A University of Nebraska-Lincoln geology student may have discovered a new species of tortoise.
Senior Adrienne Ricker studies turtles and tortoises, and she came across an unusual turtle while parsing through records.
Last summer, Ricker was cataloging old UCARE collections and photographing the turtle species, putting them in a database so researchers around the world can access the information for their own research.
She came across two shell pieces, and she said they were labeled as one species of tortoise but looked “drastically different” than other specimens of the species.
“I saved those photos and when I went to a paleontology meeting in October, and I talked to other researchers there who know a lot about turtles,” Ricker said. “It could have already been a species that had been discovered but I am pursuing more knowledge to try and figure out what it is. I definitely know that the identification that they were given is incorrect, so I’m trying to find out if it is a completely new species or if it is just something no one here knew about.”
Ricker realized how much potential there is for college students to make an impact on elementary school students while giving a presentation about dinosaurs.
“I was able to bring a cast of dinosaur skull for the kids to touch and they were just blown away,” the biology and geology double-major said. “It reminded me about how much I loved science when I was a kid.”
As a freshman, Ricker planned to study at UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, but when the environmental restoration science program dissolved and she was forced to change her field of study, Ricker recalled her childhood love of geology.
For an extra credit opportunity in one of her introductory science classes, Ricker learned about a site in Patagonia where thousands of dinosaur eggs were found.
“I was so excited about it, and I was just sitting in (my professor’s) office, and I’m fascinated by the things they can find out about these dinosaurs,” Ricker said. “My professor stood up and walked over to his bookshelf, and he came back and put two dinosaur eggs in my hands because he was a geologist at that site where there were thousands of dinosaur eggs.”
Ricker has worked in several different labs and has also done independent research through the McNair Scholars Program – which aims to increase numbers of underrepresented students in doctoral programs – as well as UCARE, an undergraduate research program that supports UNL undergraduates to work one-on-one with faculty research advisors in research or creative activities.
Ricker is currently one of three undergraduate researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, according to the UCARE website.
Ricker studies Nebraska turtles and tortoises and how their populations responded to climate change more than 5 million years ago.
“It was neat because no one has done anything with these turtles since the late ‘90s,” Ricker said.
Ricker said her favorite parts of her research are the discoveries she makes, and making this unique information available to others.
“I think it is such a great opportunity, and I worry that not enough people really take advantage of it,” she said. “Even if you don’t want to be in academia or do research for the rest of your life, just having that experience is one of a kind.”
Story by Emily McMinn via the Daily Nebraskan
