Learn a bit more about our Center Director Amy Marcarelli!
https://www.mtu.edu/news/2023/06/qa-with-teaching-award-winner-amy-marcarelli.html
The Ecosystem Science Center is proud to announce the winners for best poster presentations from the ESC’s 17th Annual Student Research Forum. The Forum was held on April 22 and had over 30 participants, including both graduate and undergraduate students, who conducted research related to socio-ecological processes, patterns, interactions, and connections in the environment.
Graduate Student Award Winners:
- Grand Prize: ROB TUNISON – Poster Title: Tropical Wet Forest Root Respiration Responses to Experimental Warming and Hurricane Disturbance. Advisor(s): Molly Cavaleri
- Merit Award: EMMA SHEDD – Poster Title: Acclimation of Quercus rubra Root Respiration Across a Midwest Latitudinal Gradient. Advisor(s): Carsten Kuelheim, Andy Burton and Molly Cavaleri
- Merit Award: SAMUEL L. OLIVEIERA – Poster Title: Do Oil Palm Plantations Provide Quality Habitat for Migratory Birds? A Case Study from Mexico. Advisor(s): David Flaspohler and Jared Wolfe
- Merit Award: MELANIE A. OTTINO – Poster Title: Fecal Metabarcoding for Winter Diet Analysis of White-Tailed Deer: Developing an Optimized Noninvasive Molecular Approach for Wildlife Research. Advisor(s): Kristin Brzeski, Carsten Kuelheim, and Chris Webster
Undergraduate Student Award Winners
- Grand Prize: NATALIE M. HOWARD – Poster Title: Variance Components and Phenotypic Plasticity of Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in a Replicated Common Garden Experiment. Advisor(s): Carsten Kuelheim and Molly Cavaleri
- Merit Award: ABRAHAM STONE – Poster Title: Developing a Commercially-Viable Native Biocontrol Application for Invasive Buckthorn Management. Advisor(s): Chris Webster, Sigrid Resh and Tara Bal
The Ecosystem Science Center would like to announce the following Fall 2021 Student Research Grants recipients:
- Reed Arneson (Advisor Yinan Yuan (CFRES)) Project: Introducing An Artificial Sense-Antisense Reporter System to Arabidopsis thalinana
- Jenna Brewer (Advisors Jared Wolfe (CFRES) & Kristin Brzeski (CFRES)) Project: Northern cardinal’s range exapansion as aresult of supplementary feeding
- Nathan Coleman (Advisor John Vucetich (CFRES)) Project: Lethal vs Non-Lethal? Comparing the cost of wolf-livestock conflict mitigation methods in an area of non-lethal mitigation and an area of lethal mitigation in Idaho
- Tiff Degroot (Advisor Kristin Brzeski (CFRES)) Project: Using environmentally-derived DNA to compare mammal community composition in tropical lowland forests
- Maria Ferrer (Advisors Jared Wolfe (CFRES) & Kristin Brzeski (CFRES)) Project: Forest structure and arthropod prey influence on mercury contamination in the terrestrial insectivorous bird, Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
- Chris Hohnholt (Advisor Chris Webster (CFRES)) Project: Efficacy comparison of two herbicides with different sites of action to control glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
- Melanie Ottino (Advisors Kristin Brzeski (CFRES), Carsten Kulheim (CFRES) & Chris Webster (CFRES)) Project: Development of noninvasive fecal metabarcoding methodology for generalist herbivore in Upper Peninsula
- Emma Shedd (Advisors Molly Cavaleri(CFRES) & Andrew Burton (CFRES)) Project: Root respiration acclimation in quercus rubra along a Midwest temperature gradient
- Zachary Solomon (Advisors Nancy Langston (SS)) Project: Can carbon offsets protect forests resources in the Keweenaw County?
Congratulations to everyone and good luck with your projects!
The Ecosystem Science Center (ESC) advertised for and hired a staff person to aid faculty and staff with major proposal preparation and post-award administration. The interview process was completed in May 2021, with the new center manager, Dr. Jeff Henquinet, starting on July 12, 2021. The position is co-funded by the Tech Forward Natural Resources, Water & Energy initiative and the ESC.
The Environmental Restoration Hub (ERH) signed memorandums of understanding with the Ecosystem Science Center and Great Lakes Research Center. The ERH will build transdisciplinary collaborations to integrate and strengthen ecosystem restoration knowledge across natural, urban, and post-industrial landscapes. For more information, contact Dr. Rod Chimner (rchimner (at) mtu.edu).