Category: Student Stories

The Ecosystem Science Center is proud to announce its funding awards for Spring 2022 for a total of $12,000 to 16 students for travel to either give a talk or present a poster at a professional conference. 

ESC congratulates the following recipients:

• Michael Arkwright, CFRES, Advisor: Tara Bal, to present “Oak Wilt Even Further North? Examining Vectors and Spread Risk across Upper Michigan and Canada” at the 2022 Society of American Foresters National Convention in Baltimore, MD.
• Mattison Brady, CFRES,  Advisor: Tara Bal, to present “Collaborative Assessment of Sugar Maple Dieback in the Upper Great Lakes”at the 2022 Society of American Foresters National Convention in Baltimore, MD.
• Swapan Chakrabarty, CFRES, Advisor: Carsten Küelheim, to present “Using the Eucalyptus polybractea genome improved genetic variant identification compared to using a pseudo-reference” at the Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics Conference in  Pacific Grove, CA.
• Chinmoyee Das, CFRES, Advisor: Xinfeng Xie, to present “Electrically Conductive Biochar filled PA 12 composites and the effect of filler morphology on composite properties” at the Forest Products Society Int’l Conf, Madison, WI.
• Lulu Ferrer, CFRES, Advisors: Jared Wolfe and Kristin Brzeski, to present “Avian Malaria Prevalence, Diversity, and Distribution in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula” at the American Ornithological Society in San Juan, PR.
• Michelle Kelly, BIO, Advisor Amy Marcarelli, to present “Habitat Heterogeneity Promotes Linked C and N Cycling in Streams” at the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Grand Rapids, MI.
• Emily Lindback, CFRES, Advisor: Molly Cavaleri, to present “Northern red oak growth, phenology, and physiology across a latitudinal gradient” at the Ecological Society of America and CSEE Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec. 
• John C. McCall, BIO, Advisors: Gord Patterson and Kristin Breski, to present “Evaluating genotoxicity of mine tailings (“Stamp Sands”) on two game fish in a spawning reef in Lake Superior (MI)” at the Ecological Society of America and CSEE Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.
• Samuel Mensah Opoku, CFRES, Advisor: Andrew Burton, to present “Estimating carbon derived from deadwood in soil pools over eight years of wood decomposition” at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.
• Melanie Ottino, CFRES, Advisors: Kristin Brzeski and Carsten Küelheim, to present “Optimizing Fecal Metabarcoding Methodology for Diet and Population Structure Analysis of Overwintering White-Tailed Deer” at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Spokane WA.
• Peng Quan, CFRES, Advisor: Xinfeng Xie, to present “Natural Wood-Based Metamaterials for Highly Efficient Microwave Absorption” at the  Forest Products Society Int’l Conference in Madison, WI.
• Eileen Reeves, CFRES, Advisor: Andrew Burton, to present “Limited Microorganism Recovery Three Years Post-N Deposition Cessation” at the Ecological Society of America and CSEE Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.
• Katherine Schneider, CFRES, Advisors: Tara Bal and Kristin Brzeski, to present “Bridging knowledge systems in insect research: Exploring human-insect relationships through Traditional Ecological Knowledge and beetle research” at the ESA/ESC/ESBC Joint Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC.
• Abraham Stone, BIO, Advisors: Tara Bal and Sigrid Resh, to present “Natural Solutions: Development and deployment of a local polypore as a myco-biocontrol on invasive buckthorn sprouts” at the 2022 Natural Areas Conference in Duluth, MN.
• Madalyn Tudor-Duncan, CFRES, Advisor: Molly Cavaleri, to present “Fine root respiration of Quercus rubra across a latitudinal gradient in the Midwest” at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.
• Rob Tunison, CFRES, Advisor: Molly Cavaleri, to present “Tropical wet-forest understory plants have limited ability to acclimate photosynthesis to higher temperatures and have lower photosynthetic capacity under experimentally warmed conditions in Luquillo, Puerto Rico” at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.

The Ecosystem Science Center awarded a total of $13,945 to 15 students to conduct research.  ESC congratulates the following recipients:

• Swapan Chakrabarty, CFRES, Advisor: Carsten Külheim,  for the project: “Genomic adaptation of two oak species in drought condition.”
• Ellie Connett, BIO, Advisor Amy Marcarelli, for the project: “Heavy Metal Transfers by Aquatic Prey to Riparian Spiders in the Keweenaw Waterway.”
• Natalie Howard, CFRES, Advisor: Carsten Külheim, for the project: “Variance Components and Phenotypic Plasticity of Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in a Replicated Common Garden Experiment.”
• Michelle Kelly, BIO, Advisor: Amy Marcarelli, for the project: “Quantifying whole-stream denitrification and nitrogen fixation with integrated modeling of N2 and O2 fluxes.”
• Sam Kurkowski, CFRES, Advisor Rod Chimner, for the project: “Mapping, Identification, and Conservation of Vernal Pool Characteristics at Voyagers National Parks in the Great Lakes Region.”
• Shelby Lane-Clark, CFRES, Advisor: Tara Bal, for the project: “Bioturbation by Non-native Earthworms as a Potential Catalyst for Changes in Maple Sap Composition in Northern Hardwood Forests in the Great Lakes Region.”
• John McCall, BIO, Advisors: Gord Paterson & Kristin Brzeski, for the project: “Quantifying the genetic contributions of Buffalo Reef spawned fishes to Lake Superior fisheries.”
• Hailee Petosky, BIO, Advisor: Erika Hersch-Green, for the project: “Determining whether nutrient enrichments and plant genome size influences biodiversity patterns of insect communities.”
• Peng Quan, CFRES, Advisor: Xinfeng Xie, for the project: “Desulfurization of Kraft Lignin Using Hydrogen Peroxide.”
• Ryne Rutherford, CFRES, Advisor: David Flaspohler, for the project: “Ecological and anthropogenic factors associated with the occurrence of southern disjunct fauna isolated in warm refugia.”
• Kath Schneider, CFRES, Advisors: Tara Bal & Kristin Brzeski, for the project: “Examining Silviculture Impacts on Coleopteran Diets (Families Silphidae and Carabidae).”
• Abraham Stone, BIO, Advisor Sigrid Resh & Tara Bal,  for the project: “Developing and Measuring Deployment of a Natural Myco-Biological Control In a More Liquid Medium.”
• Tessa Tormonen, BIO, Advisor: Kristin Brzeski, for the project: “Using DNA Metabarcoding to Evaluate Resource Partitioning Among Two Sympatric Tilefish.”
• Jasmine Terry-Shindelman, CFRES, Advisor: Sarah Hoy, for the project: “Can near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy be used as a rapid and cost-effective method of monitoring plant secondary metabolite profiles of Balsam fir.”
• Joanna Walitalo, CFRES, Advisor: Molly Cavaleri, for the project: “Comparing Wood Species and Wood Preparation for Use in Pyrography.”