Cary Institute students reveal projects

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies invites the public for the 27th Annual Research Experiences to Undergraduates (REU) Symposium, where 12 students will present the results of their summer research projects. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Cary Institute’s REU program attracts students from all over the country. The symposium will take place on Friday, Aug. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m. Working with a scientific mentor, participants craft a project, carry out research, analyze data and present their findings. This summer, projects have included the effects of invasive species in urban wetlands, songbird communication, ecological regulation of mosquitoes and disease risk, ecosystem engineers, citizenship and environmental decision making, Hudson River wetlands and climate change and the affects of road noise on small mammal survival.The following is a list of students, their college affiliation, their project title and their mentors:• Jessica Mailhot: University of Vermont, Whose Nest is Best? The Allometry of Habitat Creation by Nest-Building Birds and Implications for Secondary Nester Conservation, Clive Jones, Ph.D.• Julie Jung: Williams College, Consider the Chipmunk; Reconsider the Road: How Road Noise Affects Eavesdropping Systems in Eastern Chipmunk, Ken Schmidt, Ph.D.• Amy Colorado: University of Rochester, Eel or No Eel: The Hudson River Eel Project’s Influence on Career Path Choices, Alan Berkowitz, Ph.D, Carol Rinke, Ph.D, Tobias Irish, Ph.D and Cary Education Staff.• Tiquasha Thompson: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Breeding Behavior of the Invasive Aedes Japonicus Mosquito, Shannon LaDeau, Ph.D.• Patrick Reineke: DePauw University, Body Mass, Bioturbation and Biogeochemistry: How Ecosystem Engineers Control Sediment Microbial Processes, Clive Jones, Ph.D.• Emily Hughes: Mount Holyoke College, Learning about Decomposition in the Cary Ecology Camp, Education Department Intern.• Lorraine Dargis: SUNY New Paltz, The Effects of Traffic Noise on Veery Singing Behavior, Kara Belinksy, Ph.D.• Lily Mastrodimos: Bard College, The Influence of Host Preference and Larval Habitat on Mosquito Diversity, Shannon LaDeau, Ph.D.• Curt McConnell: Ithaca College, Quantifying Sediment Methanogenesis from Plant Habitats in a Tidal Hudson River Wetland, Stuart Findlay, Ph.D.• Vanessa Ehrenpreis: University of Virginia, The Peculiar Case of Personal Values, Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Earthworms, Alan Berkowitz, Ph.D, Carol Rinke, Ph.D, Tobias Irish, Ph.D and Cary Education Staff.• Rodolfo Villegas: California State University, Long Beach, Give Me Room to Breathe: The Role of Ventilation in Fossorial Burrow Construction, Clive Jones, Ph.D.• Giovanna Tomat-Kelly: The College of New Jersey, Riparian Links and Nitrogen Sinks: How Riparian Connectivity and Invasive Plants Influence Nitrogen Cycling within Urban Riparian Zones, Peter Groffman, Ph.D.The event will be held in the Cary Institute auditorium located at 2801 Sharon Tpk. (Route 44) in Millbrook. For more information, call 845-677-7600, ext. 326 or email smithp@caryinstitute.org.