<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}IMG_4238-250pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 300px; float: right;" />In 2011, a <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111211134006.htm" target="_blank">group of Danish scientists</a> described a technique they&rsquo;d created for monitoring endangered and threatened aquatic wildlife in an entire lake by simply drawing a sample of water the size of a thimble. The reason: in one small sample, they were able to use DNA traces in the water to detect what species were present in the lake. &nbsp;Work that would have required a team of people working throughout a field season could be reduced to one small sample and the use of DNA analysis.</p>
<p>
	Molecular techniques have revolutionized ecology, conservation, and taxonomy. &nbsp;Former Au Sable student, Tommy McElrath, saw the possibilities when he took Au Sable&rsquo;s &lsquo;Molecular Tools for the Field Biologist&rsquo; course, &ldquo;[The course] shattered the misconceptions a field biologist like me had about the molecular and biochemical realms of biology. I thought that molecular biology could only be used for questions posed at the molecular level. Through this course though, I realized it could help to answer questions that I was deeply interested in. Such questions as, &lsquo;How do these two organisms relate to each other?&rsquo; or &lsquo;Is this population of endangered mammals fit enough to survive?&rsquo; Questions that seem like obviously non-molecular questions can actually be informed by molecules like DNA.&quot;</p>
<p>
	Molecular DNA analysis stands alongside geographic information systems (GIS) as the most powerful, and in demand, tools in ecology today. Molecular DNA analysis has become and will continue to be a dominant technology of investigation in environmental science and conservation biology for the foreseeable future. Because of the opportunity it provides to investigate the characteristics of plant and animal populations in non-invasive ways, using material from hair, skin, plant tissue, feces, urine, and skeletal material, skills in molecular DNA analysis will be at a premium for employment and graduate school admissions, as its applications are both versatile and cost effective. McElrath was able to be a step ahead of other graduate students in his program at the University of Georgia because of what he gained through the &lsquo;Molecular Tool&rsquo;s course.</p>
<p>
	Students taking Molecular Tools for the Field Biologist gain a greater, deeper, firsthand understanding of DNA sequences and structures, and the complex mathematical bioinformatics tools used to analyze them, as well as a greater grasp of basic and advanced chemistry in manipulating chemical solutions of enzymes, buffers, detergents and solvents needed to isolate genetic material and replicate it using the technique of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}IMG_4280-250pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 300px; float: right;" /></p>
<p>
	In conceptual analysis, students, guided by Dr. Ben Van Ee, will be shown how to construct investigative hypotheses using these techniques and approaches and will apply them in the field collecting plant and animal specimens and tissue samples from each (like bear hair, porcupine quills, bird feathers, and all manner of interesting stuff).</p>
<p>
	&quot;Taking &#39;Molecular Tools&#39; made me consider pursuing research opportunities and graduate school for the first time. The practical skills, especially practice doing PCRs, and the knowledge, especially phylogenetics and basic molecular ecology, that I gained through the class made it possible for me to join one of my professors the next fall working on a conservation genetics project. This experience led to a letter of recommendation and was ultimately key in getting a paid summer research position (REU),&quot; says Erik Swenson (Wheaton College). &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	No student who is serious about having a competitive advantage for employment or graduate school admission can afford to be without these skills, or pass on an opportunity to obtain them in such an effective educational setting. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Van Ee is the author of over 30 publications in molecular DNA analysis and plant systematics in two languages (English and Spanish), with his work represented in some of the best journals in his discipline, including American Journal of Botany, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Systematic Botany, and Taxon. His experiences and expertise prepare students for the next step in their vocational calling.</p>
<p>
	Says McElrath, &quot;In the field I now focus on in graduate school, taxonomy and systematics, the theories and methods I learned in molecular tools have been invaluable.&quot;</p>
