Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources

Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources

Faculty and Student Professional Update

April 2004

Presentations:

Dr. Jason Grabosky was a visiting researcher at Purdue in April 2004. He gave presentations on tree preservation/protection during construction, treeroot biology and tree amenable pavement design to 5 undergraduate classes. He also presented a graduate seminar on tree-pavement research. After touring campus, research plots and the new forest technology center, Dr. Grabosky presented an eight hour lecture-workshop on tree establishment in paved urban spaces to the Indiana Arborist Association.

Dr. Julie Lockwood presented a seminar at Columbia University entitled "The tribe has spoken: the case for using a multi-stage invasion model in our efforts to predict the success of non-native species".

During a week in April (18-25 April), Dr. Lena Struwe visited the Netherlands for studies of the two plant families Gentianaceae and Loganiaceae.

Dr. Struwe gave a lecture of the flora of the Lost Worlds in Venezuela at Utrecht University. Three scientific collections were visited: the herbaria of Utrecht University, LeidenUniversity, and Wageningen University. Among the exciting finds this week was at least 3 new and previously unknown species of gentians from South America that will now be described. Dr. Struwe also received access to collections that are housed in the Netherlands and was able to study several species in detail for the first time. The trip was supported by grants from NSF, Rutgers Research Council, and The Graduate School- New Brunswick.

Papers Published:

Aronson, M.* F. J., C. A. Hatfield, and J. M. Hartman. 2004. Plant Community Patterns of Low-Gradient Forested Floodplains in a New Jersey Urban Landscape. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society (in press).

Lockwood, J.L. and J. Gilroy. The portability of foodweb dynamics: reassembling an Australian eucalypt-psyllid-bird association within California. Global Ecology and Biogeography. (In press)
Cassey, P., T.M. Blackburn, R.P. Duncan, D. Sol and J. Lockwood. Global patterns of introduction effort and establishment success in birds. Biology Letters.(In press).

Lockwood, J.L. Fire effects on Cape Sable seaside sparrow demography: 2003 final report. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Vero Beach, Florida.

MacDonald, K.***, and R. F. Labisky, 2004. Lumpy jaw in white-tailed deer subjected to a severe flood in the Florida Everglades. Florida Scientist 67:43-47.
Jiang, L. and P. J. Morin. 2004. Temperature-dependent interactions explain unexpected responses to environmental warming in communities of competitors. Journal of Animal Ecology 73: 569-576.
Jiang, L. and N. Shao**. 2004. Red environmental noise and the appearance of delayed density dependence in age-structured populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, series B 271: 1059-1064.
Li,Y., Xu, M., Zou,X. 2004 Soil respiration and fungal and bacterial biomass in a plantation and a secondary forest in wet tropics in Puerto Rico. Plant and Soil (In press).

*Myla Aronson is a PhD candiate in Dr. Steven Handel’s lab

** Nan Shao is a PhD candidate in Dr. Colleen Hatfield’s lab

***Kristi MacDonald is a PhD candidate in Dr. David Ehrenfeld’s lab.

Faculty Achievements and Activities:

Dr. Edwin Green was elected a Fellow in the American Statistical Association.

The Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Dr. Richard Lathrop, Director, was involved with work on vernal pool conservation as written about in the New York Times article "Mudhole? Don’t Be Insulting; It’s Protected Wetland." The article appeared in the New Jersey section on Sunday April 19, 2004.

Dr. Roger Locandro, Emeritus. The Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey, of which Dr, Locandro is President, has received $303,000 from AmerGen to use towards the cost of improving the buildings and space at Lighthouse Center. This money was awarded as a settlement AmerGen must pay over the next three years for a malfunction at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Station. Natural resource education in estuarine ecosytems is of primary importance to the NREFNJ.

Dr. Julie Lockwood received $99,000 from the National Park Service for the study of fire effects on Cape Sable seaside sparrows.

Student Awards, Achievements, and Activities:

Dan Hernandez, a PhD candidate in Dr. David Drake’s lab, appeared in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday May 9^th. Dan participated in an expedition to Tierra del Fuego in February to study Red Knots with the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program. The link is http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/special_package/redknot/

Transitions:

Jennifer Price, Dr. Peter Morin advisor, received her Ph.D. on May 7^th. The title of her thesis was "Intraguild Predation and the Formation of Alternate Community States." Dr. Price begins her career as a biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources within the month.

Kelsey Sullivan, Dr. Joanna Burger advisor, received his Masters on April 22. His thesis title was "What factors influence nest selection of black-legged kittiwakes in Alaska: using historical data to investigate scientific questions." Kelsey is continuing his work in Alaska for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.