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Congratulations to May 2009 MEES graduates:
Ph.D. – Kimberly Anderson, Laura Belicka, Kevin Gormally, Nikisa Jordan, Matthew Kendall, Hailong Liu
M.S. – Sarah Bembe, Jeffrey Biermann, Lisa Florkowski, Terra Lederhouse, Amanda Matheny, Katie McKone, Deanna Hanks, Osarodion Nosakhare, Adrianna Ortiz, Michael Owens
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Katherine Davis Ziombra has been awarded a fellowship from the Washington, DC Water and Sewer Authority. She will be working with Lora Harris (her MEES M.S. advisor) and Sudhir Murthy (DC WASA) to investigate how potential reductions in nitrogen inputs from the Blue Plains treatment plant will influence organic matter production and respiration in the lower Potomac estuary. Summer activities also include participation in seminars, visits to EPA headquarters, and opportunities to learn more about wastewater operations at the largest denitrification wastewater treatment plant in the world.
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Adolf, J. E., Bachvaroff, T.R., and Place, A.R. (2009). Environmental modulation of Karlotoxin levels in strains of the cosmopolitan dinoflagellate, Karlodinium veneficum (Dinophyceae). J. Phycol. 45(176-192).
Alliegro, M.C. and P. Satir, 2009. Origin of the Cilium: Novel approaches to examine a centriolar evolution hypothesis. Meth. Cell Biol. In press.
Daniel M. Alongi. 2009. The Energetics of Mangrove Forests. 216 pages, Springer; 1st edition.
Bianchi, T.S., and M.A. Allison. 2009. Large-River Delta-Front Estuaries as Natural "Recorders" of Global Environmental Change. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.: 106 (20) 8085-8092.
Boonsatien, B., N. Sangpradub, M.T. Barbour, and W. Simachaya. 2009. An implementation plan for using biological indicators to improve assessment of water quality in Thailand. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI 10.1007/s10661-009-0939-0.
A. Chaudhuri, M. Mitra, J.G. Schwarz and S. Schiewer. 2009. Copper, Zinc, Nickel, and Cobalt biosorption potential of Fucus vesiculosus (Phaeophyceae) and Gracilaria tikvahiae (Rhodophyta). Water Practice and Technology, Vol. 4(2): 1-9.
doi: 10.2166/WPT.2009.039 (http://www.iwaponline.com/wpt/004/0039/0040039.pdf)
Chen, S. N. & Sanford, L. P. (2009). Lateral circulation driven by boundary mixing and the associated transport of sediments in idealized partially mixed estuaries. Cont. Shelf Res., 29(1), 101–118.
Darwish, A.M., Mitchell, A.J. 2009. Evaluation of Diquat against an acute experimental infection of Flavobacterium columnare in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Journal of Fish Diseases. 32:401-408.
William C. Dennison, Jane E. Thomas, Carol J. Cain, Tim J.B. Carruthers, Matthew R. Hall, Roman, V. Jesien, Catherine E. Wazniak, and David E. Wilson. Shifting Sands: Environmental and cultural change in Maryland's Coastal Bays IAN Press.
B. Fertig, T. J. B. Carruthers, W. C. Dennison, A. B. Jones, F. Pantus and B. Longstaff. 2009. Oyster and Macroalgae Bioindicators Detect Elevated δ15N in Maryland's Coastal Bays. Estuaries and Coasts 32(4): 773-786. 10.1007/s12237-009-9148-x
Anson H. Hines, W. Christopher Long, Jeffrey R. Terwin, Simon F. Thrush. 2009. Facilitation, interference, and scale: the spatial distribution of prey patches affects predation rates in an estuarine benthic community. MEPS 385:127 135. doi:10.3354/meps08055
Kemp WM, Petersen SE, Houde ED, Chen C-C, Cornwell JC, Porter ET (2009) Spatial and Temporal Scaling, p. 49-62. In JE Petersen, VS Kennedy, WC Dennison, WM Kemp. Enclosed Experimental Ecosystems and Scale. Tools for Understanding and Managing Coastal Ecosystems, 222 p., Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-387-76766-6.
Yannick Labreuchea, Nuala A. O’Leary, Enrique de la Vegaa, Artur Velosoa, Paul S. Grossb, Robert W. Chapmanc, Craig L. Browdyc and Gregory W. Warra. 2009. Lack of evidence for Litopenaeus vannamei Toll receptor (lToll) involvement in activation of sequence-independent antiviral immunity in shrimp. Developmental & Comparative Immunology 33(7): 806-810. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2009.02.005
Kellie Merrell, Eric A. Howe, and Susan Warren. 2009. Examining Shorelines, Littorally. LakeLineVolume 29, No. 1: 10-15.
Margaret R. Mulholland, Ryan E. Morse, George E. Boneillo, Peter W. Bernhardt, Katherine C. Filippino, Leo A. Procise, Jose L. Blanco-Garcia, Harold G. Marshall, Todd A. Egerton, William S. Hunley, Kenneth A. Moore, Dianna L. Berry and Christopher J. Gobler. 2009. Understanding Causes and Impacts of the Dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries and Coasts 32(4): 734-747. 10.1007/s12237-009-9169-5.
Muller-Karger, Frank. E., R. Varela, R. C. Thunell, M. I. Scranton, G. T. Taylor, Y. Astor, C. R. Benitez-Nelson, L. Lorenzoni, E. Tappa, M. A. Goñi, D. Rueda, R. Weisberg, and C. Hu. 2009 (In Press) The CARIACO Oceanographic Time Series. In: Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Continental Margins: A Global Synthesis. JGOFS Continental Margins Task Team (CMTT). Editors: Kon-Kee Liu, Larry Atkinson, Renato Quinones, Liana Talaue-McManus, Springer-Verlag New York.
Norris, R.H. and M.T. Barbour. 2009. Bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems. In: Gene E. Likens, (Editor) Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (Oxford: Elsevier) Vol 3 pp21-28.
Porter ET, Cornwell JC, Sanford LP, Newell RIE (2009) Biofiltration, water quality, and sediment processes, p. 190-194. In JE Petersen, VS Kennedy, WC Dennison, WM Kemp. Enclosed Experimental Ecosystems and Scale. Tools for Understanding and Managing Coastal Ecosystems, 222 p., Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-387-76766-6.
Robalino J, Carnegie RB, O'Leary N, Ouvry-Patat SA, de la Vega E, Prior S, Gross PS, Browdy CL, Chapman RW, Schey KL, Warr G. 2009. Contributions of functional genomics and proteomics to the study of immune responses in the Pacific white leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 128(1-3):110-8.
Smith, K.A. and J.M. Caffrey. 2009. The Effects of Human and Climatic Impacts on Sediment Nitrogen Dynamics in an Urban Estuary, Escambia Bay, Florida, USA. Hydrobiologia. 627:67-85.
Katharine A. Smith, Elizabeth W. North , Fengyan Shi, Shih-Nan Chen, Raleigh R. Hood, Evamaria W. Koch and Roger I. E. Newell. 2009. Modeling the Effects of Oyster Reefs and Breakwaters on Seagrass Growth. Estuaries and Coasts 32(4): 748-757. 10.1007/s12237-009-9170-z.
Sutton, A. J., Fisher, T. R., & Gustafson, A. B. (2009). Historical Changes in Water Quality at German Branch in the Choptank River Basin. Water Air Soil Pollut., 199(1-4), 353–369.
Denise M. Yost, Carys L. Mitchelmore. 2009. Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) lyase activity in different strains of the symbiotic alga Symbiodinium microadriaticum. MEPS 386:61-70 - doi:10.3354/meps08031
Alumni News:
Dr. Val Emery, the Army Research Laboratory's outreach program manager was given the prestigious U.S. Army's Superior Civilian Service Award and the Black Engineers of the Year (BEYA) Deans Award. Maj. Gen. Paul S. Izzo, commander of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, gave Dr. Emery the service award for his extensive work with historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions. "Dr. Emery's achievements and exemplary performance are in keeping with the highest traditions of government service," Izzo said in the award citation. Dr. Emery received both his M.S. (1994 under Dr. J. Adams) and Ph.D. (1998 under Dr. David Wright) from MEES.
Dr. Stephen Jordan, MEES Ph.D. under Dr. Vic Kennedy, was among the recipients of the National Fish Habitat Initiative Award for Scientific Achievement, 2009, for a publication in the journal Ecology and Society (S.J. Jordan, L.M. Smith and J.A. Nestlerode. 2008. Cumulative effects of coastal habitat alterations on fishery resources: toward prediction at regional scales. Ecol. & Soc. 14(1): 16 online.
Dr. Randy Larsen (Ph.D. 2002 under Dr. Joel Baker) received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Chemistry at St. Mary's College of Maryland in May 2009. He is planning to spend his sabbatical year in the biogeochemistry group at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. While there, he will be traveling to the Arctic Ocean to study methane hydrates.
Brandon Muffley, 2002 MEES M.S. under Dr. Edward Houde, has been promoted to Chief of the Bureau of Marine Fisheries in the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife. His new position includes coordinating and overseeing all aspects of Bureau operations from budgets and federal aid to research programs and regulations.
Dr. Anthony S. Overton, MEES Ph.D. in 2003 under Dr. Joseph Margraf, has received tenure and been promoted to Associate Professor in the East Carolina University Department of Biology.
Dr. Elka Porter (Ph.D. in 1999 under Dr. Jeffrey Cornwell and Dr. Larry Sanford) will be starting a Visiting Assistant Professor position in the Biology Department of Washington College this August.
Dr. George Waldbusser (2008 Ph.D. under Dr. Roberta Marinellli) will be starting a tenure-track position at Oregon State University this fall in the College of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.
Dr. Anita Walz (2002 Ph.D. under Drs. Ray Morgan and Mary Ann Ottinger) received tenure this spring. Anita is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Marshall University.
Ruth A. Kelty (MEES 2000 Ph.D. under Dr. Christopher D’Elia) and husband Ryan welcomed their second daughter earlier this year.
MEES alumni Eric (M.S. 2004 under Dr. Jeffrey Cornwell) and Jessica (Davis) Nagel (Ph.D. 2007 under Dr. Michael Kemp) welcomed a baby boy, Brendan Everett, in October 2008.
Miles Connor Reid was born to Michael and Cristi Reid (MEES M.S. 2003 under Drs. Joe Mihursky and Denise Breitburg) in May 2008. He has an older sister, Alyssa.
The 2009 MEES Colloquium will be held on October 23rd & 24th in Annapolis, hosted by the UMCES Integration and Application Network (IAN) and the central MEES office. Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information!
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Melanie Harrison, doctoral student working with Drs. Andrew Miller and Peter Groffman, has been awarded a fellowship from the NOAA Graduate Science Program (GSP). The GSP is aimed primarily at increasing opportunities for students in NOAA-related fields to pursue research and educational training in atmospheric, environmental, remote sensing and oceanic sciences and offers four years of NOAA-related research and training opportunities.
Emily Seldomridge, an M.S. student working with Drs. Karen Prestegaard and Jeffery Cornwell, was awarded the National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Research Fellowship for her project entitled "Geomorphic framework for the measurement and prediction of nitrogen loss in tidal wetlands, Jug Bay, MD."
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
McKernan, M.A., B.A. Rattner, R.C. Hale, M.A. Ottinger. 2009. Toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (DE-71) in chicken (Gallus gallus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrel (Falco sparverius) embryos and hatchlings. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 28:1007-1017.
Other Student News:
Kari Fenske, M.S. student working with Drs. David Secor and Michael Wilberg, received a 3rd place award for best student presentation at the Tidewater American Fisheries Society Conference for "Demographics and Parasitism by Anguillicola Crassus in Chesapeake Bay American Eels."
Yun Li, a doctoral student working with Dr. Ming Li, received an Outstanding Student Paper Award for her presentation, "Impact of Hurricane Isabel on hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay," at the 2008 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Susan Lombardi, an M.S. student working with Dr. William Lamp, was awarded a conference travel grant from the Wetland Foundation for attendance at the annual meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists in Madison, Wisconsin, this June. Susan will be presenting her research, "Effects of Eastern mudminnow presence on macroinvertebrate communities of Delmarva temporary freshwater wetlands."
Amanda Matheny has won the Norman F. Childers Award - first place for best graduate student research paper at the Northeast Region American Society for Horticultural Science. Her thesis project identified motivators and barriers for adoption of recommended pest management practices by home gardeners. Amanda is a MS candidate in the MEES Program advised by Dr. Amy Brown.
MEES students Katie Delaney and Kari Fenske have been selected as 2009 Presidential Management Fellowship finalists. Both Katie and Kari are M.S. students working at CBL. Katie is advised by Dr. Sujay Kaushal and Kari by Drs. David Secor and Michael Wilberg.
MEES doctoral candidate Denise Yost, working with Dr. Carys Mitchelmore, was awarded a PADI Foundation Research Grant (A California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation) for her proposal "Spatial variation of DMSP production and DMSP lyase activity in three species of Bermuda coral."
Faculty News:
Two of the seventeen 2009 University System of Maryland Regents' Faculty Awards recipients were MEES faculty member: Dr. H. Rodger Harvey and Dr. Allen Place.
The awards are the highest honor presented by the board to exemplary faculty members. Presented by category, the awards honor excellence in teaching; scholarship, research, or creative activities; public service; mentoring; and collaboration. Dr. Harvey, the award recipient of the research, scholarship, and creativity category, is a professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. Dr. Place, the award recipient of the public services category, is a professor at the Center of Marine Biotechnology.
At the University of Maryland Baltimore County Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 1, Dr. Thomas Cronin was honored as Presidential Research Professor, 2009-2012.
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Benjamin Fertig, a MEES doctoral student working with Dr. William Dennison, received a 2008 National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Graduate Research Fellowship for "Connecting monitoring, long-term, and broad-scale water quality datasets through an estuarine biological indicator of nitrogen source".
Peter Sharpe, a MEES doctoral candidate working with Dr Andrew Baldwin, was awarded an Environmental Science and Technology Fellowship this Spring 2009. He has also a accepted Post-Doc position with the Aquatic Ecosystems Unit of The Institute for Agricultural and Food Research with the Spanish Government in Sant Carles de la Rapita, Spain. The research is looking at the causes and consequences of sea level rise on tidal marshes in the Ebre River Delta.
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Ball, W.P., D.C. Brady, M.T. Brooks, R. Burns, B.E. Cuker, D.M. Di Toro, T.F. Gross, W.M. Kemp, L. Murray, R.R. Murphy, E. Perlman, M. Piasecki, J.M. Testa, I. Zaslavsky. 2008. A Prototype System for Multi-Disciplinary Shared Cyberinfrastructure: Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering 13, 960-970.
Chen, S.N. and Sanford L.P., 2008. Lateral circulation driven by boundary mixing and the associated transport of sediments in idealized partially-mixed estuaries. Continental Shelf Research, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2008.01.001.
Fertig, B., Carruthers, T.J.B., Dennison, W.C., Jones, A., Pantus, F., and Longstaff, B. 2009. Oyster and macroalgae bioindicators detect elevated 15N in Maryland's Coastal Bays. In press. Estuaries and Coasts.
Frisk, M. G., T. J. Miller, S. J. D. Martell and K. K. Sosebee. (2008). New hypothesis helps explain elasmobranch "outburst" on Georges Bank in the 1980s. Ecological Applications 18(1): 234-245.
Hopfensperger, K. N. and K. A. M. Engelhardt (2008). Annual species abundance in a tidal freshwater marsh: germination and survival across an elevational gradient. Wetlands 28(2).
Johnson, A.K., Richards, R.A., Cullen, D.W. and S. J. Sutherland. (2008). Growth, reproduction and feeding of large monkfish Lophius americanus. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65: 1370-1378.
Jordan, N. S., C. Ichoku and R. M. Hoff, 2008. Estimating smoke emissions over the US Southern Great Plains using MODIS fire radiative power and aerosol observations. Atmos. Environ., 42, 2007-2022, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.12.023.
Jordan, T.E. J.C. Cornwell, W.R. Boynton and J.T. Anderson. 2008. Changes in phosphorus biogeochemistry along an estuarine salinity gradient: The iron conveyer belt Limnology and Oceanography, 53:172-184.
Kendall, M. S. and T. J. Miller. 2008. The influence of thematic and spatial resolution on maps of a coral reef ecosystem. Marine Geodesy 31:75-102.
D.G. Kimmel, W. D. Miller, L.W. Harding Jr., E.D. Houde and M.R. Roman (2009) Estuarine Ecosystem Response Captured Using a Synoptic Climatology. Estuaries and Coasts DOI 10.1007/s12237-009-9147-y.
Li H, Randall WR, Du SJ. 2009. skNAC (skeletal Naca), a muscle-specific isoform of Naca (nascent polypeptide-associated complex alpha), is required for myofibril organization. FASEB J. 2009 Feb 11. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19211926 [PubMed].
Love, J.W., J. Gill, and J.J. Newhard. 2008. Saltwater intrusion impacts fish diversity and distribution in the Blackwater River drainage (Chesapeake Bay watershed). Wetlands 28(4): 967-974. doi: 10.1672/07-238.1.
MacAuley, S.R., S.A. Zimmerman, E.E. Apolinario, C. Evilia, Y.-M. Hou, J.G. Ferry, K.R. Sowers. 2009. The Archetype g-Class Carbonic Anhydrase (Cam) Contains Iron when Synthesized in vivo in Methanosarcina acetivorans. Biochemistry 48(5): 817-9.
Manyin T, Rowe CL. 2009 (In press). Bioenergetic effects of aqueous copper and cadmium on the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. Comparative Biochemistry and Toxicology.
Mather, M.E., D.L. Parrish, C.A. Campbell, J. McMenemy, and J.M. Smith. 2008. Summer temperature variation and implications for juvenile Atlantic salmon. Hydrobiologia 603:183-196.
Mohamed, N. M., A. S. Colman, Y. Tal, and R. T. Hill. 2008. Diversity and expression of nitrogen fixation genes in bacterial symbionts of marine sponges. Environ. Microbiol.10:2910-2921.
Moore, C. W., Cosby, B. J., Galloway, J. N., Castro, M. S., 2009 (in press). Relationship Between pH and Stream Water Total Mercury Concentrations in Shenandoah National Park. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. DOI: 10.1007/s11270-008-9940-4.
Pendleton, F.N., and A.H. Baldwin. The effects of spraying deltamethrin for tsetse fly control on insectivorous bird populations in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology (in press).
Sutton, A. J., T. R. Fisher, and A. B. Gustafson. in press. Historical changes in water quality at German Branch in the Choptank River basin. Water Air Soil Poll.
Swan, C.M., B.L. Brown and C. DePalma. Identifying the relative importance of leaf versus shredder species loss on litter decomposition in streams. International Review of Hydrobiology.
Testa, J.M., W.M. Kemp, W.R. Boynton, and J.D. Hagy III. In Press. Long-term changes in water quality and productivity in the Patuxent River estuary: 1985 to 2003. Estuaries and Coasts.
Utz, R.M., R.H. Hilderbrand, and D.M. Boward. 2009. Identifying regional differences in threshold responses of aquatic invertebrates to land cover gradients. Ecological Indicators 9:556-567.
Other Student News:
MEES M.S. student Jennifer Brundage (advised by Dr. Andrew Baldwin) was part of the 1st place team at the American Ecological Engineering Society's 3rd Annual Student Design Competition. The competition had the students develop a working model of stream restoration plan that included a plan, profile, and longitudinal morphology that:
- Minimized bank and bed erosion
- Processed sediment load and flow through reach
- Possessed attributes advantageous to nutrient cycling
- Incorporated a variety of habitats for native plants and animals
Alumni News:
MEES doctoral alumni, and current CBL Associate Research Scientist, George Waldbusser was recently interviewed for a 14-part series on climate change by the Research Channel, a non-profit group that is providing this series to high schools throughout the county. Dr. Waldbusser and his collaborator discussed their NSF-funded work on the effects of coastal ocean-estuarine acidification on clams and oysters.
Faculty News:
MEES and Chesapeake Biological Laboratory faculty member H. Rodger Harvey has been selected as a recipient the University System of Maryland Regents' Faculty Award in Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity for 2009.
MEES and UMBC GES faculty member Christopher M. Swan was interviewed on PRI for a story on the effects of road-deicer runoff. The work discussed included that of MEES doctoral candidate Robin van Meter. Here is the link:
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00008&segmentID=9
Congratulations to MEES December 2008 degree recipients:
Ph.D.: Eytan Abraham, Lisa Kerr, Edward Martino, Moira McKernan, Sara Pollack, Qiong Tang
M.S.: Kristen Beckert, Bernice Bediako, Lesley Bensinger, Ryan Corbin, Rehab Elfadul, Joshua Jones, Antti Koskelo, Daniel Luers, Rooge Suvanasuthi, Victoria Taibe
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Cynthia B. Stine, MEES doctoral graduate (May 2008 under Dr. Andrew Kane), was awarded an inaugural U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner's Fellowship, a two-year fellowship program aimed at attracting scientists, engineers and health professionals to the agency. The Fellowship Program provides participants with advanced training in the scientific analysis involved in the safety and regulatory decisions unique to the agency's mission. Cindy is working with Dr. Renate Reimshuessel at the Center for Veterinary Medicine in Laurel, Maryland, on melamine residues in aquaculture species. Classes focus on FDA policy, procedures, and research as well as management training and courses leading to a master's of public health.
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
BJ Haley, DJ Cole and EK Lipp Distribution, Diversity and Seasonality of Waterborne
Salmonella in a Rural Watershed. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2009 v 1,
doi:10.1128/AEM.01648-08
Kelly, SM, KM Eisenreich, JE Baker, CL Rowe. 2008. Accumulation and maternal transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls in snapping turtles of the upper Hudson River, New York, USA. Env. Tox & Chem. 27(12): 2565-2574. DOI 10.1897/08-098.1.
H. Li, W. R. Randall and S.J. Du. 2009. skNAC, a muscle-specific isoform of NAC, is involved in myofibril organization in zebrafish embryo. FASEB J. In press.
TA Myatt, T Minegishi, JG Allen and DL MacIntosh. 2008. Control of asthma triggers in indoor air with air cleaners: a modeling analysis. Environ Health 7: 43; doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-7-43
S.J. Du, H. Li, Y. Bian and Y. Zhong. 2008. Heat shock protein 90 1 is required for organized myofibril assembly in skeletal muscles of zebrafish embryos. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 105: 554-559.
Sharpe, PJ and AH Baldwin. 2009. Patterns of wetland plant species richness across estuarine gradients of Chesapeake Bay. Wetlands. (In Press)
Other Student News:
Jason Edwards, M.S. student working with Dr. Tom Miller, was awarded the 2008 Drach-Navigator Achievement Award from the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory for his contribution to the graduate program at CBL.
Amanda Matheny has won the Norman F. Childers Award -- first place for best graduate student research paper at the Northeast Region American Society for Horticultural Science. Her thesis project identified motivators and barriers for adoption of recommended pest management practices by home gardeners. Amanda is a MS candidate Advised by Dr. Amy Brown.
Katie McKone, an M.S. student working with Eva Maria Koch, received the award for best student presentation at the AERS meeting. Katie’s presentation was entitled “Video Analysis as a Tool to Model Light Availability in a Seagrass Bed: the Importance of Morphology, Density, and Self-Shading.”
Eli Moore, doctoral student working with Dr. Rodger Harvey, just returned from the University of Washington where he collaborated with Dr. Brook Nunn of the Dave Goodlett Proteomics lab in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. Eli was getting trained and receiving expertise on some Bering Sea water and sediment protein extracts.
Other Alumni News:
Heather Stapleton, assistant professor of Environmental Sciences at Duke University, recently was awarded two research grants: NIEHS, $2,188,531, for "Children's Exposure to Brominated Flame Retardants: effects on thyroid hormone regulation" and NIH, $3260,000, for "Human Exposure to PBDEs." Heather received her MEES doctorate, working with Dr. Joel Baker, in 2003.
Congratulations to August 2008 MEES Graduates:
Ph.D.: Chih-Wei Chang, Shih-Nan Chen, Teresa Manyin, David Richardson
M.S.: Carrie DePalma, Richard Gardner, Nicholas Jabro, Andrew Mason, Jessica Nelson, David Riposo
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Grant, EHC. 2008. Assessing visual implant elastomer mark retention in amphibian larvae through metamorphosis. Journal of Wildlife Management 72: 1247-1252.
Johnson, A. K., Richards, R. A., Cullen, D. W., and Sutherland, S. J. 2008. Growth, reproduction, and feeding of large monkfish, Lophius americanus. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1306–1315.
SM Kelly, KM Eisenreich, JE Baker and CL Rowe. 2008. Accumulation and Maternal Transfer of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Snapping Turtles of the Upper Hudson River, New York, USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry DOI: 10.1897/08-098.1
EJ Hilyard, JM Jones-Meehan, BJ Spargo and RT Hill.Enrichment, Isolation, and Phylogenetic Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria from Elizabeth River Sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 1176-1182, Vol. 74, No. 4. doi:10.1128/AEM.01518-07
Johnson, AK, Richards, RA, Cullen, DW and SJ Sutherland. 2008. Growth, reproduction, and feeding of large monkfish, Lophius americanus. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65(7): 1306-1315.
Kerr, LA, B. Connolly, E. Martino, A. Peer, D. Secor and R. Woodland. 2008. Climate change in the U.S. Atlantic affecting recreational fisheries. Rev. Fish. Sci.
Mohamed, N. M., A. S. Colman, Y. Tal, and R. T. Hill. 2008. Diversity and expression of nitrogen fixation genes in bacterial symbionts of marine sponges. Environ. Microbiol.10: 2910-2921.
Mohamed, N. M., V. Rao, M. T. Hamann, M. Kelly and R. T. Hill. 2008. Monitoring bacterial diversity and metabolite production of the marine sponge Ircinia strobilina on transfer into aquaculture. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4133-4143.
Mohamed, N. M., J. J. Enticknap, J. E. Lohr, S. M. McIntosh, and R. T. Hill. 2008. Changes in bacterial communities of the marine sponge Mycale laxissima on transfer into aquaculture. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1209-1222.
E Taviani, D Ceccarelli, N Lazaro, S Bani, P Cappuccinelli, RR Colwell and MM Colombo (2008). Environmental Vibrio spp., isolated in Mozambique, contain a polymorphic group of integrative conjugative elements and class 1 integrons. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 64(1): 45 - 54
Student News:
Two MEES doctoral students were awarded 2008 Rita R. Colwell UMBI Travel Fellowships to present their research at scientific meetings.
Eytan Abraham presented the following paper at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR),“Reproductive Biology: Basic Discoveries That Affect Our Lives”, on May 27-30, 2008, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii: “The Role of Netrins and Hedgehog in the Early Development of the Zebrafish GnRH1 System”, by Eytan Abraham, Ori Palevitch, Yoav Gothilf, and Yonathan Zohar.
Huiqing Li presented the following paper at the 8th International Meeting on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, on June 25-29, 2008, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison: “SMYD1, a methyltransferase, is required for myofibrillogenesis in skeletal and cardiac muscles” by Huiqing Li, William R. Randall, and Shao Jun Du.
Laura Belicka, a doctoral candidate advised by Dr. H. Rodger Harvey, has been invited to participate in the Dissertations Symposium on Chemical Oceanography (DISCO). DISCO 2008 is the twenty-first research symposium of a continuing series for new and upcoming PhDs in the field of chemical oceanography. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together new and upcoming doctorate recipients in chemical oceanography to present and discuss their dissertation research in an open forum with their peers and to forge professional relationships for the future. Laura will be presenting a talk on her research on the role of terrestrial organic matter in the carbon cycle of the western Arctic Ocean. The meeting will be jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with coordination by the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
Nikisa S. Jordan, a MEES doctoral candidate working with Dr. Raymond Hoff, received the UMBC Graduate Student Association’s Jessica Soto-Pérez Annual Memorial Award for 2007-2008. The award honors on annual basis an outstanding graduate student award to honor those who strive to aid graduate students in their academic and professional pursuits during their time at UMBC. On the research front, Nikisa was awarded two first places for presentations - 1st Place American Meteorological Society 10th Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry for her poster MODIS and CALIPSO Observations of Smoke Pollution Episodes, Nikisa Jordan, JCET/Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; C. Ichoku and R. M. Hoffand and 1st Place 6th Annual NOAA CREST Annual Symposium for her presentation Observations of Fire and Smoke from Space. Nikisa S. Jordana, Charles Ichokub, Raymond M. Hoff a CREST, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland b Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), University of Maryland.
Katie McKone, a MEES M.S. student working with Eva Maria Koch, received the award for best student presentation (Going and growing with the flow: linking water-flow induced seagrass morphology, shoot density, and light availability) at the 8th International Seagrass Biology Workshop held on Vancouver Island, Canada.
Diann Prosser, a doctoral candidate working with Dr. Erle Ellis, was the 2008 MEES Colloquium Poster Award winner. Diann’s poster was Wild Birds and Emerging Diseases: Modeling Avian Influenza Transmission Risk Between Domestic and Wild Birds in China.
Alumni News:
Adrienne Sutton, MEES 2006 Ph.D. under Dr. Tom Fisher, is a 2008 NOAA Administrator's Award Recipient for outstanding leadership in and dedication to developing U.S. CCSP Synthesis & Assessment Products integrating climate research for decision support.
Thanks to everyone who attended the MEES Open House!
Congratulations to May 2008 MEES Graduates:
Ph.D.: Larry Alade, Alicia Berlin, Tsyr-Huei Choi, Rebecca Holyoke, Jose-Luis Izursa, Michael Liddel, Annette Meredith, Janet Nye, Cynthia Stine, George Waldbusser
M.S.: Rachel Borgatti, Sean Cooney, Annette Elmore, Terry Jordan, Gabriel Ladd, Ji Li, Allegra Schafer
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Terra Lederhouse, MEES M.S. student working with Dr. Kennedy Paynter, is a 2008 Fellow. Terra is working in the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Affairs Division, Office of International Affairs.
Adam Peer, a MEES doctoral student working with Dr. Thomas Miller, was awarded the first annual Steven Berkeley Marine Conservation Fellowship from the American Fisheries Society.
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Alexander, J.A. D. K. Stoecker, D. W. Meritt, S. T. Alexander, A. Padeletti, D. Johns, L. Van Heukelem and P. M. Glibert. Differential feces and pseudofeces production by the oyster Crassostrea ariakensiswhen exposed to diets containing harmful dinoflagellate and raphidophyte species. J. Shellfish Res. In press.
Ball, W.P., D.C. Brady, M.T. Brooks, R. Burns, B.E. Cuker, D.M. Di Toro, T.F. Gross, W.M. Kemp, L. Murray, R.R. Murphy, E. Perlman, M. Piasecki, J.M. Testa, I. Zaslavsky. 2008. A Prototype System for Multi-Disciplinary Shared Cyberinfrastructure - Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory (CBEO). Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, ASCE. (In Press).
Biers, E.J., K. Wang, C. Pennington, R. Belas, F. Chen, and M.A. Moran. 2008. Occurrence and expression of gene transfer agent genes in marine bacterioplankton. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:2933-2939.
Boynton, W.R., J. Hagy, J. Cornwell, W.M. Kemp, S. Greene, M. Owens, J. Baker, R. Larsen. 2008. Nutrient budgets and management actions in the Patuxent River estuary, Maryland. Estuaries and Coasts 31(4): 623-651.
L.S. Craig, M.A. Palmer, D.C. Richardson, S. Filoso, E.S. Bernhardt, B.P. Bledsoe, M.W. Doyle, P.M. Groffman, B.A. Hassett, S.S. Kaushal, P.M. Mayer, S.M. Smith, and P.R. Wilcock. 2008. Stream restoration strategies for reducing river nitrogen loads. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6, doi:10.1890/070080.
Eshleman, K.N., K.M. Kline, R.P. Morgan II, N.M. Castro, and T.L. Negley. 2008. Contemporary trends in the acid-base status of two acid-sensitive streams in western Maryland. Environmental Science and Technology, 42:56-61.
Geng, H., J.B. Bruhn, K.F. Nielsen, L. Gram, and R. Belas. 2008. Genetic dissection of tropodithietic acid biosynthesis by marine roseobacters. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:1535-1545.
Grim, C.J., Taviani, E., Alam, M., Huq, A., Sack, R.B., Colwell, R.R. 2008 Occurrence and expression of luminescence in Vibrio cholerae. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 708-715.
Hall, N.S., R.W. Litaker, E. Fensin, J.E. Adolf, H.A. Bowers, A.R. Place and H.W. Pearl. 2008. Environmental factors contributing to the development and demise of a toxic dinoflagellate (Karlodinium veneficum) bloom in a shallow, eutrophic, lagoonal estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 31(2): 402-418.
Hopfensperger, K.N. and K.A.M. Engelhardt. 2008. Annual species abundance in a tidal freshwater marsh: germination and survival across an elevational gradient. Wetlands 28: 521-526.
Hopfensperger, K.N., C.U. Soykan, T.R. Lookingbill. 2008. The quest for an ecological post-doc. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6: 49-50.
Jordan, N. S., C. Ichoku and R. M. Hoff, 2008. Estimating smoke emissions over the US
Southern Great Plains using MODIS fire radiative power and aerosol observations. Atmos.
Environ., 42, 2007-2022, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.12.023.
Kaushal, Sujay S., Groffman, Peter M., Band, Lawrence E., Shields, Catherine A., Morgan, Raymond P., Palmer, Margaret A., Belt, Kenneth T., Swan, Christopher M., Findlay, Stuart E. G., and Fisher, Gary T. 2008. Interaction between Urbanization and Climate Variability Amplifies Watershed Nitrate Export in Maryland. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 10.1021
Nagel, J.L., S. Henson, B. Jacobson, W.M. Kemp. 2008. Influence of the submersed plants, Ruppia maritima and Potamogeton perfoliatus, on sediment biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series (In press).
Simmons, J.A., W.S. Currie, K.N. Eshleman, K. Kuers, S. Monteleone, T.L. Negley, B.R. Pohlad, and C.L. Thomas. 2008. Forest to reclaimed mine land-use change leads to altered ecosystem structure and function. Ecological Applications 18:104-118.
Testa, J.M. and W.M. Kemp. 2008. Variability of biogeochemical processes and physical transport in a partially stratified estuary: a box-modeling analysis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 356: 63-79
Testa, J.M., W.M. Kemp, W.R. Boynton, and J.D. Hagy III. 2008. Long-term changes in water quality and productivity in the Patuxent River estuary: 1985 to 2003. Estuaries and Coasts. (In Press).
Utz, R.M., R.H. Hilderbrand, and D.M. Boward. In Press. Identifying regional differences in threshold responses of aquatic invertebrates to land cover gradients. Ecological Indicators.
Weber, T. C., P. J. Blank, and A. Sloan. 2008. Field Validation of a conservation network on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA, Using Breeding Birds as Bio-indicators. Environmental Management 41:538-550.
Other Student News:
Kimberly Anderson, a doctoral student of Kevin Sowers at the Center of Marine Biotechnology, was awarded a student platform presentation at the Gordon Research Conference on Molecular Basis of Microbial One-Carbon Metabolism (July 20-25) for her talk entitled: A 5' UTR Regulates Expression Of Methanosarcinal Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase (Cdh).
Christopher Moore, a MEES doctoral student working with Dr. Mark Castro at the Appalachian Laboratory, spent the month of June at the Greenland Environmental Observatory Station (http://www.summitcamp.org/) located on the Greenland Ice Sheet atop 10,500 feet of ice and nearly 500 miles from the nearest point of ice-free land. Moore is part of a group of scientists monitoring atmospheric gases and examining how the area's cold temperatures affect the way mercury moves from the snow to the atmosphere.
Alumni News:
Congratulations to Sean Conney, M.S. May 2008, on the birth of his son Dylan Raul Cooney-Barrera.
Jacques Ravel was recently appointed as a tenured Associate Professor in the Institute for Genome Sciences, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Jacques was co-advised by Frank Robb and Russell Hill during his MEES doctoral studies at COMB. Information on Jacques and his work can be found at: Web Site: http://www.bacillusgenomics.org/jravel/; Blog: http://microbialgenomics.blogspot.com.
George Waldbusser, MEES Ph.D. May 2008, has been selected to participate in the Ecological Dissertations in the Aquatic Sciences (Eco-DS) VIII symposium (formally called DIALOG), October of this year in Hawaii. This is a competitive multi-agency funded program aimed at recent PhDs and intended to foster cross-disciplinary interactions while increasing professional success of new researchers. Information on the symposium at http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/eco-das/index.htm.
Student Awards and Recognition:
Yen-Jung Lai, a doctoral student working with Dr. Jennifer Becker, has been awarded a Maryland Water Resources Research Center Summer Fellowship for 2008. Yen-Jung's project is entitled "Integrated experimental and mathematical evaluations to improve the fate of the important groundwater contaminant tetrachloroethene (PCE) at contaminated sites."
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Chadwell, T. and K. A. M. Engelhardt. 2008. Effects of pre-existing submersed vegetation and propagule pressure on the invasion success of Hydrilla verticillata. Journal of Applied Ecology, available online.
Hoffman, J.C., Bronk, D.A. and J.E. Olney. 2007. Contribution of allochthonous carbon to American shad production in the Mattaponi River estuary, North Carolina. Estuaries and Coasts 30(6): 1034-1048.
Hopfensperger, K. N. and K. A. M. Engelhardt. In press. Annual species abundance in a tidal freshwater marsh: germination and survival across an elevational gradient. Wetlands.
Nees, H.A., T.S. Moore, K.M. Mullaugh, R.R. Holyoke, C.P. Janzen, S. Ma, E. Metzger, T.J. Waite, M. Yucel, R.A. Lutz, T.M. Shank, C. Vetriani, D.B. Nuzzio, G.W. Luther III. 2008. Hydrothermal vent mussel habitat chemistry, pre- and post-eruption at 9o50' North on the East Pacific Rise. J. Shellfish Res. 27(1): 169-175.
Pecher, W., M. Alavi, E. Schott, J. Fernandez-Robledo, L. Roth, S. Berg and G. Vasta. Assessment of the northern distribution range of selected Perkinsus species in easter oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) using PCR-based detection analysis. J. Patasitology DOI: 10:1645/GE-1282.
Stribling, J.M., J.C. Cornwell and O.A. Glahn. 2007. Microtopography in tidal marshes: ecosystem engineering by vegetation? Estuaries and Coasts 30(6): 1007-1015.
Ulrich, P.N. and A.G. Marsh. 2008. Proteome assay of temperature stress and protein stability in extreme environments: groundwork with the heat stress response of the bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria. J. Shellfish Res. 27(1): 241-246.
Other Student News:
Peter Blank, doctoral candidate working with Dr. Galen Dively, received a UMCP College of Chemical and Life Sciences Travel Grant and The Wildlife Society Student Travel Grant to present research at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference held in September 2007 in Tucson, Arizona. The presentation title was "Mowing of CREP grass buffers in late summer or fall reduces wintering bird habitat."
Alumni News:
Nicholas A. Baer, MEES 2004 Ph.D. under Dr William Lamp, was awarded the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching at Colby-Sawyer College's 170th Commencement on May 10. The highest faculty award at the college, the Jack Jensen Award recognizes the fundamental importance of teaching in determining the value of the educational process, celebrates the teaching profession and supports faculty in their pursuit of excellence in teaching and leadership in the campus community. Baer, assistant professor of Natural Sciences, joined the college in 2004 and teaches courses in ecology, freshwater biology, conservation biology, environmental issues and other sciences, and uses the outdoors as part of his classroom.
Rebecca R. Holyoke has been awarded a Knauss Fellowship. Rebecca completed her MEES Ph.D. under Dr. Jeffrey Cornwell in May 2008.
Olaf P. Jensen has been awarded a prestigious David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship from the Society for Conservation Biology. He will use the fellowship to work with Drs. Ray Hilborn and Tim Essington at the University of Washington to look at biological, management and economic factors that have lead to failures in fishery management. Olaf received his M.S. degree from MEES working on the spatial distribution of blue crab with Dr. Thomas Miller.
After a postdoc in the Biochemistry Department of Pennsylvania State University, Larry Taylor (MEES Ph.D. under Dr. Ronald Weiner) is a staff scientist the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, working on cellulosic ethanol using cellulases and other relavent glycosyl hydrolases.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2007 MEES Photo Contest! CLICK HERE to see the winning photos, and learn about the 2008 contest!
Congratulations to MEES December 2007 graduates:
MS - Hyun Jin Kim, Jennifer O'Keefe, David Kidwell, William Rodney
Ph.D. - Alicia Berlin, Jinjun Kan, Peter May, Ron Miller, Naglaa Mohamed, Jessica Davis Nagel, Marina Silva, Anne Thessen, Amanda Truitt, and Kui Wang
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Belt, K.T., C. Hohn, A. Gbakima and J.A. Higgins. 2007. Identification of culturable stream water bacteria from urban, agricultural, and forested watersheds using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. J. Water and Health 5(3): 395-406.
Bench, S.R., T.E. Hanson, K.E. Williamson, D. Ghosh, M. Radosevich, K.Wang and K.E. Wommack. 2007. Metagenomic characterization of Chesapeake Bay virioplankton. Appl. Env. Microbiol. Doi: 10.1128. In press.
Chaudhuri, A., Mitra, M., Havrilla, C., Waguespack, Y. and Schwarz, J. (2007). Heavy metal biomonitoring by seaweeds on the Delmarva Peninsula, east coast of the USA. Bot. Mar. 50: 151-158.
Grant, E.H.C., W.H. Low and W.F. Fagan. 2007. Living in the branches: population dynamics and ecological processes in dendritic networks. Ecology Letters 10: 165-175.
Kan, J., M.T. Suzuki, K. Wang, S.E. Evans and F. Chen 2007. High temporal but low spatial heterogeneity of bacterioplankton in the Chesapeake Bay. Appl. Env. Microbiol. 73: 6776-6789.
Mattfeldt, S.D. and E.H.C. Grant. 2007. Are two methods better than one? Area constrained transects and leaf litterbags for sampling stream salamanders. Herp. Rev. 38(1): 43-45.
McKernan, M.A., B.A. Rattner, R.C. Hale, M.A. Ottinger. 2007. Egg orientation affects toxicity of air cell administered polychlorinated biphenyl 126 (3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl) in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryos. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 26:2724-2727.
Mohammed, N.M., E. Cicirelli, J. Kan, C. Fuqua and R.T. Hill. 2007. Diversity anquorum sensing signal production of proteobacteria associated with marine sponges. Environ. Microbiol. On-line early publication doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01431.
Neff, K.P., K. Rusello, and A.H. Baldwin. Rapid seed bank development in restored tidal freshwater wetlands. Restoration Ecology (in press).
O'Neil, J. M. and Capone, D.G. (in press) Nitrogen Cycling on Coral Reefs. Chapter X, In: Capone, D.G., Carpenter, E.J., Bronk, D.A. & Mulholland, M.R. (Eds.) Nitrogen in the Marine Environment. Academic Press.
Pendleton, F.N. and A.H. Baldwin. The effects of spraying deltamethrin for tsetse fly control on insectivorous bird populations in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology 45(4): 566-576.
Stribling, Judith M., Jeffery C. Cornwell, and Olivia A. Glahn. 2007. Microtopography in Tidal Marshes: Ecosystem Engineering by Vegetation? Estuaries and Coasts 30(6): 1007-1015.
Other Student News:
The 2007 MEES Colloquium poster award was won by Moira A. McKernan, a doctoral candidate working with Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger, for her poster entitled "Comparative Toxicity of Polybrominated Flame Retardants in Avian Embryos." Moira also was awarded a first place poster award by the Chesapeake and Potomac Regional Chapter of SETAC.
Alumni News:
Richard "Ricky" Arnold, MEES M.S. 1992, has officially been scheduled for space flight aboard the STS-119 shuttle. This NASA mission has been set to deliver the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station. NASA has classified Ricky as an Extreme Environmentalist and Science Educator. Ricky earned his masters through the MEES program under the supervision of Dr. William Dennison at Horn Point Laboratory.
Holly Bamford (M.S. 1998, Ph.D., 2002, under Dr. Joel Baker), Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program and her program team received this year's Administrator's Award. The NOAA Administrator's Award is the agency's top personnel award, and is given annually in recognition of employees who have made significant contributions to NOAA. The Program team was presented with the award by the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, Vice Admiral Lautenbacher, Jr., on September 25th. They were awarded, "for successfully implementing an effective and nationally recognized program that supports NOAA's mission to keep the oceans free of marine debris."
Amy A. Merten (M.S. 1999 under Joel Baker; Ph.D. 2005, under Dr. Robert Mason), co-Director of the NOAA Coastal Response Research Center, has been selected to receive the National Ocean Service Employee of the Year Award. This highest award within NOS honors demonstrated exceptional and sustained efforts toward the accomplishment of the NOS mission. This award will be presented by John H. Dunnigan, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Oceans and Coasts on December 18th, 2007 at NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.
Elizabeth W. North, who received her MEES Ph.D. in 2001 under Dr. Edward Houde, is the 2007 recipient of the Estuarine Research Federation's Cronin Award for Early Career Achievement. Dr. North is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Horn Point Laboratory and a member of the MEES faculty.
Faculty News:
Dr. Rita Colwell, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Bush on July 2007. Dr. Colwell was awarded the U.S.'s highest honor for science for her remarkable career as a scientist, scientific leader, and humanist. Dr. Colwell was presented with the Medal for her in-depth research that has contributed to a greater understanding of the ecology, physiology, and evolution of marine microbes, most notably Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of pandemic cholera, and which has elucidated critical links between environmental and human health. (Photo Credit: Ryan K. Morris, National Science and Technology Medals Foundation)
The Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences Graduate Education Award was presented to Dr. Joel Baker by the MEES Graduate Student Organization at the 2007 Colloquium.
Dr. Robert Ulanowicz has been selected to receive the 2007 Prigogone Medal for outstanding research in ecological systems recognizing his research on trophic networks and ascendancy theory and ecosystem development. Dr. Ulanowicz is a Professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and a MEES graduate faculty member.
Congratulations to MEES August 2007 graduates:
M.S. - Todd Beser, Nicole Harlan, Elizabeth Kerin, Carolyn Klocker
Ph.D. - Anthony Dvarskas, Kristine Hopfensperger, Ron Miller, Wolf Pecher
Fellowships and Scholarships:
Karen M. Eisenreich (a MEES Ph.D. candidate, working with Dr. Chris Rowe) was awarded a 3 year EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship in support of her project "Comparative Sub-lethal Effects of Brominated Flame Retardants Following Simulated Maternal Transfer and Dietary Exposure in Two Species of Turtles."
MEES doctoral candidate Janet A. Nye has been awarded a 2007 Nell I. Mondy Fellowship from the Sigma Delta Epsilon Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) organization in support of her dissertation on "Stable isotopes as an indicator of diet in Atlantic croaker." Janet is working with Dr. Thomas Miller. GWIS seeks to advance the participation and recognition of women in science.
Recent Student and Alumni Publications:
Murrell, M.C., Hagy III, J.D., Lores, E.M. and R.M. Green. 2007. Phytoplankton production and nnutirent distributions in a subtropical estuary: importance of freshwater flow. Estuaries and Coasts 30(3): 390-401.
Reaugh, M.L., Roman, M.R. and D.K. Stoecker. 2007. Changes in plankton community structure and function in response to variable freshwater flow in two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries and Coasts 30(3): 403-417.
Utz, R.M. and K.J. Hartman. 2007. Identification of critical prey items to Appalachian brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) with emphasis on terrestrial organisms. Hydrobiol. 575: 259-270.
Other Student News:
MEES Master's student Allegra M. Schafer received a $2500 grant from the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Biodiversity Conservation Research Fund to support her research, "Effects of competitive dominance of an exotic crab, Carcinus maenas, over the native crab, Hemigrapsus oregonensis, on nutrient and energy acquisition by wintering harlequin ducks." Allegra is co-advised by Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger, University of Maryland-Department of Animal & Avian Sciences and Dr. Matthew Perry, U.S. Geological Survey-Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. The Nature Conservancy is an international, non-profit conservation organization. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Alumni News:
Patricia M. Zerfas (M.S. 1995 under Dr. Ronald Weiner) has been selected for the U.S. national team that will compete at the 2007 International Biathlon Union Summer World Championships in Estonia. Patricia, who works at the National Institutes of Health, earned a spot on the U.S. team based on her finish at a three-day championship event held in Maine in July. Summer biathlons combine cross-country running and riflery.
The Luigi Provasoli Award from the Phycological Society of America in recognition of authoring the outstanding paper published in the Journal of Phycology during 2006 was awarded to: M.D. Johnson, T. Tengs, D. Oldach and D.K. Stoecker for: Sequestration, performance, and functional control of cryptophyte plastids in the ciliate Myrionecta rubra (Ciliophora). Journal of Phycology 42: 1235-1246. This paper was a result of Matthew's MEES doctoral dissertation research for his 2005 Ph.D.
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