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Download a summary of all faculty research interests here.
Douglas Carter (CarterD@ccsu.edu) Office: 343 Copernicus Hall, (860) 832-2647; carterd@ccsu.edu My primary
research interest is in plant physiology. I’m
particularly interested in photosynthesis at all levels; whole plant, organellar,
and molecular levels. My current
focus is on chloroplast genes that code for proteins that constitute the core
complexes of Photosystems I and II. To
date (Sept. 2003), there are about 30 chloroplast genomes that have been
completely sequenced and are available through the National Center for
Biotechnology Information. For the
past year, my research students and I have been “data mining” these gene
banks in an effort to identify distributional patterns for these genes. Thus far, we have identified two basic patterns that
essentially reflect the two main evolutionary branches of all green plants;
streptophytes and chlorophytes. The
one notable exception is the monocot genome, and that is the crux of our
research efforts. We would like to
use these distribution patterns as evolutionary “signatures” that might
better resolve the origins of monocots; thus, our research problem has become
one that lies within the field of molecular evolution.
Our present challenge is to develop an assay that will allow us to
determine the distributional patterns in plant species whose chloroplast genomes
have not yet been published so that we can begin to the fill the gaps on the
phylogenetic tree.
Tiffany
M. Doan (DoanTiM@ccsu.edu)
Sylvia Halkin (HalkinS@ccsu.edu)
Sometimes
eastern gray squirrels will bury a nut and then also cover a second place where
nothing is buried, or will dig and cover extra holes before burying a nut, or
perform other kinds of behavior whose apparent function is to deceive observers
about the actual locations of buried nuts.
Last year, at the suggestion of my student Tom McKenna, we tried to see
whether such deceptive behavior increased if we tried to dig up nuts that we had
watched squirrels bury, thus increasing the threat of cache robbery and the
motivation to squirrels to hide the location of buried nuts. With a small number
of cooperative squirrels, deceptive behavior did indeed increase when we tried
to steal their buried nuts! The ability of the squirrels to respond in an
adaptive way is evidence that this deception is indeed intentional, and is an
interesting window into the thought processes of squirrels. In Spring 2005, I
will be working with a group of students to see whether we can obtain a
statistically significant set of data on this very cool behavior.
When I'm not studying squirrels, my major research focus is how birds use
vocalizations to communicate with one another. I am currently studying the form
and function of calls given by emus, large flightless Australian birds.
I am most interested in a long-distance call given by female emus that
appears to function to attract mates. I have previously studied song exchanges
between pairs of northern cardinals, in particular the function of female
cardinals singing from their nests, where it seems that by singing the female
lets her mate know whether food is needed at the nest.
I have also conducted research with students and supervised Master's thesis and
independent study projects in many other areas of animal behavior, including
winter roosting behavior of American crows, noctural behavior of terns,
predation on warbler nests, black bear population censusing, the formation of
"V"s by flocks of Canada geese, behavioral interactions of house
sparrows at feeders, "barbering" behavior of laboratory mice, and
interpreting behavior from patterns of tracks left in the snow. Publications of Dr. Sylvia Halkin
Jeremiah Jarrett (JarrettJ@ccsu.edu) Research
Interests and Ongoing Projects for Dr. Jarrett
I
am generally interested in the ecology and biology of marine invertebrates.
Listed below are specific areas of interest and ongoing projects.
1.
NO-HYPE (Nearshore/Offshore Hydrodynamics and Population Ecology)
is a project funded by NSF through 2005 and involves scientists from Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of North
Carolina, and CICESE (Mexico). We
are examining the influence of coastal oceanographic features and the
reproductive biology of intertidal barnacles on larval production, recruitment,
and population abundance for populations at two study sites that differ in
overall abundance of these intertidal barnacles.
Funding is available for students to work on this project during the
academic year.
2.
Phenotypic Plasticity. Littorina
littorea, the common periwinkle, exhibits shell thickening in response to
Carcinus maenus, the green crab. I have begun to look at the ability of Littorina littorea
to respond to the presence of the Japanese shore crab, a nonnative, invasive
species of crab recently introduced to Long Island Sound.
Work on this project could run from March – November and would involve
laboratory experiments.
3.
Salinity and Nutritional Stress. I am
interested in examining the influence of salinity stress and low food conditions
on larval and juvenile performance of marine invertebrates in the laboratory and
in the field. Research primarily
occurs from late May to Late August.
4.
Low Oxygen Stress. The impacts of low oxygen
conditions on larval survival and growth and subsequent juvenile survival and
growth are poorly understood. I
will be examining the impacts of low oxygen on fast developing, lecithotrophic (nonfeeding)
larvae of marine invertebrates common to Long Island Sound.
Most work would be in lab during summer months with potential for field
work as well. I will be submitting research grant application to Long Island
Sound Fund to support student researchers.
5.
Shell Selection by Hermit Crabs. I am
currently studying hermit crab shell selection to determine what shell
characteristics determine choice and what the selective advantages are to
choosing specific shells. Research
from May – November.
Thomas Mione (MioneT@ccsu.edu)
Students
interested in working with me do not need prior research experience, but will
need to work consistently during the project to reveal nature’s secrets.
My research program primarily involves the genus Jaltomata,
a fascinating group of plants in the tomato family.
Jaltomata species grow in
tropical America, from near sea-level to high elevations (about 4000 meters).
In Latin America people eat the ripe fruits.
I have been investigating the following questions: 1) how many species
are there? 2) what is the geographic distribution of each species? 3) what are
the evolutionary relationships among these species (phylogeny)? and 4) how do
people use the plants? While
getting at the question of “how many species,” colleagues and I have
revealed several new-to-science species (the picture shows a new-to-science
species we recently discovered in Peru). I
continue to address the above questions, but also keep finding interesting
side-projects to work on with students. For
example, is the increase in size of Jaltomata
flowers, seen one whole day after the flower opens, due to increase in cell size
or cell division, or both? Addressing
this question will involve use of a compound microscope.
Another question involves nectar production: Where exactly in the flowers
is nectar produced? The student
will need to grow plants (e.g., in our greenhouse), and make careful
observations of where nectar appears, and make sections of tissue for
microscopy. Of course students
working under my direction can also work on plants that grow wild here in New
England. For a list of my
publications, some with students, see my research
web site and then click on “publications.”
Barbara Nicholson (NicholsonB@ccsu.edu) I am a field-oriented ecologist
that specializes in northern wetlands. Students who elect to undertake research
with me can conduct experiments a wide variety of topics ranging from the
ecology of a single species to the ecology of entire ecosystems. I have
had students studying tree ring growth and its relationship to climate, lichens
and air pollution in Connecticut, mapping wetland units in Shade Swamp,
conducting macrofossil identification in wetland sediments, examining the
function of constructed wetlands, and discovering the level of water quality
improvements in the Connecticut River. I myself am currently investigating
the impact that a severe drought has had on peatland ponds in northern Alberta.
These are ponds that are surrounded by peatlands (peat accumulating
wetlands). In order for peatlands to form, water tables surrounding the
ponds need to be high and stable. Fluctuating and depressed water levels
create dry conditions that are not conducive for the growth of peat mosses, as
mosses do not have roots. The presence of peatlands suggests that previous
droughts could not possibly have been severe or lengthy in duration. In
2002 however, water tables in the ponds fell so low that many of these ponds
dried up and new plant species began colonizing the exposed lakebeds. My
research involves investigating what species of plants are colonizing and
determining whether these ponds have gone through this type of drought cycle
before. Documenting previous periods of drought involves conducting a
paleoecological study, where the pond sediments are cored and the sediments
sifted for microfossil and macrofossil remains. Many types of fossils are
preserved in the sediments such as seeds, plant fragments, pollen and diatoms.
I am hoping that the fossil history of these sediments will reveal the
frequency and possible duration of these drought cycles. I presented
preliminary results of this study at a conference last summer and have had a
positive response to this research. Much work is yet to be done and I
welcome anyone whom wants to be involved. |
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