will study the deer trails left at the research institute and how they affect the way other mammals move around. Specifically, they will observe how far a mammal will follow a deer trail to find suitable property to live in.

They will be conducting research in various areas of the institute’s 660 acre property.

“We’ll be setting up cameras where deer trails cross over. We’ll also be laying down track plates in those areas,” said Sindorf, a biological health science major. “We’re hoping to pick out actual animals.”

This has been an ongoing project at the institute because it is necessary to see how animals navigate when presented with change in their environment.

“Dr. Keys had talked to classes about the opportunity for research, and I had talked to some people that had done research in the past, and knew it was something I wanted to look into myself,” said Vande Zande, a biology major for secondary education. “We came up with this specific project by considering some of the past studies done on deer trails and how that has affected other animals, especially raccoons.”

Webb and Warner will be conducting research on a second experiment. They will be observing snake microhabitats.

“We’ll be looking to see which types congregate in groups and which are more individualistic,” said Webb, an environmental biology major, who shows an evident love for the creatures.

“It’s awesome because I’ll be getting paid to capture reptiles,” he said.

In order to fund such research, Keys was required to apply for two grants, one for Vande Zande and Sindorf’s project and another for Warner and Webb’s projects.

The grants are issued through the Undergraduate Research Grants for the Environment program through the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (URGE). Both grants were received in totals of $10,500 each. These funds will be used to purchase research equipment as well as cover the costs of room and board at the research institute.

The grants were applied for in January and accepted in March.

Keys is looking forward to this summer.

“I’m most excited about getting to work with the students outdoors. I love being able to apply what we’ve learned in the classroom into actual scientific progress,” he said. “Plus, it’s a chance to be outside doing what I love to do.”

He also noted how important the students’ participation in this project was.

“I work to find students who are interested in doing research, but they do most of the work. I head things up, but they are definitely the key players,” he said.

Keys will be on-site several times a week to aid the students in their research.

“It is great to have someone that you don’t mind asking even the stupid questions to and who has experience with research like this. We have really enjoyed bouncing ideas off of him and working through some of the details of the project,” Vande Zande said.

The students will each receive payment of $3,500 for their work. If the research goes well, they will also have the opportunity published in a scientific journal and have the opportunity to present their findings to other scientists in the field.

The students will begin their research at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute on May 11.