LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Donna Wilson of Columbus, NJ, a junior biochemistry major at Rider University, has received a $600 grant from the research foundation of Beta Beta Beta, the national biological honor society. The grant supports Wilson's work over the past several months investigating the reconstructed wetlands south of Trenton in and around Duck Island.

Much of Wilson's work has involved DNA fingerprinting of different plant species. Her objective is to determine if the plant species that are beginning to inhabit the area are as genetically diverse as plants found in natural wetland communities.

The reconstructed wetlands at Duck Island were completed in 1994 after a large-scale transportation infrastructure project that linked Routes 29 and 129 and Interstates 195 and 295 eliminated most of the natural marsh in the area.

"Donna is an excellent student," said Dr. Mary Leck, professor of biology, who is supervising Wilson's field work in Trenton. "Her job has been to identify seedlings that germinated in soil samples. The seedlings were tiny and difficult, but she has done an outstanding job."

Dr. Michael Benner, associate professor of biology, is also supervising Wilson with her laboratory work and her field research that explores the genetic diversity in plants -- specifically wild rice -- found in the long-established natural marsh along the Rancocas River. The Rancocas River site provides the necessary test data from a natural wetland to compare with data taken from the Duck Island site.

To obtain the grant, Wilson authored her own proposal after performing the initial experiments. She will have the opportunity to present her research findings at the Beta Beta Beta regional district convention this spring.

Rider University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian institution with a 353-acre main campus in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and a 23-acre campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The University currently offers 58 undergraduate programs and 17 graduate programs in the Colleges of Business Administration; Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences; Continuing Studies; and Westminster Choir College. Ninety-three percent of the faculty hold doctoral or other appropriate advanced degrees.