Student Grants Program

Student Grants-in-Aid are awarded annually on a competitive basis to graduate or undergraduate students in support of research on wetlands.

 

SWS 2010 Ramsar-SWS Student Research Awards
NameAffiliationTitle
Christian DunnBangor University, WalesREDUCING CO2 AND DOC LEVELS FROM REWETTED PEATLANDS: SAFEGUARDING EUROPE'S CARBON SINK

 

SWS 2010 Student Grant Awardees
NameAffiliationTitle
Christine PickensUniversity of Louisiana ELUCIDATION OF COLD TEMPERATURE AND LATITUDINAL LIMITS OF BLACK MANGROVE EARLY LIFE HISTORY STAGES: A TEST OF THE STRESS GRADIENT HYPOTHESIS
Meredith AtwoodState University of New York ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF EPHEMERAL POOL-BREEDING AMPHIBIANS TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: AN INVESTIGATION WITH WOOD FROGS
Joshua MoodyRutgers University THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RIBBED MUSSEL (GEUKENSIA DEMISSA) DENSITY AND SALT MARSH SHORELINE EROSION
Kathleen SheaUniversity of Guelph BIOPHYSICAL CONTROLS ON CH4 RELEASE PATHWAYS FROM A SUBARCTIC THERMOKARST BOG IN THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA
Alexandra Jangrell-Bratli and Julie VogelUniversity of South Florida GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE OF FLOATING WETLAND ISLANDS USING NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL SUBSTRATES
Daniel PrestonUniversity of Colorado USING ECOLOGY TO MANAGE ARTIFICAL WETLANDS FOR LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
Richard PendletonUniversity of North Texas ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES TO CHANGING BIODIVERSITY IN TROPICAL FLOODPLAIN LAGOONS
Laura CockrellEastern Kentucky University EVALUATION OF HISTORICAL NEST SITE USE BY TRUMPETER SWANS IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM
Meghan LangleyUniversity of Louisville EFFECTS OF LIGHT AND WETLAND FLOODING CHARACTERISTICS ON THE GERMINATION, SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF AMUR HONEYSUCKLE, LONICERA MAACKII (RUPR.) HERDER
Vasilissa DeruginSan Francisco State University RESPONSE OF LARGE MAMMALIAN PREDATORS TO RIPARIAN CORRIDOR RESTORATION IN THE SACRAMENTO RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Darin EllairLouisiana State University FIRE AND WATER: INTERACTING EFFECTS OF FIRE AND HURRICANE DISTURBANCES IN COASTAL HABITATS OF SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
Kimberly MeitzenUniversity of South Carolina HYDROGEOMORPHOLOGY AND VEGETATION ECOLOGY OF ABANDONED MEANDER WETLANDS IN A LARGE FLOODPLAIN, SOUTH CAROLINA
Heather ShafferyUniversity of Pittsburgh SEX, DISEASE, AND ROCK 'N' ROLL: HOW MATING, PARASITES, AND KINSHIP ARE INTERRELATED AT THE MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX (MHC)


SWS 2009 Student Grant Awardees

Brescacin, Camille
Title: The role of feral hog (Sus scrofa) as a disturbance agent and seed disperser in wetlands.
     University of Central Florida
     4000 Central Florida Blvd.
     Dept. Biology
     Orlando, Florida 32816-2368
     phone: 321-278-3674
     email:Camillerose22@gmail.com
     Advisor: Dr. David Jenkins dgjenkin@mail.ucf.edu

Brogan III, William
Title: Wetland security: Can submerged aquatic macrophytes increase community resistance to insecticide exposure?
     University of Pittsburg
     Dept. Biological Sciences/ Ecology and Evolution Program      101 Clapp Hall, 4249 Fifth Avenue
     Pittsburgh, PA 15260
     Phone: 412-624-4458
     email:wrb5@pitt.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Rick Relyea

Buck, Julia
Title: Synergistic effects of multiple stressors on amphibians in an agricultural landscape
     Oregon State University
     Zoology Dept.
     3029 Cordley Hall,
     Corvallis, OR 97331
     phone: 305-282-8303
     email:buckj@science.oregonstate.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Andrew Blaustein blaustea@science.oregonstate.edu

Cohen, Jillian
Title: The ecological impacts of a widespread wetland invader: The roles of intraspecific variation and trophic complexity.
     Dept. Natural Resources
     122E Fernow Hall
     Cornell University
     Ithaca, NY 14853
     phone: 607-255-2606
     email:jsc74@cornell.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Bernd Blossey bb22@cornell.edu

Faulwetter, Jennifer
Title: The influence of microbial ecology on seasonal wetland nutrient cycling
     Center for Biofilm Engineering
     P.O. Box 173980
     Montana St. University
     Bozeman, MT 59717-3980
     phone: 406-994-4837
     email:jfaulwetter@biofilm.montana.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Anne K. Camper anne_c@biofilm.montana.edu

Gervasi, Stephanie
Title: Understanding variation in host responses to an emerging pathogen of amphibians (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis): Why don't all species get sick?
     Dept. Zoology
     Oregon State University
     3029 Cordley Hall
     Corvallis, OR 97331-2914
     phone: 610-451-1192
     email:gervasis@science.oregonstate.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Andrew Blaustein

Marion, Zachary
Title: Spatial mosaics, local adaptation, and environmental tradeoffs: the multifarious effects of hydroperiod and predation on chemical defenses in the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)
     Georgia Institute of Technology
     311 Ferst Drive
     Atlanta, GA 30332
     phone: 865-748-0088
     email:zmarion3@gatech.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Mark Hay mark.hay@biology.gatech.edu

Miller, Stephanie
Title: Linking ecological change to an emerging tropical disease: evaluation of the potential impacts of inorganic nutrient loading on a pathogen endemic to Ghanaian wetlands.
     Michigan State University
     Dept. of Zoology
     203 Natural Science Building
     Michigan State University
     East Lansing, MI 48824
     phone: 517-648-9489
     email:mill1571@msu.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Jan Stevenson

Orlofske, Sarah
Title: Consequences of predation on the transmission of free-living parasites: Consideratiosn of Ribeiroia ondatrae in aquatic food webs.
     Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
     Ramaley N122
     Campus Box 334,
     Univ. of Colorado
     Boulder, CO 80309-0334
     phone: 303-492-8981
     email:sarah.orlofske@colorado.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Pieter Johnson Pieter.johnson@colorado.edu

Stoler, Aaron
Title: Turning over a new leaf: the effects of alloncthonous inputs on forested wetlands.
     Univ. Pittsburg
     Dept. of Biology
     101 Clapp Hall
     4249 Fifth Avenue
     Pittsburgh, PA 15260
     phone; 410-365-7700
     email:abs45@pitt.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Rick Relyea

Wilson, Carol
Title: Tidal creek ecogeomorphic changes as a result of sea-level rise in mid-Atlantic saltmarshes.
     Dept. Earth Sciences
     Boston University
     675 Commonwealth Avenue - Room 141
     Boston, MA 02215
     phone: 617-353-4086
     email:cwilson2@bu.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Duncan FitzGerald

Wu, Lin
Title: Denitrification and molecular detection in riparian buffer soils.
     Dept. of Soil Science
     North Carolina State University
     1225A Williams Hall
     Raleigh, NC 27695-7619
     phone: 919-600-0947
     email:lwu3@ncsu.edu
     Adivsor: Dr. Owen Duckworth


SWS 2008 Student Grant Awardees

76 applicants
Submitted by Rebecca Schneider
Chair, SWS Student Grants Committee

Congratulations to all our Awardees for submitting excellent proposals!

Allgeier, Jake
Title: The effects of ecosystem fragmentation on nutrient cycling in Bahamian mangrove estuaries
     Odum School of Ecology
     University of Georgia
     Athens, GA 30602
     Phone: 706-542-5881
     jeallg@uga.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Amy Rosemond

Moon, Jessica
Title: Impact of human disturbance on microbial heterogeneity in headwater wetlands and its linkages to the cycling of carbon and nitrogen.
     PSU Cooperative Wetlands Center
     Pennsylvania State University
     302 Walker Bldg
     University Park, PA 16802
     Phone: 814-863-1596
     Email: jbm162@psu.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Denice Wardrop

Searle, Catherine
Amphibian disease and diversity: the effects of community structure on host-pathogen dynamics.
     Dept. of Zoology
     Oregon State University
     Cordley Hall 3029
     Corvallis OR 97330
     Phone: 541-737-5357
     Email: searlec@science.oregonstate.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Andrew R. Blaustein

Gabler, Christopher
Title: towards predicting the resilience of invaded wetlands to ecological restoration: tests of a new theory of habitat interannual variation and ontogenetic niche shifts in invaders
     Dept.Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - MS170
     6100 Main Street
     Houston, TX 77005
     Rice University
     Advisor: Dr. Evan Siemann
     Phone: 713-348-2570
     Email address: gabler@rice.edu

Ireland, Alex
Title: Anthropogenic and climatic drivers of quaking mire formation, expansion, and plant community dynamics.
     Lehigh University - EES Dept.
     31 Williams Drive
     Bethlehem, PA 18015     
     Phone: 610-758-6580
     Rkb205@lehigh.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Robert K. Booth

Hrdlicka, Katherine
Title: Pesticides and amphibian limb deformities.
     School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
     Yale University
     370 Prospect Street
     New Haven, CT 06511
     Phone: 203-815-3097
     Kathryn. Richards@yale.edu
     Advisor: Dr. David K. Skelly

Thorsos, Eileen
Title: Effects of plant species and their functional traits on nitrous oxide fluxes from a North Carolina restored wetland.
     Duke University
     Box 90338
     Biological Sciences Bldg.
     Durham, NC 27708
     Phone: 919-613-8214
     Eileen.thorsos@duke.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Robert B. Jackson

Wolf, Kristin
Title: The effects of hydrologic connectivity, soil properties and microtopography on nitrogen dynamics in created mitigation wetlands of the Piedmont region of Virginia, USA
     George Mason University
     Dept. of Environmental Science and Policy
     4400 University Dr., MSN 5F2
     Fairfax, VA 22030
     Phone: 703-993-1757
     Email: kwolf2@gmu.edu
     Advisor: Dr. ``Changwoo Ahn

McCrackin, Michelle
Title: Denitrification in lake sediments across a gradient of nitrogen deposition
     Arizona State University
     School of Life Sciences
     Box 874601
     Tempe, AZ 85287-4601
     Phone: 480-965-0058
     Advisor: Dr. James Elser
     Doctoral Research
     Email address: mlmccrac@asu.edu

Distler, Matthew,
Title: Development and disturbance in medium fens of central New York: Typha encroachment and effects of the Lake Ontario hydrologic regime.
     State Univ. of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
     401 Illick Hall
     1 Forestry Drive
     Syracuse, NY 13210
     Phone: 315-470-4823
     mtdistle@syr.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Donald Leopold

Matthews, Liz
Title: Defining reference conditions for the alluvial vegetation of the North Carolina Piedmont: community composition, structure and variation across space.
     University of North Carolina
     217 Miller hall, CB#3275
     UNC - Chapel Hill
     Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3275
     Phone: 919-962-6934
     Email: erm@email.unc.edu
     Advisor: Dr. Robert Peet

Pierce, Samuel
Title: An Integrated Approach to Modular Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Flooding: Localized versus Whole-Plant Response
     Dept. of Biology
     University of Memphis
     3700 Walker Avenue,
     Memphis, TN 38152
     Phone: 901-494-8502
     Doctoral research
     Advisor. Dr. S. Reza Pezeshki
     Email address: spierce1@memphis.edu     


Abstracts from previously funded studies: 2004, 2005, 2006

Annual reports to the SWS Board: 2001 , 2002 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005, 2006