Reflections Magazine Issue #77 - Fall 2012 | Page 12

Campus Feature

Head of

the Class
Biology Students Earn National Research Awards

N

ational championships are usually
associated with athletic competition, but Siena
Heights University recently had a national
champion in the classroom.
Recent Siena Heights University graduates
Lauren Coe and Jared Pirkle each won national
biology awards for their presentations at the
national Beta Beta Beta Biological Honors
Society research conference in May in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Coe, a native of Perrysburg, Ohio, earned
the first place Frank Brooks Award in ecology
for her presentation on the effects of leaf color
on the landing choice, egg-laying preference and
larval growth of the cabbage white butterfly.

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Reflections Fall ’12

“I was hoping I would be able to place in
nationals,” Coe said of the honor. “I was not feeling well. I was calm and relaxed and I guess that
helped. We were really surprised I came in first.
It was just a bonus.”
Coe is only the second Siena Heights student to earn a first place at the national biology
conference. Billy Houghteling also received the
honor in 1996.
“Why female butterflies prefer to lay their
eggs on certain plants, but not others, has
puzzled biologists for over a century,” said SHU
Professor of Biology Dr. Jun Tsuji, who guided
and supervised Coe’s research.

“The prevailing
thought is that the females
choose to lay eggs on plants
that are the most suitable for
the growth of their offspring.
Lauren’s research results, however, suggest
that female butterfly behavior may not always
be for the benefit of her offspring.”
Coe said she tested the butterflies on three
different colors of plants: green, yellow and
variegated. “I found that the females preferred
to lay their eggs on the green plants,” Coe said
of her findings.