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ABSTRACTS and PROGRAM Twelfth Semi-Annual Scientific Meeting of The Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society 8 May 2015 Room 313 SM Saddleback College Schedule of Oral Presentations Spring 2015 Semi-Annual Meeting of the Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society 8 May 2015 SM 313 0815-1400 0815-0845 0850-0900 0910-0920 Refreshments and Load Presentations OPENING COMMENTS Effect of Fire on the Concentration of Mycorrhizae on the Roots of Artemisia californica The Removal of Coliform Bacteria by Opuntia ficus-indica Cactus Mucilage 0920-0930 Responsiveness of Physarum polycephalum to Various Wavelengths of Light 0930-0940 The Effect of Gravity on Taproot Growth in Raphanus sativa (Cherry Belle Radishes) The Effects of the Artificial Sweetener Sucralose on the Body Mass Index and Activity Level of Mus musculus The Effect of Antioxidant Rich Foods on the Lifespan of the Drosophila melanogaster BREAK The Effect of Wildfires on the Prevalence of Mistletoe (Phoradendron villosum) Infection on Scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia) and Laurel-Sumac (Malosma laurina) The Effect of Temperature on Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) & Bacterial Growth on Water Samples Taken From Aliso Creek River in California 0900-0910 0940-0950 0950-1000 1000-1020 1020-1030 1030-1040 1040-1050 The Effect of Visible Color On Food Choice in Mice (Mus musculus) 1050-1100 The Effect of Black Mulch, Red Mulch and Mylar Mulch on the Growth of Tomato Plants, Solanum lycopersicum Allelopathic Effects of Wild Mustards (Brassica spp.) on Germination in Wheatgrass, Common Bean, and Radishes The Effect of Sodium Hypochlorite on Germination in Garden Beans 1100-1110 1110-1120 1120-1300 The Effect of Elevation on the Time to Exhaustion in Western Fence Lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis 1300-1310 The Effect of Ginkgo biloba and Centella asiatica on Memory and Learning in Mice Evaluation of Removal Treatment for Arundo donax from San Juan Creek 1320-1330 The Effect of Rootstock Leaf Traits on Graft Stock Leaves in Different Colored Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) Plants 1330-1340 The Growth of Wheatgrass Triticum aestivum in recently burned and unburned soils 1340-1350 Avoidance of Moribund Conspecifics by Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches, Gromphadorhina portentosa Clean-up, Group Photo 1350-1400 Michael Ricketts, Jordan Jorge and Sean Houlihan Pedram Matinsefat, Pegah Nejad Mohtashemi and Amir Katiraei Matthew Fournier, Maddy Tran and Tina Dibayi Neda Afkhami, Madonna Mitri and Nwahil Idris Adam Rey, Joy Oveson and Libby Ward Matthew Jackson and John Rey LUNCH BREAK & POSTER PRESENTATIONS 1130-1300 1310-1320 Edwin Molina, Alexandra Frankovich and Jisoo Lee Ryan Thaliffdeen, Sherry Gobran and Emily Pham Alex Watson and Troy Melander Christina Brady, Alyssa Ruelos and Vivian Trang Maggie Rubens, Negar Rad Kamyar Jafari and Kevin Cheng Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 2 of 10 Jessica Ballard, Nicole Iribarren and Melika Ghalehei Honeyeh Azimi and Daniela Cavallo Madison Dixson and Amber Arvizu Cole Fassino, Luke Fassino and Connor Toohey Alex DeGroy, Corinne Eickhof and Mark Gonzales Yusef Ibreighith and Derek Perez Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 3 of 10 BIOLOGY 3A POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS SPRING 2015 The meeting organizers do not assume responsibility for any inconsistencies in quality or errors in abstract information. Abstracts are in numerical order according to the abstract number assigned to each presentation. Note: author name(s) and abstract titles were printed directly from the abstract form without corrections. The presentation order was determined by the order in which the emailed abstracts were received. Abstracts that did not conform to the guidelines are printed at the end of all abstracts 1. THE COMPARISON OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTS OF PURE TEA TREE OIL AND LOTION WITH TEA TREE OIL ON STAPHYLOCCOCCUS AUREUS. Vida Hamidi, Stevie White, Yasmin Ghammaeghami, and Erica Garcia. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 Staphylococcus aureus has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. One approach to fighting against S. aureus is by using essential oils like tea tree oil. This study’s purpose was to determine if there was a statistical difference in the antibacterial effects of pure tea tree oil and lotion with tea tree oil on S. aureus. A spectrophotometer was used to measure absorbance and percent transmittance of bacteria growth in tea tree oil and lotion with tea tree oil. Absorbance and percent transmittance were used to calculate optical density, which correlated to the amount of bacteria present. The mean optical density ± standard error for the control (1.0003 ± 0.000387), oil (0.9992 ± 0.000255), and lotion (0.9997 ± 0.005278) reveal that the lotion and oil had similar and lower mean densities compared to the control’s higher mean density. Therefore, there was no statistical difference in the antibacterial effects between tea tree oil and lotion with tea tree oil (p = 0.97 ANOVA: single factor). This experiment implicates lotion with tea tree oil could be used as an antibacterial agent against S. aureus. 2. THE EFFECT OF GREEN TEA ON HUMAN BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS. Zahra Abbasi, Sara Ali, Lili Ravazi, and Shadi Zarif. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Green tea contains non-oxidized polyphenols, catechins, which are effective in prevention of glucose-related diseases in animals and humans. It is predicted that the consumption of green tea will lower human blood glucose levels. Ten fasting individuals were tested for their blood glucose levels before and after consumption of green tea with a bagel and water with a bagel (control); the change of blood glucose levels for each variable was further analyzed. The mean change of blood glucose levels for the consumption of green tea with bagel was 40.3 7.97 mg/dL and 46.5 6.08 mg/dL for consumption of water with bagel ( SEM, p = 0.27, one tailed t-test). The results showed, similar initial blood glucose levels before consumption of green tea with bagel and water with bagel (control), however the final glucose levels were lower after consumption of green tea, though not statistically. According to statistical analysis, there is no difference in glucose levels when consuming green tea. Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 4 of 10 3. EFFECTS OF CAPSAICIN IN SERRANO PEPPER (Capsicum annum) ON CORTISOL LEVELS. Maryam Evini, Diane Kwon, Rachel Lee and Sammy Shamlou. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Cortisol, a hormone produced in response to stress, starts high a t the beginning of the day and gradually decreases, slightly fluctuating throughout the day. This study focused on the effects of capsaicin on cortisol levels of participants who self-reported disliking spiciness and participants who self-reported liking spiciness. While cortisol levels were expected to rise in both groups, it was expected that participants who dislike spiciness would produce greater levels of cortisol than those who claimed to like spiciness. To determine whether capsaicin, the spicy component of peppers, had any effect on cortisol levels, participants provided saliva samples before and five minutes after consuming ¼ teaspoon serrano pepper paste. Samples were collected between 8 AM and 10 AM on two consecutive days. The mean change in cortisol concentration of the participants who dislike spiciness was 0.44 pg/mL, while the mean change in cortisol concentration of the participants who like spiciness was 0.18 pg/mL. The cortisol concentration of participants who dislike spiciness (n=4) was not significantly different than that of participants who like spiciness (n=4; p=0.06). Participants showed decreased cortisol levels regardless of their preference for spiciness. 4. THE EFFECT OF SALT AND TURMERIC ON THE PRESERVATION OF RAW CHICKEN MEAT. Daria Nahidipour, Elahe Khodabandeh, Melissa Martinez, Sierra Mazzarini. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. There are several ways bacteria and other micro-organisms can come into contact with the meat throughout the meat production chain. Effective preservation methods of meat can significantly reduce the amount of bacteria, and using natural preservation methods can prevent illness. In this study, treatments of either salt or turmeric were used on raw chicken breast meat. Turmeric has antimicrobial properties while salt protects meat from spoiling quickly due to reduction in water retention. The investigators predicted that the table salt would be the more effective way of reducing bacterial growth than turmeric. After spicing cubes of raw chicken, they were placed in sterile water then diluted six times and the final solution was used for the pour plate method. The results from the bacterial count showed the chicken with turmeric had a mean colony count of 148.4 ± 123.97 (±SEM). Salted chicken had a mean colony count of 0.2 ± 1.79 (±SEM). There was a statistically significant difference in the bacterial count of the turmeric compared to the salt (p=0.0141, one-tailed paired t-test). Therefore, the results supported the hypothesis that salt would be the more effective preservative and slow bacterial growth. 5. CORTISOL LEVEL CHANGES AFTER INGESTING MILK AND DARK CHOCOLATE. Monica Vivar, Zack Stamford, Michael Kunicki and Samantha Castro. Dept. of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Levels of stress in humans can be determined by observing concentrations of cortisol, which is a major glucocorticoid produced in the adrenal gland. Chocolate contains ingredients that trigger the release of βendorphins, the “feel good” chemical in the brain, which has been shown to be inversely related with hormones like cortisol (Taylor et al., 1983). This study sought to observe that milk and dark chocolate would release similar amounts of β-endorphins and no difference in either’s ability to lower cortisol levels was expected. Since cortisol concentrations are easily determined through saliva, each subject (n=10) provided a 2mL sample of saliva before chocolate consumption, and an additional 2mL after 1 hour of consumption of approximately 12g of milk chocolate. The same procedure was performed for dark chocolate on a separate day. Initial and final samples were examined through a salivary assay test. Mean concentration of cortisol after consuming milk chocolate decreased by 0.3073 pg/mL (± 0.08702 pg/mL). After consuming dark chocolate, cortisol levels increased by 0.0003930 pg/mL (± 0.02502 pg/mL). This revealed a large difference between cortisol levels after the consumption of milk and dark chocolate (p= 0.003204, two-tailed paired t-test). Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 5 of 10 6. THE EFFECT OF GOLDFISH EXCREMENT ON THE GERMINATION RATE OF BASIL SEEDS. Andrew Favor, Patrick Stumps, Felicia Vo, and David Atta. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Aquaponic systems utilize a symbiotic relationship between plants and aquatic animals wherein plants ingest nutrients from the excretory matter produced by the aquatic animals; this purifies the surrounding water, and thus promotes a healthy environment for the animals, while the plants receive the necessary nutrients for their own growth and function. This experiment sought to examine whether water containing fish excrement actually promoted germination rates of basil, Ocimum basilicum. Excretory matter produced by fish contains nitrates and nitrites, which promote plant growth, but also contains ammonia, which can inhibit plant growth. Basil seeds were left to germinate in varying concentration ratios of water containing fish excrement vs. tap water; each group’s water was tested for a range of compounds characteristic of fish excrement. Rates of germination were found to be highest in groups containing between 25-50% tank water. However, analysis with a one-way ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference between the rates of sprouting between groups. These results suggest that germination rates increase with increasing nitrite concentrations, but simultaneously decrease with increasing ammonia concentrations. 7. MEASURING THE DIFFERENCES IN CARBON DIOXIDE CONCENTRATION AND CHANGES IN HEART RATE BETWEEN PHYSICALLY TRAINED ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES. Irving Granados, Amin Sharif, Kia Rastegar and Zayd Yunus. Department of Biological Science, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. There are significant distinctions amongst physically fit individuals and non-physically fit individuals, which are correlated with the different levels of physical activity that each distinct group carries out. The study examines the changes in heart rate as well as the changes in carbon dioxide amongst physically trained individuals and nonphysically trained individuals by performing a 400-meter sprint, and testing at resting and active states under the same conditions. The mean heart rate before and after exercise for physically trained individuals were 54.2 ± 1.56 to 132.8 ± 3.28 bpm while the before and after for non-physically trained individuals were 79.4 ± 1.81 to 160.0 ± 4.01 bpm. Average carbon dioxide production levels before and after for physically trained individuals were 8289.73 ± 1051.06 to 11,439.06.19 ± 1,010.01 mL CO2/kg while the before and after for non-physically trained individuals were 16,241.21 ± 2019.41 to 22,854.86± 2,382.39 mL CO2/kg. These differences of the changes in heart rate and carbon dioxide amongst the two distinct groups are great indicators that the amount of physical activity performed has an influence on overall physiological markers. 8. EFFECTS OF SKIPPING BREAKFAST ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS. Poupak Fakhrai, Julanar Selman and David Yu. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Breakfast habits may have an effect on cognitive function and consequently on students’ performance in college. It was predicted that an increase in glucose levels caused by eating breakfast would enhance cognitive ability in college students. The relationship between a fed or fasted state and subjects' outcomes on tests were investigated. Ten subjects were tested on two different occasions, either fasted or following breakfast. The initial test measured short-term memory through number recall. A series of numbers were read out, and subjects wrote down the numbers and sequence recalled. Short-term memory was not affected in a significantly different way between fasted or fed state (p=0.847 two-tailed paired t-test). Reaction rates were measured via computer program from The Human Benchmark© program (Humanbenchmark.com). Subjects were asked to press the screen as it changed from red to green color. Ten measurements were recorded per participant and a mean value was reported for each subject. Reaction rates were faster in the fasted state (p=1.8 x 10-4 one-tailed paired t-test). These results suggest that skipping breakfast does not have adverse effects on cognitive function in college students and in some cases might even be advantageous. Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 6 of 10 9. EFFECT OF FRESHLY SQUEEZED VS. PROCESSED ORANGE JUICE ON BLOOD SUGAR CONCENTRATION. Kim Maldonado, Gabriel Gamo, Jonathan Hari, and Sean Johnson. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Nine percent of adults aged eighteen and over have diabetes worldwide, and quick remedies to regulate blood sugar levels are key (WHO 2015). Oranges are known to raise blood sugar levels by a considerable margin, making them prime candidates for a temporary boost. The general population of society has an assumption that processed orange juice contains a higher sugar concentration compared to all natural orange juice due to the preparation of the juice and the additional artificial ingredients. Therefore, it was predicted that processed orange juice would raise blood sugar levels a larger amount than freshly squeezed orange juice. Ten subjects fasted for 810 hours and an initial blood sugar reading was taken. Subjects drank 500 mL of freshly squeezed orange juice, and 15 minutes later, a final reading was taken. The same procedure was repeated, but with 500 mL of processed orange juice. The difference in blood sugar concentrations between the ten subjects were averaged for freshly squeezed (31 ± 5.12 mg/dL) and processed orange juice (32.6 ± 4.53 mg/dL). Processed orange juice does not raise blood sugar levels more than freshly squeezed orange juice (p = 0.383, paired t-test for means). 10. THE OSMOREGULATORY EFFECT OF FRESHWATER AND SALTWATER ON THE METABOLISM OF MOLLY FISH (Poecilia sphenops). Cyrus Taheri, Pasha Mazboudi, Natasha Mazboudi, and Samyar Attarian. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Osmoregulation is an organism’s ability to regulate the osmotic pressure of their internal fluids. The bodily fluids are prevented from exceeding fatal concentration levels that would otherwise adversely affect biochemistry. Most fish are stenohaline and restricted to particular saline concentrations. The Mexican Molly fish (P.sphenops) is a euryhaline species that maintains homeostasis in various salinities. Since osmoregulation is dependent on gill activity, it is proposed that the process requires expenditure of additional energies for ion regulation. This will subsequently cause a variation in the fish’s metabolism. Subjects were placed in a <1% and 3% saline solution for one hour respectively. The mean operculum rate of each solution was compared along with its respective osmolality. The 1% salinity displayed a decreasing trend in the operculum rate while the 3% salinity exhibited fluctuations with a slightly higher trend (p=0.769414). There was a minor osmolality difference between the 1% and 3% saline solutions due to higher concentrations of NaCl being used (p=0.49076817). The results suggest that there is no significant difference for the observation of an osmoregulatory effect for the metabolism of the P.sphenops under various salinities. 11. THERMOTOLERANCES OF ENCYSTED AND HYDRATED ARTEMIA NYOS. Natalie Karapetian, Maria Cuevas, and Kinza Qureshi. Department of Biological Sciences. Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. As a response to decreases in environmental humidity, Artemia nyos form cysts and enter an ametabolic state known as anhydrobiosis until environmental humidity is sufficient to rehydrate the cysts and metabolic processes resume. Anhydrobiotic cysts are tolerant to high doses of UV radiation and extreme temperatures, leading to the prediction that the thermotolerance of Artemia nyos in the cystic form (desiccated) will be higher than in the hydrated form. Individual samples of hydrated and cystic Artemia were exposed to a controlled temperature (20ºC, 60ºC, 80ºC, or 100ºC) for 45 minutes and hatching success rates were calculated one week later. Hatching success rates in desiccated cysts at temperatures 60ºC, 80ºC, and 100ºC are higher than hatching success rates in hydrated cysts at the same temperatures (p=0.0002, unpaired one-tailed t-test). There was no difference between hatching success rates across all temperatures tested for cystic Artemia (p=0.2536, ANOVA) while there was a difference in hatching success rates between the control (20ºC) and the other temperatures tested (60ºC, 80ºC, 100ºC) for hydrated samples (t=7.348, Bonferroni post-hoc), showing that encysted Artemia nyos has a higher thermotolerance than that of hydrated Artemia. Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 7 of 10 12. EFFECT OF MULBERRY LEAF (Morus alba) EXTRACT ON FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS AND POSTPRANDIAL BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS. Lucas Johnson, Mounes Rokhideh, Kathleen Trear, and Kara Kirkpatrick. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Mulberry leaf extract contains a molecule that has been reported to suppress a carbohydrate-digesting enzyme reducing a surge in blood glucose levels following the consumption of sugars. It was predicted that consumption of mulberry leaf extract will lower both fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. Fifteen Saddleback College students had their fasting blood glucose measured before and fifteen minutes after consuming a breakfast high in sugars. Mean fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels on the first day of the study were 84.271.02 mg/dL and 105.602.97 mg/dL - a mean increase of 21.333.01 mg/dL. Mean fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels on the fourteenth day were 85.671.43 mg/dL and 119.875.14 mg/dL - a mean increase of 34.205.32 mg/dL. There was no statistical difference in fasting blood glucose levels after fourteen days of supplementation (p=0.22, paired onetailed t-test). There was a significant increase in postprandial blood glucose after supplementation (p=0.02, paired one-tailed t-test). 13. EFFECT OF CARDIO AND WEIGHTLIFTING IN FAT LOSS WITH ACTIVE MALE GYM MEMBERS. Jason Rabahieh. Hannah Dieter. Annette Masihi and Arpi Azaryan. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 The main purpose of this experiment is to examine if weightlifting exercise is burning more body fat than cardio exercise. For conducting this experiment a group of six male gym members were asked to voluntarily participate in the study. Participants were put on a 500 calorie deficit diet where three of the participants were asked to perform cardio exercise and the other three were asked to perform weightlifting exercises six days a week for two weeks. Their body fat level was measured using fat clippers in the beginning, the end of first week, and then the second week. After the measurements were done the results of the experiment showed that weightlifting is more associated with burning fat than cardio exercise (p-value 0.406, one tailed t-test). On average, participants who did weightlifting exercises lost more body fat (8.20 ± 12.46, ± SEM) than that of the participants who performed cardio exercises (7.47 ± 11.73, ± SEM). The results of the experiments showed that there was a difference in the amount of body fat burned, concluding that weightlifting is ideal for losing fat and maintaining muscle. 14. THE EFFECTS OF WATER TEMPERATURE ON GROWTH OF MASS IN= POTATOES (Solanum tuberosum).Sean R. Loh,Wei W. Gan, and Jared R. Brown. Department of Biology, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, 92692 United States. As climate change becomes a more pressing issue among the scientific community, the effects influenced by changing temperatures are also beginning to surface. Crops may begin to be affected by increasing air and water temperatures, which in turn affect their growth rates, crop yields, and availability in local markets around the globe. Red potatoes grown at different water temperatures of 10oC, 20oC, and 30oC were weighed before and after in order to determine how much of an impact temperature had on their growth by mass. Potatoes grown at all three temperatures exhibited significant difference in growth rates at room temperature (120.875 ± 3.215, 123.925 ± 2.050, 118.7 ±2.556, g potatoes ±SEM, respectively), as compared to the mass before the start of the experiment (121.25±2.151. 119.225±3.408, 119.875±2.507g potatoes ± SEM, respectively). These results appeared to be influenced by the changes in air and water temperature and reflect the influence temperature can have on the quality of crops and crop yields, which indicate that drastic changes in temperature may have an adverse effect on the growth of certain crops over a longer period of time and on a larger scale. Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 8 of 10 15. THE EFFECTS OF D-ASPARTIC ACID ON MALE BETTA SPLENDENS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR. Cordell Heckel, Erik Harris, Fayaz Arghandehwal, and Joel Tatum. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. The Siamese Fighting fish (Betta splendens) is a common pet fish colloquially known as the Betta. Male Betta fish are well known for their natural aggression. According to research experiments on these fish, it has been discovered that they will display aggressive behaviors such as rapid body movements, gill erections, and fin erections when placed in front of a mirror or a visual representation of another male Betta. This study proposes that an increased level of testosterone may arouse an increase in aggressive behaviors. In order to increase the levels of testosterone in the fish, the experimenters dissolved appropriate amounts of D-aspartic acid into ten separate fish containers containing one fish and 250 mL of distilled water. The average rapid body movements in male Betta splendens were significantly greater with the D-aspartic acid (one tailed paired t-test P=0.040), while the average active gill erection durations were not significantly different with the addition of D-aspartic acid (one tailed paired t-test P=0.917). The average active fin erection durations were significantly greater with the D-aspartic acid (one tailed paired t-test P=0.023). 16. THE GROWTH OF BACTERIA ON ORGANIC CHICKEN VERSUS CONVENTIONAL CHICKEN. Jiwoo Choi, Leyli Beheshti, Nazila Karimi, and Katie McGuire. Department of Biological Science, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 USA Raw poultry contains bacterial pathogens that cause illnesses. Organic chicken has been popular, because it is perceived to be safer than conventional chicken. However, organic chickens can possess safety risks due to no use of antimicrobials, and processing. The hypothesis was that organic chicken would show greater growth of bacteria than conventional chicken. Twenty samples of organic chickens (n=10), and conventional chickens (n=10) were used to cultivate bacteria on nutrient agar plates. The plates were incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. The mean number of isolated bacterial colonies on organic chicken, 23.6 ± 4.287 (± SEM, N=10) was greater than those on conventional chicken, 9.4 ± 2.45 (± SEM, N=10) (P= 0.0061 one-tailed t-test unpaired). The mean surface areas of isolated bacterial colonies on each plate were 65.97 ± 12.20 mm2 (± SEM, N=10) on organic chicken and 51.06 ± 10.54 mm2 (± SEM, N=10) on conventional chicken. However, a one-tailed unpaired t-test (P=0.184) reveals no significant difference in the surface areas of the two groups. Although there were more bacterial colonies on organic chicken, the colonies were smaller and there was no statistical difference in the surface areas of bacteria between the two groups. Spring 2015 Annual Meeting Saddleback College Biological Sciences Society Abstracts and Program Page 9 of 10