Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources

Faculty and Student Newsletter

November  2004

 

Previous newsletters may be seen at:

http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~deenr/news.html

 

Presentations:

·        Celine Santiago Bass, a PhD candidate in Dr. Judy Weis’ lab, presented a poster at the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) conference held at the Meadowlands Commission October 14th-16th.  The poster was entitled: "Parasite Diversity and Abundance in Killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) From Two New Jersey Estuaries."

·        Dr. Joan Ehrenfeld gave a keynote address on Wetlands in Urban Regions - Challenges for conservation and Management" to the Northeast Section of the Society of Wetland Scientists on Oct. 29th, in Worcester, Mass.

·        Dr. Jason Grabosky presented lectures and participated in round-table discussions on tree selection issues to the annual meetings of the Indiana Urban and Community Forestry Conference and the New Jersey Shade Tree Federation.

·        Han Han, a PhD student in Dr. Ming Xu’s lab, presented a poster entitled: “Prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivity from particle size and water retention.” 2004  ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, Seattle, WA. Oct 31 - Nov 4. 

·        Dr. Richard Lathrop has been invited to speak at the The Forest Service Centennial

Forum in Philadelphia held at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA  19103 on November 15, 2004.  The focus of the Forum is OPEN SPACES TO CROWDED PLACES: Landscape Change along the I-95 Corridor.  Dr. Lathrop will talk on Land use change in the New York – New  Jersey Highlands, as part of a panel on A Landscape of Change: Where Have All the Forests Gone?

·        Dr. Richard Lathrop spoke to the New Jersey Association of Planners at

their annual meeting on Nov. 5, 2004. Dr. Lathrop's talk was on New Jersey Land Use Change.

·        Dr. Richard Lathrop spoke at the NJ Forest Woodland conference in New  Brunswick on the Highlands Study Update on Nov 6, 2004.

·        Dr. Richard Lathrop will be speaking at the League of Conservation annual meeting in Atlantic City on November 17, 2004 on the New Jersey Greenways Project - a collaboration between the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, NJ Green Acres and the Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Rutgers University.

·        Dr. Peter Morin presented a seminar at Columbia University's Center for

Environmental Research & Conservation (CERC) on 9 November, on:  "Using

Experimental Model Systems To Explore Environmental Issues: Lessons from Small Worlds.”

 

 

 

 

 

·        Dana L. Price, a PhD candidate in Dr. Michael May’s lab, presented a paper entitled: “Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the dung beetles genus Phanaeus using morphological data.” at the Scarab Research Network and at the VI Reunion de Latain Americana Scarabaeoidologia  at Universidad EARTH in Costa Rica.

·        Emilie Stander, a PhD candidate in Dr. Joan Ehrenfeld’s lab, attended the 2004 EPA Graduate Fellowship Conference in Washington, DC, Oct. 11-13. She presented a poster entitled:  The Effects of Urbanization on Nitrate Removal Capacity of Urban Wetlands.”

·        Struwe, L., K. Lepis, M. F. Calió, W. Peters, M. Kinkade, A. M. Pohlit, & J. Pirani. 2004. Exploring evolutionary patterns in Brazilian plant biodiversity using GIS and molecular systematics. North-South Americas Molecular Biology Conference. 8-10 Sep 2004, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

·        Dr. John C. F. Tedrow, emeritus, gave a seminar on the Life and Work of Selman A. Waksman to the New Jersey Soil Science Society in October.

 

Papers Published:

·        Ehrenfeld, J. Vegetation of forested wetlands in urban and suburban landscapes in New Jersey.  Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society  (In Press).

·        Kelly, Jay. "Habitat Assessment of American Chaffseed (Schwalbea americana)

(New Jersey)" was accepted for publication in the March 2005 issue of

Ecological Restoration.

·        Lockwood, J.L. P. Cassey, and T.M. Blackburn.  Is propagule pressure the 'missing link' for predicting invasions?  Trends in Ecology and Evolution. (In Press)

·        Lockwood, J.L. Life in a double-hotspot: the transformation of Hawaiian bird diversity following invasion and extinction.  Biological Invasions. (In Press).

·        Pejchar, L, K. Holl and J. Lockwood.  Home range size varies with habitat type in a Hawaiian Honeycreeper: implications for native Acacia koa forestry.  Ecological Applications. (In Press).

·        Price, D.L. 2004. Species diversiety and seasonal abundance of scarabaeoid dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae, and Trogidae) attracted to cow dung in central New Jersey. Journal of The New York Entomological Society, 112(2-3).

·        Price, D.L. 2004. Descriptions of the male and female genitalia of Phanaeus (Macleay) (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): the index species group. Coleopterists Bulletin. (In Press).

·        Gould, K. R. & L. Struwe. 2004. Phylogeny and evolution of Symbolanthus and Wurdackanthus (Gentianaceae-Helieae) in the Guayana Highlands and Andes, based on ribosomal 5S-NTS sequences. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 91: 438-446.

·        Mansion, G. & L. Struwe. 2004. Generic delimitation and phylogenetic relationships within the subtribe Chironiinae (Chironieae: Gentianaceae) with special reference to Centaurium: evidence from nrDNA and cpDNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32: 951-977.

 

 

 

 

·        Molina, J. & L. Struwe. 2004. Neuburgia novocaledonica, comb. nov. and the first record of domatia in the family Loganiaceae. Australian Systematic Botany 17: 399-406.

·        Struwe, L. & K. Gould. 2004. Redefinition of Symbolanthus to include Wurdackanthus (Gentianaceae - Helieae). Novon 14: 354-359.

·        Struwe, L. & V. A. Albert. 2004. Monograph of neotropical Potalia (Gentianaceae: Potalieae). Systematic Botany 29(3): 670-701.

 

Advisory Panels:

·        Dr. Joan Ehrenfeld will be attending a meeting of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council in November.

·        Dr. Richard Lathrop has been invited to serve on the GIS Committee advising the NJ Audubon Society's Important Bird and Birding Areas Program.

 

Grants and Fellowships:

·        J.C. Clement, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Joan Ehrenfeld’s lab, obtained a fellowship from the French Ministry of Research.  One hundred postdocs from France were selected to receive 5000 euros towards their research projects. The monies are intended to aid them in maintaining contact with other French research teams.

 

Faculty Achievements and Activities:

·        Dr. Joanna Burger and Dr. Mike Gochfeld just returned from 5 weeks in the Aleutian Islands, on a research vessel collecting organisms for radioactive analysis. They gave a paper on their work at the American Ornithological Union meetings in August.

·        Dr. David Drake and Dr. Julie Lockwood and their collective labs, attended the inaugural meeting of the New Jersey Chapter of The Wildlife Society at the Forsythe USFWS Refuge (Brigantine) on October 26.   This represents the re-establishment of this organization in New Jersey.

·        Dr. Jason Grabosky is a member of the testing committee for the "Board Certified Master Arborist" a certification given by the International Society of Arboriculture.

 

Student Awards, Achievements, and Activities:

·        Greg Dahle, a PhD student in Dr. Jason Grabosky’s lab, was certified as a "Board

Certified Master Arborist" by the International Society of Arboriculture. This is a new certification and the paramount for the professional society. Greg was among the introductory group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transitions:

·        Dr. J.C.Clement, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Dr. Joan Ehrenfeld’s lab, has accepted a position as Assistant  Professor  at West Virginia University in the Department  of Biology. He will work in collaboration with Professor Mark Walbridge and his research team on wetlands biogeochemistry.

·        Michael Celestino, advisor John Quinlan, defended his master’s thesis entitled “Analysis of the abundances of Mercenaria mercenaria and other molluscs on prospective aquaculture leased grounds in New Jersey.” on November 8th.

·        Arjun Sivasundar, advisor Jody Hey, defended his Ph.D. thesis entitled “Genetic variation, population structure and outcrossing in Caenorhabditis elegans.” on November 15. Dr. Sivasundar will be working as a Post Doctoral Fellow with Dr. Steven Palumbi at the Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University in marine conservation genetics.


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