Melissa Collier, (Ph.D.), Georgetown University, Biology, “The impact of social behavior on disease dynamics in the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of the Chesapeake Bay”, Virginia, District of Columbia.

Animal social behavior affects infectious disease dynamics in wildlife populations which can have detrimental ecosystem effects, such as declining wildlife populations and even extinctions. With the recent increase in marine related disease reports, there is a need for evaluating the impact of behavior on infectious disease spread in marine species. However, social behavior is not homogenous across demographic groups; there is variation in disease spreading behaviors across age and sex classes that can affect which individuals are most at risk for contracting disease in certain populations. This project will evaluate how differences in social behavior among demographic groups affect the vulnerability of individual bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to infectious disease by collecting behavioral data on the dolphins of the Chesapeake Bay. This work will help to explain how unique dolphin behavior contributed to a recent epizootic that killed more than 1,600 bottlenose dolphins, depleting mid-Atlantic coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins. The vulnerability of a marine sentinel species to disease will be assessed and a forecast the demographics most at risk for future outbreaks will be made. This is essential for modeling the population dynamics of this vulnerable species.

Claudia Escue, (Ph.D.), The College of William and Mary, Anthropology, “Sustainable and Resilient Taro Farming in Rurutu, French Polynesia: A Multi-methodological Approach”, French Polynesia.

This project investigates the extent to which environmental factors and social factors resulted in the adoption or continued use of resilient farming methods in marginal communities. Research will be conducted on Rurutu (Austral Islands, French Polynesia), one of the last remaining Polynesian islands where traditional taro farming is practiced. Rurutu is an ideal location for research on traditional farming as the island’s terraces have likely been continuously cultivated for a 1,000-year sequence. This research consists of a multiphase project integrating geospatial analysis of Rurutu’s taro terraces with soil nutrient profiles and data on contemporary farming methods. Preliminary GIS data suggests that intra-island differences in productive capacity and population distribution are linked to environmental conditions. Ethnoarchaeological research will expand on such geospatial analysis by exploring the maintenance of traditional farming practices, when, where, and why land tenure and water rights issues arise, and how sustainable practices are maintained during shifts from subsistence to commercial farming. Finally, soil nutrient profiles of traditionally and commercially farmed plots will be examined to explore how farmers adapt to climate fluctuations, resource pressures, and population shifts and how such practices can inform contemporary decisions regarding sustainable, resilient agriculture and global efforts towards food sovereignty.

Jennifer Kane, (Ph.D.), West Virginia University, Plant and Soil Science, “Exploring the ground above the ground: canopy soil biodiversity and nutrient cycling in an old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest”, Washington.

Old-growth forests, which contain the world’s largest and oldest trees, are experiencing global decline. As trees are physically removed (e.g., during logging) or experience increased mortality rates (e.g., due to environmental stress), other plants and animals lose a critical source of shelter and food. Hence, the decline of these trees likely has cascading impacts on ecosystem-wide biodiversity. Much of this endangered biodiversity dwells in the canopy of these forests, as branches have become home to a diverse assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes. Abundant life in the canopy has resulted in the accumulation of soil as plant and animal biomass senesces and decomposes. These soils serve as an important source of nutrients for trees and epiphytes; yet little is known about nutrient cycling in these suspended canopy soils. One persisting knowledge gap is how soil organisms (invertebrates, bacteria, fungi) and their interactions influence these nutrient cycles. This project will be conducted in the suspended canopy soils in Olympic National Park with a focus on the structure, function, and interactions of soil organisms. These measurements will further the understanding of how the decline of old growth forests will impact biodiversity and nutrient cycling.

Diogo Viegas de Oliveira, (Ph.D.), The College of William and Mary, Anthropology, “Mozambique Island   in the Iron Age”, Mozambique.

This project brings together multiple lines of data in order to holistically approach archaeology and history in this region of the world. Although part of the Swahili coast, Northern Mozambique has received far less scholarly attention compared to other East African countries. Research will address these gaps by engaging in an interdisciplinary approach to archaeology in Northern Mozambique. This will include employing various methodologies across various disciplines, including archaeology, history, and anthropology. Archaeological and historical research, especially in northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, is beginning to demonstrate the diversity of lifeways between Swahili coast sites. This project hopes to build on this work and create a cohesive chronology that addresses important cultural differences and transformations between the Southern and Northern sections of East Africa in the later Iron Age and Early Colonial era. The plan is to work with local scholars and archaeologists based at Mozambican universities and institutions to create a new registry of cultural heritage that is representative of Northern Mozambique’s long, unique history from the Later Stone Age to the Colonial Era. Additionally, by finding and mapping these sites around Mozambique Island, one can better assess cultural preservation strategies in Northern Mozambique as climate change will continue to intensify weather patterns and leave cultural heritage at higher levels of risk.

Elad Shdaimah, (M.S.), University of Maryland, Environmental Science and Technology, “Evaluating the impact of invasive vines on nutrient cycling in forest patches in Baltimore, MD”, Maryland.

Urban forests provide important environmental benefits and improve the well-being of city residents. However, invasive species may significantly alter urban forests’ structure and ability to provide these benefits. This study will explore how invasive vines impact the ability of urban forests in Baltimore, MD to cycle and retain carbon and nitrogen. Generally, invasive vines are understood to reduce native plant cover and diversity, altering nutrient cycling and other ecosystem services. Nutrient cycling is a valuable service provided by forests, but the influence of invasive vines on it is variable and poorly understood. Studying invasive vines on the species and local level is necessary for proper management. Field observations and soil samples will be used to test how degree of invasion impacts carbon and nitrogen cycling in forest patches along cover gradients of two invasive vines – Hedera helix (English Ivy) and Ampelopsis glandules var. brevipedunculata (Porcelain Berry), two dominant invasive plants in Baltimore. Methods will include soil characterizations (i.e., temperature, pH), soil nutrient analyses (i.e., mineralization, respiration), and litter cover analyses (i.e., depth). The results will increase understanding of urban forest ecology and inform management of Baltimore’s forest patches by highlighting the impacts of invasive vine cover on ecosystem processes.

Tomos Llywelyn Evans, (Ph.D.), The College of William and Mary, Anthropology, “Uncovering an earthen giant: Sungbo’s Eredo and the socio-political dynamics of Ijebu”, Nigeria
The proposed project will consist of a three-month archaeological field season aimed at developing scientific knowledge of what is thought to be Africa’s largest single monument: the massive, but little understood, 100-mile-long early earthwork system of Sungbo’s Eredo that extends through the forests of southern Nigeria. Fieldwork will be undertaken in order to obtain a variety of scientific data (chronological, material cultural, and stratigraphic) that will help answer key questions about the historical socio-political significance of this massive but still enigmatic monument. These pertain to the chronology of the earthwork’s construction and use, the organization of the earthwork’s construction, and the functions and meanings of the earthwork to the local Ijebu people who generated it and lived in its vicinity. These considerations will offer insights into larger debates about the nature of power and the state in the social sciences, and the ways in which socio-political institutions may generate monumental architecture and vice versa. The project also seeks to contribute to building awareness of this incredible monument, with the hope that this will support ongoing conservation efforts and stimulate sustainable forms of tourism that will generate revenue for local communities.

Edward Andrew Hobbs, Jr., (Ph.D.), University Maryland-UMCES, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, “Ecological and environmental impacts of nutrient loading and sea level rise on methane in a Chesapeake Bay tributary”, Maryland
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (~25 times greater than carbon dioxide) that is naturally produced in sediments of coastal ecosystems. When methane production exceeds that of consumption, it can build up and be released to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Natural aquatic systems are estimated to account for as much as 7-30% of global methane emissions, and can be impacted by anthropogenic nutrient inputs and sea level rise. Where nutrient inputs are large and lead to seasonal oxygen depletion, such as in Chesapeake Bay, there is an even greater chance for methane to enter the atmosphere. One of the main sinks for methane is anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO), but it is unknown how nutrient inputs and sea level rise affect AMO and overall methane consumption in coastal ecosystems. Quantifying the amount of methane consumed by AMO is essential for estimating methane emissions to the atmosphere. The goal of this research is to directly measure and derive rates of AMO within a representative Chesapeake Bay tributary impacted by nutrient loads and sea level rise. The information gained from this project will significantly broaden our understanding of the degree to which these factors affect methane emissions from coastal ecosystems.

Calvin So, (Ph.D.), University of Maryland, Biology, “A search for fossil caecilians in the Newark Supergroup”, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia
Caecilians are a group of elongate, limbless, tropical, and burrowing amphibians with enigmatic evolutionary origins, and one of three living groups of amphibians next to frogs and salamanders. Currently, the morphological evolution of the caecilian body plan is obscured by a paucity of fossil caecilians, resulting in a poor understanding of how caecilians evolved a reinforced skull and an elongated body. With the available record, key morphological and evolutionary events can be inferred to occur in the temporal gap between the evolution of Late Triassic caecilian Chinlestegophis and Early Jurassic caecilian Eocaecilia. To better understand the morphological evolution of caecilians, fossils must be found to fill in the anatomical gap. The Late Triassic outcrops of the Newark Supergroup fulfill the conditions where fossil caecilians are expected; they are within the temporal gap, formerly tropical, and have previously yielded fossils of amphibian relatives. Through phylogenetic analyses, a better understanding of the relationships of caecilians and their extinct relatives can be developed. Prospecting the Newark Supergroup is a well-supported investigation for potential fossil caecilians

Nicole Trenholm, (Ph.D.), University Maryland-UMCES, Horn Point Laboratory, “Field and Satellite Observations of Deglaciated Coastline Water Quality”, Greenland
Increasing glacial meltwater contributions to the Arctic Ocean call for the development of
long-term monitoring approaches of coastal meltwater plumes. Current satellites are limited in the detection of seasonal glacial meltwater conditions. Greenland’s coastline bears nutrient-rich sediment-laden streams that discharge freshwater into the sea. This discharge influences coastal primary productivity, leading to algal blooms and carbon sequestration. The current understanding of the delivery and composition of meltwater to fjord ecosystems is limited by a lack of field studies connecting the ground biogeochemical processes to satellite data. This project will address this gap in knowledge through the use of specialized field sampling methods. This project will advance the understanding of how Greenland’s ongoing deglaciation controls the water quality of the coastal marine ecosystem. The investigation will focus on the nutrient export flux at the land-sea interface of a deglaciated landscape at Sermilik Station on the east coast of Greenland. With Mittivakkat Glacier overhead, the coastal water quality conditions influenced by land-retreated glacier meltwater discharge will be defined. These observations will aid as the foundation for a widespread deglaciated coastline water quality survey next summer along Greenland’s largest turbid meltwater plume.

Anna Windle, (Ph.D.), University Maryland-UMCES, Horn Point Laboratory, “Underwater Structure from Motion photogrammetry: A remote, rapid, and nondestructive method to monitor restored oyster reefs”, Maryland
Eastern oysters, native to Chesapeake Bay, provide critical ecosystem services to the Bay ecosystem. Due to historic over-harvesting, disease, and habitat loss, populations have drastically declined. Recognizing the importance of restoring native populations, the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement included a goal to sustain shellfish populations by restoring oyster habitat in ten Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025. Today, an estimated 788 acres of oyster reef habitat have been restored in the five Maryland tributaries. Reefs are assessed every three and six years following restoration. These efforts use labor intensive methods that are limited by weather and water conditions, are destructive to the reef, and are expensive. Remote, rapid, and nondestructive methodologies to assess oyster reef metrics have significant potential to increase the efficiency of oyster restoration monitoring. This project aims to explore the emerging technology of underwater Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry to assess the potential of large-scale oyster reef monitoring. Underwater imagery will be collected, processed through a color reconstruction algorithm to remove the effect of turbid water, and applied in SfM software to create high resolution 3D models. This proof-of-concept research has the potential to not only enhance oyster reef monitoring techniques, but also transform underwater datasets in Chesapeake Bay.

Lindsay Barranco (M.S.), University of Maryland, Entomology, “Evaluating native bee abundance, diversity and nesting preferences in small-scale wildflower strips”, Maryland
Ground nesting bees are important pollinators and 70% of bee species worldwide nest within the ground, yet little is known about bee nesting preference. This project will measure the abundance, diversity and nesting preferences of ground solitary bees within wildflower strips, bare soil, and turf grass, and “scratched” bare ground areas within these substrates, and evaluate how management practices (i.e., weekly turfgrass mowing), impacts nesting preference. The abundance, diversity and nesting preference by use of emergence traps, pan traps and net sweeping will be compared. Emergence traps have the unique benefit of capturing ground nesting bees upon emergence or nest building. There exists a small body of research that has identified ground nesting bee preference via emergence traps in agricultural lands, prairies and forests but none in the mid-Atlantic area that look at bare ground, wildflowers and turf grass, or the creation of scratched bare areas within or the impacts of grass management. This research will contribute to this body of research by identifying how land use can be augmented for native bee nesting in order to increase pollinator habitat.

Hannah Clipp (Ph.D.), West Virginia University, Forestry and Natural Resources, “Optimizing wildlife openings for game birds and overall avian diversity”, West Virginia
In forested landscapes, wildlife openings created and maintained by land managers provide habitat and food resources for disturbance-dependent, early-successional game species, such as wild turkey, ruffed grouse, and American woodcock. Though managers tend to focus on game birds, wildlife openings can also benefit a myriad of bird species and guilds, including species of conservation concern, depending on local habitat features and landscape-level factors. Yet little effort has been made to investigate how to optimize wildlife openings to attract a full spectrum of bird species throughout spring and summer. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of wildlife openings by game birds, breeding songbirds, and post-breeding songbirds in response to site- and landscape-level wildlife opening attributes. In the spring and summer of 2019, preliminary data included species-specific and community-wide point count surveys, game cameras, autonomous recording units, and mist-netting surveys to sample bird communities in 65 wildlife openings within the Monongahela National Forest in eastern West Virginia. Data collection and statistical analyses are ongoing, but the final results will be used to assist land managers in designing and maintaining wildlife openings that simultaneously support target game bird populations and promote a diverse suite of songbirds.

Alexandra Fireman (M.S.), University of Maryland, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, “On the shell of the turtle: Identifying dietary patterns of the Caribbean hawksbill sea turtle”, Antigua, Maryland
The hawksbill sea turtle is critically endangered, and the extinction of this keystone species could cause severe disruption to their vulnerable coral reef habitats. Understanding the hawksbill’s ecology is critical for effective conservation. However, as a long-lived species, hawksbills can be difficult to study in their oceanic habitats. While elusive in the water, during the nesting season, females crawl onto beaches, providing an accessible opportunity for study of the species. This research plans to use this nesting period to learn about both their reproductive lives on land and their in-water lives. This will be achieved by using 1) diet markers in turtle tissue, 2) satellite tracking data to gain insights into their foraging habitats, and 3) long-term reproductive data to understand individual success. The research will focus on a consistently monitored population of nesting hawksbills in Long Island, Antigua. This work will allow for identification of marine areas that produce reproductively successful female hawksbills. Understanding where the most successful hawksbills live, and their diet allows for targeted conservation of their habitat. This project will have direct conservation impacts for the Long Island hawksbill population but can also serve as a model for the Caribbean and even global populations of hawksbills.

Dawei Han (Ph.D.), University of Maryland, Biology, “Sound localization and hearing sensitivity of the barking gecko (Ptenopus garraulus)”, South Africa
Localization of sound sources is a fundamental task of the auditory system. In mammals, the two ears are unconnected pressure receivers, and sound direction is computed from binaural interactions in the brain. Directional hearing is different in lizards and frogs because the two eardrums interact acoustically through connected middle ear cavities, leading to strongly directional eardrum vibration. Therefore, these animals should have a high capacity to differentiate between nearby sound sources. This prediction has been hard to test in lizards, since most are ambush, or sit-and-wait predators and typically do not vocalize. This study will take advantage of the behavior of a highly vocal lizard species, the barking gecko (Ptenopus garrulus) to test their ability to localize sound. The hypothesis is that female geckos will orient towards male vocalizations during the breeding season by walking in a zig-zag pattern, which has been documented frequently in animals with coupled ears. Auditory brainstem responses will be measured to compare hearing sensitivity of barking geckos to other vocal lizard species. Behavioral evidence for sound localization in extant lizards will provide insight into the early evolution of hearing and sound localization in ancestral land vertebrates, which possessed similarly coupled ears.
Rebecca Hill (Ph.D.), University of Maryland Baltimore County, Biological Sciences, “Vocal development in Grasshopper Sparrows”, Kansas, Maryland
Vocal development is a relatively well studied process in model songbirds such as zebra finches and canaries. This study will focus principally on vocal development in a less studied North American species of conservation concern, the grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum). Grasshopper sparrows appear to show a different pattern of learning than most model songbird species, exhibiting an improvisational rather than imitative process for establishing their adult song repertoire. Furthermore, preliminary data suggests the timing of crystallization (or fixation of the adult repertoire) appears to occur along different trajectories depending on song type A methodology to quantify the timing of crystallization using recordings of grasshopper sparrows throughout the song learning period will be developed. In addition, a series of experiments will be conducted that is intended to manipulate the timing of the crystallization process in a subset of these birds using both natural steroid hormones and steroid-mimicking endocrine disruptors in pesticides to understand how song variation and song aberration may occur in the field. Should the effects of endocrine disrupters in pesticides be linked to abnormal song production and decreased ability to find mates and reproduce would provide reasoning to limit pesticide use containing endocrine disrupters near habitats of grasshopper sparrows. This could lead to more reproductive success in an endangered species and ultimately an increase in a population that has been greatly declining for decades.

Victoria Lockwood (Ph.D.), George Washington University, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, “Arboreal support diameter choice: Biomechanics, ergonomics, and comparative anatomy”, Tanzania, Washington, DC
This project will assess to what extent locomotor behavior can be inferred from hand bone morphology. The extent that morphology implies function has led to debate, particularly about the evolution of bipedalism. Using a chimpanzee referential model, the investigation will focus on these questions: 1) Is the way chimpanzees use arboreal spaces reflected in their hand skeletal morphology? 2) If so, can this relationship be used to retrodict the arboreal locomotor capabilities of extinct hominins? Some primate species display a preference for certain sized diameters during arboreal locomotion. A detailed analysis of the hand-support interaction is needed to interpret these behavioral decisions. A primate optimal diameter equation will be applied to chimpanzee behavioral observations (Gombe National Park, Tanzania), to assess how individuals use arboreal supports, which will then be tested against skeletal hand morphology. Previously collected modern human data and ergonomic equations will be used to identify high-pressure areas of the chimpanzee hand. The morphology of these areas will be compared to the whole hand. This will allow an interpretation whether, and how, early hominins used their hands to exploit arboreal resources.

Kinsey Tedford (Ph.D.), University of Virginia, Environmental Sciences, “Restoring and sustaining Virginia’s oyster reefs: spatial drivers of oyster populations across multiple spatial scales”, Virginia
Restoration of oyster reefs has the potential to improve the conservation status of depleted oyster populations while enhancing water quality, shoreline protection, biodiversity, and fisheries production. However, oyster restoration has experienced mixed success and lacked clear conclusions on the relative importance of oyster recruitment and survival. This study includes a series of large-scale field experiments to examine the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors in determining the success of Eastern oyster on restored reefs in coastal Virginia. Specifically, the experiments will test how landscape setting, broad-scale environmental variables, and within- habitat complexities interact to structure oyster recruitment and survival, and their associated communities. The density and size of oysters recruiting to ceramic plates on restored reefs that span 22 km will be measured. Manipulative field experiments involving predator- exclusion cages to assess how the survival of juvenile and adult oysters varies across a landscape with strong differences in hydrodynamic conditions will be conducted. The results from this study will broaden the knowledge of coastal ecology and improve oyster conservation by providing insight on how environmental and geospatial variables mediate the success of restoration actions.

Samantha Gleich (Ph.D.), University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, “Water quality and the silification of diatom communities of the Anacostia River, Chesapeake Bay”, Virginia.
The Anacostia River is a highly polluted tributary of Chesapeake Bay that runs through Washington D.C. and empties into the Potomac River. The recently completed, soon to be implemented, multi-billion dollar infrastructure project, the Anacostia River Tunnel, was devised to improve the water quality of this river by diverting sewer effluent and storm water overflow to a wastewater treatment plant. In order to assess the effectiveness of the Tunnel project in terms of water quality improvement, biweekly to monthly sampling will be undertaken, in conjunction with a study already funded by Maryland Sea Grant, which focuses on whether there is a change in the algal community as water quality changes. This project will supplement the planned measurements in the study by focusing on the productivity of silicious diatom communities, those algae that are normally considered favorable for aquatic ecosystems. The funds will allow for the measurement of the changes in dissolved silica and its use by the diatom communities. Through direct measurements and targeted experimentation, in conjunction with this funded project, an improved understanding of the water quality, nutrient cycling, and microbial community health in the Anacostia River will be achieved.

Lauren Jonas (M.S.), University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, Columbus Center, “Phosphorus and marine sponges: investigating a key element within the coral reef biogeochemical cycle”, Hawaii.
Marine sponges are abundant filter-feeders in coastal benthic ecosystems and host copious microorganisms. Sponges have emerged as major players within coral reef biogeochemical cycles by facilitating both the intake and release of vital elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. While studies have investigated sponges’ role in transforming dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen into readily bioavailable nutrients for reef fauna, few significant findings have been made regarding their role in phosphorus cycling. This study aims to confirm the presence of phosphorus in the form of polyphosphate within the tissue of five marine sponges from Kāne’ohe Bay in Oʻahu, Hawaii. Sponge sample collection will be combined with experiments examine the mechanisms that control phosphorus cycling within the sponge body. This study of the role of marine sponges and their symbionts in cycling phosphorous will be an important step in understanding the high rates of primary production and respiration found within reef ecosystems. Further, the work will have major implications for filling in the gaps of knowledge of the roles of sponges and their microbiome in the potential release or sequestration of the crucial element, phosphorus.

Adriane Michaelis (Ph.D.), University of Maryland, Anthropology, “Describing cultural ecosystems services associated with oyster aquaculture”, Eastern U.S. coastal states.
Oysters are critical to coastal ecosystem restoration because of the ecosystem services they provide, such as improving water quality, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing the impacts of severe weather events. Within the ecosystem services framework, an approach to valuating the goods provided by an ecosystem, one group of services receives limited attention. Cultural ecosystem services are the nonmaterial goods and benefits provided by a system and are rarely detailed in ecosystem service discussions. In order to simplify and clarify this poorly described concept, I will address cultural services using oyster-based livelihoods. In much of the United States, oyster aquaculture, the farming or growing of oysters, exists alongside or in place of public oyster fisheries, as most wild oyster populations are a small remnant of historic populations. By identifying and describing the social and cultural goods, benefits, and services associated with oyster aquaculture, this project will not only address a void in ecosystem services research, but also evaluate whether oyster aquaculture is able to match the social and cultural goods associated with public fisheries, in order to assess the ability of oyster aquaculture to provide an alternate livelihood in areas of declining public fisheries.

Sylvain Nyandwi (Ph.D.), George Washington University, Anthropology, “Resilience to forest fragmentation in sympatric chimpanzees and golden monkeys in Rwanda: relating fine-scaled measurement of disturbance to behavior and health”, Rwanda.
The role of primates is critical in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and understanding factors that influence species vulnerability to habitat is key to their successful conservation. This study will be conducted in two sympatric primates, golden monkeys and chimpanzees, in two parks in Rwanda. Gishwati National Park (GNP) is highly-fragmented while Nyungwe National Park (NNP) is characterized by primary vegetation with some sections of secondary growth and some edge effects. These species differ in body size, diet, social organization, and locomotor styles, providing an excellent paradigm to investigate how these factors relate to species vulnerability to different levels of landscape disturbance. This study will characterize differing scales of disturbance and habitat quality from remote sensing data and ground transects; collect fecal samples to quantify parasite load and microbiome; collect behavioral data on ranging, grouping patterns and diet; and test how different levels of landscape disturbance relate to these parameters. This study will provide a critical and detailed understanding of how these two species are affected by habitat disturbance and will allow for the development of more informed conservation strategies, which may include the development of corridors between the two parks.

Nanette C. Raczka (Ph.D.), W VA, Biology, “Investigating how climate change will alter microbial stabilization of soil carbon in tropical forests”, Costa Rica.
Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined. Thus, understanding how stable soil carbon is formed and lost is critical to predicting how soil processes feedback on climate change. Most climate models predict forests all over the globe will experience drought at a greater frequency and severity. For seasonally dry tropical forests, a key understudied ecosystem, these rainfall shifts have the potential to cause soil carbon losses. One critical uncertainty is whether drought will impact the efficiency at which microbes use soil carbon to make new biomass (i.e., carbon use efficiency. Carbon use efficiency is a keystone microbial trait; whereby increases in carbon use efficiency are theorized to lead to increases in stable soil carbon formation. Under drought, this research will test the hypothesis that microbial carbon use efficiency will decrease, and when rainfall returns to these soils, the inherent rewetting pulse of microbial respiration will drive significant soil carbon losses. This sharp decline in soil carbon storage has the potential to shift these carbon sinks to carbon sources. As such, understanding how drought-induced shifts in microbial carbon use efficiency drive the magnitude of soil carbon losses in response to rewetting events is critical in our ability to predict the rate of global change.

Dorian Russell (M.S), American University, Environmental Sciences, “The influence of edge effects on mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) food resource use and availability in a fragmented forest”, Costa Rica.
This investigation aims to determine whether wild mantled howler monkeys show an edge effect, specifically an aversion to forest zones bordering human activity. Edge effects have been noted in other taxa; for example, many birds show aversion to forest edge and prefer core zones for critical feeding and nesting behaviors. Mantled howler monkey behavior and vegetation diversity will be compared by proximity to forest edge in a fragment surrounded by cattle ranching and pineapple farming. The monkeys will be observed with notation focused on feeding and foraging, including descriptions of the food item (plant part), food species, and maturity (tree circumference). Geographic location will be noted to three-meter accuracy with a handheld GPS device. Vegetation diversity will be surveyed to compare food availability by forest zone. Globally, just 24 percent of tropical forests are intact, and 75 percent of nonhuman primate species are seeing habitat-related population declines. A majority of published ecological studies focus on pristine habitat despite rapid habitat changes; by contrast, this study has conservation implications. If howler monkeys and their preferred foods show an edge effect, we may be underestimating the consequences of habitat fragmentation and area of useable habitat lost.

Elizabeth Tapanes (Ph.D.), George Washington University, “The how and why of diversification and innovation: a study of unusual pelage diversity in a lemur species”, Madagascar.
The genetic mechanisms that drive diversity in observable traits (or, phenotypes) within a species and translate into macro-evolutionary diversity remain poorly understood. Pelage (hair) represents a unique model trait to examine these questions because it is often shaped by natural and/or sexual selection. This project aims to examine the genetic mechanisms and ultimate causes that shape pelage diversity for diademed sifakas in the Tsinjoarivo Classified Forest, Madagascar. Sifakas in Tsinjoarivo exhibit the highest form of pelage variation of any primate species, asides from humans. Samples of hair and cheek swabs will be collected in order to examine multiple potential genetic mechanisms that may lead to phenotypic diversity. Samples will be coupled to hair morphology measurements on color and type for the same individuals. Results may indicate an adaptive function (e.g. thermoregulation) for pelage differences in Tsinjoarivo, while also elucidating underlying genetic changes that produce novel traits. The phenotypic data will be compared to data for the entire sifaka genus, as well as 100+ primate species, to understand the relationship between micro- and macroevolution. Lastly, diademed sifakas are critically endangered. This study has the potential to understand how the species is responding to environmental changes, which can aid conservation priorities.

Josh Wayt (Ph.D.), University of Virginia, Linguistics, “The poetics of Dakota kinship: revitalizing language and reconstituting community at Lake Traverse Reservation”, South Dakota.
This study centers on Dakota people’s efforts to revitalize their heritage language at Lake Traverse Reservation, SD. The relationship between language activism and the broader social dilemmas (e.g. alcoholism, methamphetamine addiction, gang violence, suicide) faced by Dakota people will be examined. Given the existence of such pressing and visceral social problems, questions to be addressed are focus on why the Dakota people so concerned about language revitalization. The hypothesis to be tested is that language activism is fundamentally directed towards redressing such social issues by reconstituting moral relations within the community itself. The main data for testing this hypothesis is the instructional discourse that fluent elders address to linguistic novices. This discourse consistently relates Dakota grammar to principles and protocols for conducting social relationships. Audio-visual recordings of this rhetorically rich instruction will be collected and subsequently analyzed using ethnopoetic methods. At one level, this project will result in a documentary body of a highly endangered Native American language, with special attention to the rhetorical practices that characterize compelling and convincing instruction. At a broader level, this research will contribute to a growing body of ethnographic literature on language revitalization movements by foregrounding the social and cultural motivations that undergird indigenous language activism.