Wert Contributes to Study of Larvae in Artificially Lit and Naturally Lit Streams

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- The calendar may say that it's summer time, but Willamette University women's basketball player Alex Wert (F, Spokane, WA/St. George's HS) still has her mind on academics. Wert is participating in a Liberal Arts Research Collaborative (LARC) project. Willamette offers LARC grants to encourage inter-disciplinary research by faculty members and students.

Wert, a chemistry major who will be a senior this fall, is involved in research guided by biology professor Dr. Elizabeth Perkin and by English professor Dr. Stephanie Lenox. The summer research project is designed to study the drift patterns of mayfly larvae from artificially lit versus naturally lit streams.

Joining Wert as students contributing to the research are rising seniors JoAnna Hernandez and Tyler Griswold, as well as rising junior Anya Romig.

The research involves mayflies that are still in the larval phase. In a natural setting, the larvae tend to stay on the bottoms of rocks in streams. At night, however, they will go to the top of the rocks to find food. Willamette's LARC study is seeking to find out if there are differences in how the larvae drift depending on what type of light the stream receives.

"We've removed the mayflies from the streams where they originated," Wert explained. Many of the larvae were secured from Pringle Creek. "And then, we bring them back to the lab. We have built two fake streams."

Both "streams" were created by cutting PVC pipe in half. Each is about 5 to 6 feet in length.

One of the artificial streams receives natural light and the other stream is artificially lit. Each stream can be blacked out with plastic. Faculty and students involved in the research can watch how the mayflies drift (move) during 12-hour periods of darkness and light in each of the fabricated streams.

The multi-disciplinary approach of the LARC grant allows for science as well as for the use of visual and written media. After completing the research, they will conduct an on-campus presentation of their findings.

"JoAnna and I are focusing more on scientific writing like you would see in a magazine," Wert said. "Amy and Tyler are working on a video about the experience." All of the students are helping with the research.

"There's the science experiment side, but there's also a whole creative side that wouldn't normally be part of a scientific experiment," Wert added.

Wert and her fellow workers on the research project learned important factors early in the process.

"The larvae rely on the movement of the stream to get the water to flow across their gills," Wert said. "At first, we were just keeping them in a tank. So they all died."

In response, the researchers added a pump to each tank to create a water flow similar to a real stream. Even so, it's important to conduct the experiments soon after obtaining the mayflies.

"We need to collect and begin testing in the same long day," Wert said. "The actual experiment should take just three days (for each set of mayflies)."

Also this summer Wert has worked at Willamette's Pro Hoop Camp. The camps have provided Wert with the opportunity to teach fundamentals to younger basketball players, from those in the co-ed Rookie Skills Week (ages 5 to 10) to those at the Girls Youth Camp (4th grade through high school) and those attending Girls Elite High School Camp. She's also had the chance to coach players in actual games.

"Coaching the games has been fun," Wert said. "Putting in different types of defense has been really interesting. It's just fun to build relationships with the kids, especially since we're hanging out in the dorms with them."

Her own career as a basketball player has been a solid one at Willamette. She's played three years with the Bearcats and is ready for her senior season this winter.

"It's been a really, really cool experience. I wouldn't change it for anything," Wert said regarding her years with the Bearcats."

In 2015-16, Wert was one of four players who started all 25 games. The Bearcats went 8-1 in non-conference games and finished the demanding Northwest Conference season with a 12-13 overall record. WU had two juniors, eight sophomores and two freshmen. It was Willamette's best record since going 11-14 in 2001-02.

"It was a great year overall," Wert said. "Obviously, the end was not what we had hoped for. We're looking at it as a two-year season since we didn't have any seniors. We're only getting better with the four freshman coming in" for 2016-17.

The Bearcats were among the top shooting teams in NCAA Division III. Willamette ranked fifth in the nation in 3-point shooting at 36.8% and was 31st in the country in overall field goal accuracy at 42.7%.

"It's really fun to play with a host of great shooters," Wert said. "It takes the pressure off me from thinking I have to try to score. It lets me concentrate on rebounding and passing to people who can score."

Wert led the Bearcats with 6.6 rebounds per game, ranked second with 2.0 assists per contest, and scored 6.2 points per game. She tied for sixth in the NWC in rebounding. She has scored 277 points in her career to go along with 295 rebounds.

"Rebounding is about wanting it more than the other person rather than being about athleticism," Wert commented. "It's just a chess match once the shot goes up.

"On defense, it's just about having the discipline to box out each time and hope the ball comes your way. On offense, it's much more a game of seeing the trajectory of the ball and deciding what move you should make," she added.

Although Wert doesn't set specific goals, she has some general expectations for her senior season.

"I want to improve on offense. I've been working on shooting and on some more moves I can go to. We're all looking to get better at defense and rebounding. Once we shore up those areas, we should be right up there with the top teams in the conference," Wert said.

The Bearcats hope to achieve a winning record this winter after finishing so close in 2015-16. Willamette's last winning season was 2000-01 when the Bearcats earned a 17-8 overall record.

"It's really exciting," Wert said. "It just feels like a continuation from last season. I don't think we're close to peaking yet."

NOTE:  Summer in Salem is a series of articles about Willamette University student-athletes who are staying in Salem or nearby communities this summer.