UMCES Associate Research Scientist Katia Engelhardt introducing “Science in Parks” project at ESA 2019 Annual Meeting.
This summer, students from the University System of Maryland’s Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) program presented at the 2019 Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Students presented findings from a 2017 Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) project funded by the National Park Service (NPS), which engaged students in researching and writing original articles about national park sites that have played important roles in the history of science. The final articles provided content for various National Park Service publications and websites.
Nine graduate students, led by Dr. Katia Engelhardt of the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), completed their research during the fall 2017 semester, while enrolled in MEES 608W: Classic Readings in Ecology. Students from the University of Maryland-College Park, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and UMCES participated in the project. Six of these students, including Annie Carew, Jake Hagedorn, Juliet Nagel, Carrie Perkins, Mary Beth Shea, and Barrett Wessel, presented findings at this summer’s ESA meeting.
Students previously presented their findings at an NPS-sponsored graduate student symposium in December 2017. Please see below for links to recordings of these presentations.
Graduate Student Symposium Presentations- December 2017 (click link to view):
Introductory comments– Tim Watkins (NPS) and Katia Engelhardt (UMCES-Appalachian Laboratory)
Acadia- niche partitioning by warblers– Juliet Nagel (UMCES)
Boston Harbor Islands- intertidal community structure– Anna Manyak Davis (UMCP)
Everglades- energy flow through an ecosystem– Nicole Felts (UMBC)
Grand Canyon- science and values guide management – Barrett Wessel (UMCP)
Great Smoky Mountains- species distributions– Annie Carew (UMCES)
Rocky Mountains- ecosystem responses to nitrogen deposition– Jake Hagedorn (UMCES)
Saguaro- controls on plant populations– Leslie Brownrigg and Katia Engelhardt
Yellowstone- landscape response to fire– Carrie Perkins
Yellowstone- the roots of PCR technology– Marybeth Shea (UMCP)
The Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting brings together ecologists from around the world for scientific presentations on the latest research in the field. This year’s meeting, held in Louisville, Kentucky, welcomed more than 3,000 participants.
Photo Gallery:
Mary Beth Shea presents on the roots of PCR in Yellowstone.
Juliet Nagel presents on science in Acadia National Park.
Carrie Perkins presents on fire research in Yellowstone National Park.
Student presenters with Tim Watkins, NPS, and Dr. Katia Engelhardt, UMCES.
Barrett Wessel presents on the Grand Canyon’s role as a research site.
Annie Carew presents on scientific research conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.