Worms may look boring, but they are important indicators of their ecosystems, which is why a BYU professor and graduate student have gone all the way to Antarctica to study them. Dr. Byron Adams, BYU associate professor of microbiology and molecular biology, and Bishwo Adhikari, a graduate student in Biology, are currently spending six weeks in Antarctica as members of a soil ecology team that is studying nematodes, which are microscopic roundworms that exist in nearly every environment on earth.

The team members, who refer to themselves as "worm herders," are part of a larger project called Long Term Ecological Research, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Currently the group is studying the nematodes to discover how much of an impact changes in the environment have on ecosystems. They hope their findings will give scientists a better idea of how global climate changes affect ecosystems worldwide.

According to Adams, the reason the research is being carried out in Antarctica is that the environment there has few components and is virtually unspoiled by humans.

"The goal is to be able to figure it out here, where the ecosystems are simple, and then scale it up to other, more complicated ecosystems," Adams said.

The group is also studying the worms to gain a better understanding of how they survive such extreme conditions, which is the subject of Adhikari's graduate studies.

"For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness one of the most extreme environments," Adhikari said.

The team is based in McMurdo Station, Antarctica's largest community. The station, which Adams describes as being similar to a small college town, houses approximately 1000 people during Antarctica's summer.

The team frequently flies by helicopter to small camps in Antarctica's Dry Valleys, where they collect samples. They have to work quickly, because they never know when an incoming storm might cause them to be picked up earlier than expected.

The constant sun during this time of year allows them to work fourteen to sixteen hours every day, often more.

"When we are out in the field camps, I pretty much lose track of time," Adams said, "The sun never goes down and it seems like I never sleep."

This is Adams' seventh trip to Antarctica, and the third time he has been able to bring a student.

BYU graduate Adler Dillman, who accompanied Adams in 2005, said Adams wasn't obligated to bring a student with him.

"He saw an opportunity to bring another scientist on the team, and he fought to have that spot go to one of his students rather than to a seasoned professional or postdoctoral scientist," Dillman said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Jan 2009