Eastern Student Lillian Hyde of Collinsville Presents Research Poster at CREATE Conference

2016 May 3

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Lillian Hyde '17 of Collinsville, who majors in Biology, presented a research poster at the event. Hyde's presentation was titled "Molecular Evidence for Extra-Pair Paternity in Whiskered Terns."

"The Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrid) is a colonial, long?lived seabird and member of the Sternidae family," said Hyde. "They nest in freshwater wetlands distributed throughout southern and central Europe, and across Asia into Australia. The European population has recently experienced a population expansion. Mating pairs require biparental care of offspring, and exhibit social monogamy, however extra?pair copulation has been observed, which suggests extra?pair paternity is possible. The frequency of extrapair paternity was measured using molecular methods in well?studied colonies in southern Poland. Thus far, 46 families have been genotyped at six microsatellite loci to assess genetic relationships within social families. We use the probability of resemblance method of Ibarguchi, et al. (2004) to determine paternity and then compare the genetic mating system of Whiskered Terns to related species."

Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, "CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord."

Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, "It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it's important for other students to see this output." Praising the faculty, she added, "It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research."

During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.

In celebration of students' exemplary research, experiential learning and creative activity, CREATE serves to reinforce high-impact practices such as mentored research; increases the number of students presenting their work in a professional forum; raises public awareness of Eastern's liberal arts mission and student accomplishments; and contributes to the intellectual richness of the campus community.