Collin Guedel ’26, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Collin Guedel ’26

Major

Geosciences

Project Title

Understanding Host-Symbiont Interactions Across a Sociality Continuum: Insights from Bees and Nematodes

Presentation Link

View Collin's Presentation

Minor(s): Environmental Studies, Planets and Life
Certificate(s): Quantitative and Computational Biology, Teacher Preparation

I caught and studied specimens of two sweat bee species (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) local to the Princeton area and the small nematodes that are often found within them, to determine how host social behavior influences the transmission and proliferation of organisms internal to the host. Alongside a fellow intern and my graduate student advisor, I caught foraging bees in nearby parks and forests and we then dissected those bees in the lab to identify the presence of nematodes. We sought to determine how and when these nematodes choose which bees to infect, by giving them a series of variables in single and two-choice assays. Through this project I practiced and refined a slew of biological laboratory techniques, including insect dissections, microscopy and bacterial culture. Most illuminating, however, was the experience of conducting field work. I greatly enjoyed the chance to make in situ observations of organisms and their behaviors and improve my bee-netting skills. While I am not a biology major, this experience reinforced the passions I want to explore in the Geosciences department and cemented my love of both field and lab work.