Faculty

Smith

My major research interest has been the development of an individual-based theory of vegetaton dynamics. The focus of the research is to examine how basic physiological and morphological constraints operating at the level of the individual plant influence pattern and process at higher levels of organization (i.e., populations, communities and ecosystems). This interest has led me to pursue a variety of studies to address the mechanisms of plant pattern across a wide range of scales.

Miller

Dr. Lauren Miller’s research broadly focuses on past changes in coastal, marine, and glacial environments and the processes that control those changes, primarily using sedimentological and geomorphological archives. For more information and available graduate student positions, visit her research website.

Scanlon

My primary research interests are in the areas of (1) catchment hydrology, focusing on hydrological and geochemical transport processes, and (2) land-atmosphere interaction, including the exchange of water, energy, and gaseous compounds such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane between the terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. I seek to develop an integrated understanding of how the hydrological cycle, vegetation processes, and atmospheric dynamics are linked as well as how these connections are manifest in terms of nutrient cycling and ecosystem function.

Roulston

My primary research area is plant-pollinator interactions, which I study through field, laboratory, and phylogenetic approaches. These include (i) studies of pollen chemistry to characterize the diversity of pollen nutrient rewards; (ii) phylogenetic analyses to associate shifts in pollen nutrient content with evolutionary shifts in pollination syndrome; (iii) observations of pollinator host choices to determine pollinator assessment of pollen nutrition, and (iv) studies of insect development and body size to assess the potential importance of variation in pollen nutrients.

Reidenbach

My primary area of research is environmental fluid dynamics, with an emphasis on physical-biological interactions in coastal environments. Current research activities include the effects of flow and turbulence on nutrient exchange in coral reefs, sediment transport in estuaries, chemical dispersion in the coastal ocean, and wave dynamics. My research also investigates coastal resilience. I explore how ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrasses and oyster beds, both alter and respond to wave and storm impacts along coastlines.

Pusede

I am an atmospheric chemist with broad interests in air quality, climate, and atmosphere-biosphere interactions. My research group makes measurements at the Earth’s surface and from onboard aircraft in diverse locations, including polluted cities, agricultural areas, and within forest canopies. Our focus is on the role of reactive nitrogen in chemical oxidation mechanisms and emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. We utilize spatial and temporal variability in our datasets to derive mechanistic insight into processes taking place in urban and human-influenced environments.

Porter

I have research interests at a variety of scales, from microhabitat utilization of mice to biogeographic structures of entire island chains. Current research projects include: (1) the use of remotely sensed images and geographical information systems to produce chonosequences of insular vegetation, (2) testing of theories of socially induced dispersal, (3) biogeography of insular mammals, and (4) characteristics of image sources (satellites and aerial photographs) that affect perceptions of ecological landscapes.

Pace

I am an aquatic ecologist with broad interests in lake, river, and estuarine ecosystems. I currently have research projects focused on: 1) the detection of leading indicators of ecosystem regime shifts using whole-lake manipulations, 2) sources of organic matter for aquaculture in the Virginia Coastal Reserve, 3) the importance of terrestrial organic matter in supporting freshwater aquatic food webs, and 4) the long-term impacts of a zebra mussel invasion in a river ecosystem.

McGlathery

My research group focuses on the dynamics of ecosystem change in shallow coastal systems, and the roles of climate, nutrient over-enrichment and species invasions on driving these changes. Current projects include: 1) Blue carbon sequestration in seagrass ecosystems, 2) Seagrass restoration and return of ecosystem services, 3) salt marsh resilience to sea-level rise, 4) ecosystem regime shifts in coastal barrier systems, and 5) impacts of invasive macro algae (Gracilaria).

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