Affiliated Faculty

Dr. Henry John-Alder, Department of Animal Sciences, Cook College, New Brunswick

Dr. John-Alder is studying the causes and consequences of individual variation in physiological traits in natural populations of animals. His current research examines the roles of sex and stress steroids as regulators of seasonal and socially-induced variation in exercise endurance in male lizards. He also uses DNA fingerprinting to investigate reproductive correlates of exercise endurance in the wild.

Dr. Mark Morgan, Department of Biology, Camden

Dr. Morgan studies the role of abiotic factors, such as acidity and nutrients, in structuring aquatic plant and animal communities. His primary study area is the New Jersey Pinelands. He is examining the biogeochemistry of sulfur in Pinelands wetlands and has participated in an international experiment on the effect of artificial acid rain on a wetland watershed and humic lake (HUMEX) in western Norway.

Dr. Amy Tuininga, Fordham University

Dr. Tuininga, a former graduate student of John Dighton (see Past Pinelands Folks), is currently an associate professor in the Department of Biology, Fordham University and operates out of their Louis Calder Center field station (see her web page).

Dr. Ken Clark, USDA Forest Service

Dr. Clark has set up a series of eddy flux towers at the field station and in the surrounding forests to monitor microclimatological data together with measures of forest biomass as a means of improving the forest fire predictions models of the pine barrens ecosystem. The project is operated by John Hom and currently supports Nick Skowronski and Robert Soames as research staff on the project.

Dr. Ming Xu, Department of Ecology Evolution and Natural Resources, New Brunswick

Dr. Xu is working closely with Ken Clark and has set up a series of automatic soil respirometers at the field station t measure carbon flux from the forest floor. He has also installed a number of stem respirometers on the pitch pine and oak trees. His interest is in modeling carbon dynamics in forests. Check out his web site.

Dr. Rachel Winfree Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Rae is studying populations and communities of bees in and around the New Jersey pine barrens.

Dr. Karina Schäefer Rutgers University, Newark. Dr. Schäefer uses hydrologic flux measures to model pinelands forest stand carbon dynamics.

Visiting Scientists

Dr. Liliane Ruess (University of Aachen):

Dr. Ruess visited the station in the summer of 1999. She worked with John Dighton and Max Haggblom on trophic interactions of fungi and fungiverous nematodes and the potential use of phospholipid fatty acid analysis in tracing fungal selectivity by nematodes.

Dr. Tatyana Tugay (Institute for Microbiology, national Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, Kiev):

Dr. Tugay worked for three months on a collaborative NSF funded project with John Dighton. We have been investigating the influence of ionizing radiation on the germination of fungal spores and growth responses of emerging hyphae. Numerous interesting effects of long-term exposure to ionizing radiation are emerging in these soil fungi isolated from around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The Rutgers component of the work also included Patrick McDermott of Rutgers REHS Department.