Hi everyone! I’m Kayleigh Phillips, a rising senior studying Geology with minors in Chemistry, History, and the Irish Language at the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. You can often find me manning the climbing wall at Trees or lurking in Thaw Hall with its trove of rocks and a dream (and copious amounts of tea). I am honored to be a part of this year’s Brackenridge Fellowship cohort, working under the guidance of Dr. Molly O’Beirne and Dr. Josef Werne from the Department of Geology and Environmental Science and Dr. Mason Heberling from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Throughout the summer, I will be exploring the potential relationship between rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and increased poison ivy toxicity over time (that’s right folks, poison ivy might be getting more painful!!). This project is inspired by recent experiments that revealed how poison ivy grown under enhanced carbon dioxide concentrations in a controlled environment was larger and more toxic to humans (Mohan et al., 2006; Ziska et al 2009). I am using poison ivy collected and preserved as far back as the 1800s from the Herbarium at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in an attempt to measure relative toxicity in local specimens since the industrial revolution. The potential link between poison ivy toxicity and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since this time period (NOAA 2024), could allow us to make predictions for future carbon emission scenarios.
As someone who personally loves hiking, climbing, and otherwise being outside, a more toxic poison ivy is… not a pleasant concept, even though it’s super cool chemically. Regardless, chances are if you’re a resident of North America, you’ve at least heard the tales of this infamous plant. While poison ivy isn’t likely to kill you- unless you burn and inhale it a bunch, which is a surprisingly common accidental phenomena, now with new and exciting scientific literature (Woolery and Prahlow 2022)- it causes contact dermatitis, a painful rash due to allergic reaction, to varying degrees of severity for approximately 85 percent of the US population (American Skin Association 2020). Additionally, repeated exposure to the toxic compound, urushiol, can increase a person’s sensitivity (Gladman 2006). Essentially, poison ivy is a well-known public health concern that may become increasingly harmful. Evidence of increased toxicity over time could serve as a relatable and tangible way to connect human behavior, emissions, and climate change, fostering awareness and inspiring action on individual, regional, and national levels.
I am also working on tracking changes in toxicity within poison ivy plants in response to seasonal variation and whether the leaves have grown in the sun or shade (as shown in the stunning featured image). This has given me the opportunity to actually get out into the field right here in Schenley Park and get a better understanding of the plants’ pre-preservation, which has been exciting! Being out there has made me interested in more questions – why do leaves in the shade seem to have more jagged shapes than those in the sun, why have young spotted lanternflies decided to hop onto the vine leaves instead of those on host trees?
I am excited to continue to conduct this research with support from the Brackenridge Fellowship. I hope to further my knowledge not only within the disciplines I am studying, but in the many disciplines of those in my cohort. I also am looking forward to honing my ability to communicate my work. These skills will be invaluable in my (tentative) plans to pursue a doctorate in the geosciences, ideally with the help of national scholarships.
P.S.
As a side note, shoutout to poison ivy for being a very cool plant besides the whole toxicity to humans thing! It’s a robust native species in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and the Chinese lacquer tree, which is named for its role in making lacquer. If you’re like me, and didn’t really know what lacquer was before hearing about this, it’s a non-allergenic coating made from polymerization of urushiol, that same toxic compound in poison ivy I’ve been measuring. It’s used on wood and metal materials such as furniture and dish ware, including the popular and historically significant East Asian lacquerware. Recently, an artist managed to polymerize urushiol sourced from poison ivy here in the states for a gorgeous art exhibit (https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2024/05/16/kingston-graduate-student-to-showcase-lacquer-made-of-poison-ivy-sap-at-suny-new-paltz-exhibition/). Anyways, here’s to broadening horizons with a summer full of research!
References:
Mohan, J.E.; Ziska, L.H.; Schlesinger, W.H.; Thomas, R.B.; Sicher, R.C.; George, K.; Clark, J.S. (2006). Biomass and toxicity responses of poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) to elevated atmospheric CO2. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2006, 103, 9086–9089. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0602392103.
Ziska, Lewis & Sicher, R. & George, Keegan & Mohan, J.. (2009). Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Potential Impacts on the Growth and Toxicity of Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron Radicans). Weed Science. 55. 288-292. 10.1614/WS-06-190.
NOAA, 2024: Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Earth Systems Research Laboratories, accessed 19 January 2024, https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/global.html.
Woolery S, Willner J, Prahlow JA, Douglas E. Death After Poison Ivy Smoke Inhalation. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2022 Dec 1;43(4):359-362. doi: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000777. Epub 2022 Jun 13. PMID: 35703240.
“Poison Ivy, Sumac and Oak.” American Skin Association, 2020, http://www.americanskin.org/resource/poisonivy.php.
Gladman AC. Toxicodendron Dermatitis: Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 2006;17(2):120-128. doi:10.1580/PR31-05.1