Highlighting Emma Rosi-Marshall's Work on Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Streams

Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall conducts research on factors that control and influence ecosystem function in human-dominated ecosystems.  Freshwater is one of our most vital and threatened resources.  Understanding how human-driven global change impacts freshwater ecosystem function is essential.  Dr. Rosi-Marshall’s research focuses on several aspects of human modifications to freshwater ecosystems.  These include land use change and restoration, widespread agriculture and associated crop byproducts, urbanization and the release of novel contaminants, and hydrologic modification associated with dams.

Emma is conducting pioneering research on the effects of pharmaceuticals—both legal and illicit—and of personal care products on the functioning of streams.  These chemicals in daily use for therapeutic, cosmetic, and recreational purposes, have been known to occur in streams for a long time.  However, Emma’s research is discovering an increasing breadth of such compounds that can be found in streams in cities and suburbs, as well as rural and exurban areas.  More importantly, her research is among the first to explore just how these increasingly common chemicals can affect the structure of aquatic communities and the functioning of stream ecosystems.

Some of Emma’s research is conducted in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, and she has been named Director Designate.  She is currently part of the leadership team of BES, and will take over directorship of the project in 2016.

For more information, check out this link:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/04/drugs-and-streams/

Article Published on Mosquitos in DC & Baltimore

Paper by Dr. Shannon LaDeau, BES Co-PI, and colleagues was recently published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  Below is a brief summary of the work.

Mosquito-vectored pathogens are (re)emerging in many urban environments, reinvigorating research efforts to understand patterns of urban infestations derived from complex interactions between ecological and social factors that define where mosquito populations can grow.  In this study we compared the density of mosquito habitat and pupae production across economically varying neighborhoods Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC.  We recorded seven species capable of transmitting human pathogens, including the invasive Aedes albopictus, which was the only species found in all neighborhoods.  Culex pipiens, a primary vector of West Nile virus (WNV), was predominantly found in Baltimore and was most abundant in abandoned tires. Both Culex and Aedes pupae (our best indicator of biting adults) were more likely to be sampled in neighborhoods categorized as below city-specific median income level.  The abundance of Aedes pupae was also greater in container habitats in lower income neighborhoods. We infer that lower income residents may experience greater exposure to potential disease vectors and Baltimore residents specifically, were at greater risk of exposure to the predominant WNV vector.  However, we also found that resident-reported mosquito nuisance was not correlated with our measured risk index, indicating a potentially important mismatch between motivation needed to engage participation in control efforts and the relative importance of control among neighborhoods. 

LaDeau, S.L., P.T. Leisnham, D. Biehler, D. Bodner. 2013. Higher mosquito production in low-income neighborhoods of Baltimore and Washington, DC: understanding ecological drivers and moquito-borne disease risk in temperate cities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 10:1505-1526. doi:10.3390/ijerph10041505.  http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/4/1505

Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) 5th World Conference 6-11 October 2013

The deadline to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations at the 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration has been extended until May 15, 2013.  This will be the final deadline for all submissions.

Please visit the Call for Abstracts page on the conference website for complete instructions and a link to the online submission form.

If you have been invited to present as part of an organized symposium, you must also submit your abstract before the May 15 deadline in order to ensure that your presentation is included in the conference program.

We welcome abstracts from restoration researchers, practitioners, government officials, and others on a broad range of topics and themes related to ecological restoration.  We also encourage submissions on new and emerging topics in the field, so don't feel limited to this list! 

THE Restoration Event of 2013

The SER2013 World Conference connects researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and industry professionals, and provides the premier opportunity to develop relationships and share research findings, best practices, and new ideas with others working in the field of ecological restoration.

The 4-day scientific program includes an exciting slate of workshops and symposia organized by public, private, and non-profit groups from around the world, and will feature several internationally renowned keynote speakers including: author Paul Hawken, visionary forest engineer and conservationist, Willie Smits, and Alvaro Ugalde, founder of Costa Rica's National Park System.

In addition to a dynamic program of scientific sessions, SER2013 also offers a number of pre-conference training courses covering a variety of topics, and post-conference field trips visiting sites throughout southern Wisconsin.

Conference partners include: Aldo Leopold Foundation, Arboretum at UW-Madison, International Crane Foundation, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, Niagara College-Canada, The Wildlands Network, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Register now and save up to $125 on the cost of registration.  Become a member of SER and receive additional savings.  Visit the Registration page for a list of rates and a link to the online registration form.

BES Quarterly Project Meeting 11 April - 12 April 2013

Agenda

PART I.  BES Relationship and Collaboration between Arts and Sciences.

Location: US Geological Survey Conference Room, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228 (at UMBC Campus)  Directions: http://md.water.usgs.gov/directions/USGS%20MD%20directions.pdf

Date: 11 April 2013

Time: 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Agenda:

1:00 – 1:10    Welcome, Introductions, Housekeeping.  Steward Pickett, BES Project Director, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

1:10 – 1:20    Introduction to BES Art/Science Integration.  Mark Twery, USDA Forest Service, Chairperson BES Arts Committee

1:20 – 1:50    Overview of Artist-in-Residence Programs.  Lynn Cazabon, 2012 BES Artist-in-Residence

                       Ideas for structuring BES Artist-in-Residence Program.  Jann Rosen-Queralt, Member BES Arts Committee

1:50 – 2:20    Presentation by 2013 BES Artist-in-Residence Patterson Clark

2:20 – 2:40    Break

2:40 – 2:55    Opportunities to improve understanding watershed

                       hydro-bio-geo-socio-chemistry through visual art.  Peter Groffman, Cary Institute

2:55 – 3:25    Vacant lot restoration: opportunities for art to complement ecology Chris Swan, UMBC, Geography & Environmental Systems and Anna Johnson, UMBC, BES Grad Student Rep

3:25 – 3:40    Visualizing Historic Baltimore.  Joshua Cole, UMBC/CUERE and Dan Bailey, UMBC/IRC (Imaging Research Center)

3:40 – 3:55    Exploring the effects of drugs in Baltimore streams.   Emma Rosi Marshall, Cary Institute

3:55 – 4:10    Urban and Suburban Streams and Stream Corridors.  Robert Shedlock, US Geological Survey

4:10 – 5:10    Open Discussion on the present and future Artist-in-Residence

                       program at BES

Location:  UMBC Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture (CADVC)

5:30 – 7:30     Reception for BES scientists and Baltimore artists’ community, featuring a short talk by Patterson Clark reviewing his program as BES 2013 Artist-in-Residence.  Refreshments provided.

PART II.  Preparing for Conceptual Overviews at the Mid-Term Review

Date: 12 April 2013

Time: 8:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m.

Location: US Geological Survey Conference Room, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228 (at UMBC Campus)  Directions: http://md.water.usgs.gov/directions/USGS%20MD%20directions.pdf

Goals:

1.   General: To further develop plans for the integrative presentations and effective interactions of all BES members with the visiting Mid-Term Review team in October 2013.

2.   To refine contents of the overview presentations.

3.   To ensure that theory and concept are integrated with empirical research and BES core, long-term data streams.

4.   To involve all members of BES in the conceptual and integrative structure of the project.

Agenda:  Each topic will include a 10 minute presentation by the topic leader, and 10 minutes for discussion by the whole group. 

·         Discussion should expose connections between individual and empirical projects and the theoretical and conceptual topic. 

·         Posters to be cited during the overview talks should be identified so that they can be prepared in advance and referred to in the talk.

·         Background materials for study of each topic by BES members should be identified and circulated in writing at the meeting and posted on the web after the meeting.

8:30       Light breakfast/Schmooze

9:00       Overview of Resilience and Adaptive Processes: Scientific Understanding of Sustainability.  Steward Pickett, Cary Institute

9:20       The Urban Stream Dis/Continuum Concept and Urban Resilience and Adaptation.  Sujay Kaushal, University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Geology

9:40       The Urban Metacommunity Concept and Urban Resilience and Adaptation.  Chris Swan, UMBC, Geography & Environmental Systems

10:00     Break

10:15     Locational Choice by Households and Firms: Contributions to Resilience and Adaptation.  Elena Irwin, Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics

10:35     Long-Term Data: Relationship to Resilience and Adaptation.  Emma Rosi-Marshall, Cary Institute

10:55     Contributions of Integrative Modeling to Understanding and Using Resilience and Adaptation.  Lawrence Band, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Department of Geology

11:15     Education Research and Practice: Understanding and Using Resilience and Adaptation.  Alan Berkowitz, Cary Institute  

11:35     Small group discussions: Topic clarification, Cross topic connections, and identification of illustrative data.

Noon       Lunch in the meeting room.

12:45     Report back and plenary discussion of to identify or clarify topical and empirical connections within and among conceptual areas.

2:00       Adjourn