01 August 2013

Christine Rega wins best poster award at SURE Congress in Berlin 2013



Christine Rega, a doctoral student at the University of Missouri, won the award for best poster at the First Congress of the Society of Urban Ecology.  This international gathering of more than 200 urban ecologists from around the world, took place from 25-27 July in Berlin. 

Christine describes her background and interests in this way on the BES Website:  “I am originally from New Jersey and completed my BS at the University of Massachusetts. I first fell in love with ornithology and ecology at UMass, working with Swamp Sparrow song analysis for my undergraduate thesis. From there, I received my MS at the University of Delaware, under Dr. Gregory Shriver, studying the effects of soil calcium availability on an urban forest songbird community. I am broadly interested in habitat selection variables for urban songbirds, and how invasive plant species affect these decisions and their reproductive success. I am currently working on my Ph.D. at the University of Missouri with Dr. Charles Nilon. My work focuses on unmanaged vacant lots, evaluating their effectiveness and sustainability as a habitat resource for urban songbirds.”

Christine is currently the Graduate Representative on the BES Project Management Committee.  We are delighted with her contribution to and success at the first ever SURE Congress.

 
Christine Rega, 2nd from left, winner of Best Poster Presentation at the First Congress of the Society for Urban Ecology (SURE), Berlin, 2013.  Also pictured are her doctoral advisor, and BES Co-PI, Dr. Charles Nilon (far left), Tanja Straka (3rd from left) of the University of Melbourne (prizewinner for best oral presentation) and her advisor, Dr. Mark McDonnell, Director of the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology.