Schedule of Talks
 
Regional Science Consortium
7th Annual Research Symposium
November 3-4, 2011
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
At Presque Isle State Park
 
 
Thursday, November 3, 2011
 
10:30 – 12:00              RSC Board Meeting
                                                Board Members
 
11:30                          Registration Opens
 
12:00 – 1:00                LunchThe Sunset Café
 
1:00 – 1:15                  Welcome
                                                Robert Whyte, Ph.D., California University of PA; RSC President
                                                Harry Leslie, Presque Isle State Park Manager, PA DCNR
                                                Jeanette Schnars, Ph.D., Executive Director, RSC
 
 
Presentations
 
Session Chair: Robert Whyte, RSC President
1:15 – 1:30                  A Summer Undergraduate Research Experience at the Old Woman Creek State National Estuarine Research Reserve; Huron, Ohio        
Joel Chronister* and Robert S. Whyte, California University of Pennsylvania
(Student Presentation)
 
1:30 – 1:45                  Restoration of the Black Oak Savanna at Erie Bluffs State Park in       
                                    Erie County, Pennsylvania
                                                Ephraim Zimmerman, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program,                                                        Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh, PA
 
1:45 – 2:00                  Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plant Propagation at Presque Isle
                                    State Park
                                    Marti Martz, Pennsylvania Sea Grant
 
 
 
 
2:00 – 2:15                  Evaluation of Lake Sturgeon Population and Their Habitat in Lake Erie
Karla Kaczmarek*, Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Jeanette Schnars, PhD., Regional Science Consortium, Chuck Murray, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission        
 
2:15 – 2:30                  Continued Research on Purple Martins (Pronge subis) Conducted by the Purple Martin Conservation Association (P.M.C.A.)
                                                Robert Aeppli, Purple Martin Conservation Association
 
2:30 – 2:45                  Mist-netting and banding of songbirds at Presque Isle and Erie Bluffs State Parks 2007 – 2011: What have we learned?
Sarah Sargent, Audubon Pennsylvania
                                   
2:45 – 3:00                  Real-Time Environmental Monitoring
Steve Fondriest, Fondriest Environmental Inc.
 
3:00 – 3:30                  Break and Poster Session  
Sponsored by Fondriest Environmental Inc. (www.Fondriest.com)
 
Session Chair: 
3:30 – 3:45                  The Impact of Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli (STEC) on Grazing Protists in the Nuisance Algae Cladophora Obtained from Presque Isle State Park
                                                Drew Spacht*, Kyle Lindsay, Hannah Opalko and Steven Mauro,  Mercyhurst College
(Student Presentation)
 
3:45 – 4:00                  Assessing a Computer Model for Predicting Bacteria Levels at
                                    Presque Isle Beaches
                                                Michael A. Rutter, Rutter Statistical Consulting       
 
4:00 – 4:15                  The Main Ingredient in Anti-Depressants, Fluoxetine, is Present
                                    and Can Alter the Microsphere in Presque Isle State Park Beach
                                    Waters
Eric Clark*, Surafel Mulugeta, Kendal Greene and Steve Mauro, Mercyhurst College
(Student Presentation)
 
4:15 – 4:30                  Roswell Park Cancer Institute Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics Core Resource Capabilities and Services for Your Research Needs
Joshua Prey*, Kimberly Clark and Gerald Fetterly, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
 
4:30 – 4:45                  Molecular Evaluation of the Maternal Genetic Variance in White Tailed Deer Using DNA Sequencing of the Mitochondria D-Loop Region
Jedediah Seltzer*, Jared McFadden, Daniel Holsinger, Hannah Kehoe, Jessica Peterson and Fred Brenner, Grove City College
(Student Presentation)
 
Session Chair: 
4:45 – 5:00                  Badlands Working Group: Investigation of the Holocene Landscape
Lisa Andresky*, James Stevens*, Colten McDeavitt*, Katherine Mickle, Nichole Litzinger and Patrick Burkhart, Slippery Rock University
(Student Presentation)
 
5:00 – 5:15                  Joint Art and Science Research in the White River Badlands:
                                    Pedagogical Approaches and Outcomes
Katherine Mickle* and Patrick Burkhart, Slippery Rock University
 
5:15 – 5:30                  Long-Term Changes in Pattern of Occurrence of Strong Tornadoes in the United States, 1952-2011
Nicholas Schiff*, Mike Campbell and Nick Lang, Mercyhurst College
(Student Presentation)
 
5:30 – 5:45                  Effect of CO2 Addition on Algae Growth in an Experimental Aeroponic Algae Production System
                                                Robert Crowe* and Mike Campbell, Mercyhurst College
(Student Presentation)
 
5:45 – 6:00                  Statistical Modeling of Nutrient Levels in an Experimental Wastewater-fed Algae Production System
Prakash Bhatta*, Satish Shrestha, Mike Campbell and Ronald Brown, Mercyhurst College
(Student Presentation)
 
6:00 – 9:00                  Poster Session
 
Exhibitor Tables
                                                Includes Organizations with information on Graduate Programs, Employment/Internship Opportunities, Analytical Services and Products
 
Dinner Reception
Food by the Sunset Café, drinks, silent auction, and the Salmon Frank Band
                                                (Need to purchase a ticket? It’s not too late! Please see the Registration Table)                            
Friday, November 4, 2011
 
7:30 – 8:00                  Registration Opens
 
Continental Breakfast
 
8:00 – 8:15                  Welcome
Jeanette Schnars, Executive Director, RSC
 
Session Chair: 
8:15 – 8:30                  Presque Isle Bay Stream Sediment Evaluation
                                                Sean Rafferty, Pennsylvania Sea Grant
 
8:30 – 8:45                  Incorporation of Proteins into Polymer Foam
Shannon Gowen, State University of New York, Fredonia
(Student Presentation)
 
8:45 – 9:00                  Measurements in Ichthyology
                                                David Ryan*and Jay Stauffer, Penn State University
(Student Presentation)
 
9:00 – 9:15                  Ecology and Unique Habitat of the Bridle Shiner (Notropis bifrenatis) and the Ironcolor Shiner (Notropis chalybaeus)
                                                Bill Hanson* and Jay Stauffer, Penn State University
(Student Presentation)
 
9:15 – 9:30                  The Morphometrical Variance and Abundance of Diplotaxodon Species Around Mbenji Island, Domira Bay, Malawi
                                                Titus Phiri* and Jay Stauffer, Penn State University
(Student Presentation)
 
9:30 – 9:45                  Preliminary Assessment of the Genetic Diversity of Carp at the Pymatuning Spillway
                                                Samantha Tucker* and Kristen Webb, Allegheny College
(Student Presentation)
 
9:45 – 10:15                Break and Poster Session
Sponsored by Shimazdu Corporation (www.Shimadzu.com)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Session Chair: 
10:15 – 10:30              Preliminary Investigation of Lake Trout Spawning Near the Presque Isle Peninsula in Erie, Pennsylvania
Jim Grazio, Pennsylvania DEP
 
10:30 – 10:45              Evaluation and Detection of Round Goby Habitat Disturbances and Impacts on Native Fish Populations
                                                Casey Bradshaw-Wilson* and Jay Stauffer, Penn State University
(Student Presentation)
 
10:45 – 11:00              Ontogenetic Changes in Pharyngeal Morphology Correlate with a Diet Shift From Arthropods to Dreissenid Mussels in Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus)
                                                James Cowles*and Greg Andraso, Gannon University; Rose Colt, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Jay Patel and Mike Campbell, Penn State – Erie, The Behrend College
(Student Presentation)
 
11:00 – 11:15              Phenotypic Plasticity of the Pharyngeal Apparatus of Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus)
Noelle Blank*, Greg Andraso and John LaPaglia-Durante, Gannon University
(Student Presentation)
 
11:15 – 11:30              Evaluating the risk of aquatic invasive species range expansions in a changing climate in Pennsylvania
                                                Sara N. Grisè 1,2* and Theo Light1, 1Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA; 2Pennsylvania Sea Grant
(Student Presentation)
 
11:30 – 11:45              Drainage-Wide Survey of Sabine Map Turtles (Graptemys sabinensis) in the Mermentau River, Louisiana
Emily Ilgen*, Carissa Hartson, Olivia Zaleski and Peter Lindeman, Edinboro University
(Student Presentation)
 
11:45 – 12:00              Survey and Status Assessment of the Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) in Pennsylvania
Ryan Miller, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy – Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program          
 
 
 
 
 
 
12:00 – 1:00                Lunch – The Sunset Café
 
12:30 – 1:30                Workshop – What’s in Your Water?(Research Wing, Rm 133)
Faith Hays, Ph.D., Shimadzu Corporation
                                                **Sign-up at Registration Table (No Fee, but space is limited)**
                                    Description: The use of prescription medications has risen dramatically in the past decade. Subsequent excretion and improper disposal has caused a major increase of drugs and their metabolites in our water. It is likely that the concentration of medications will continue to rise, and we do not know their long term or cumulative effects on both humans and aquatic species.   Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometers (LC/MS) are ideal instruments to measure the active ingredients of these medicines in water. This workshop will examine workflows for doing these analyses from sample preparation, types of mass analyzers, and mass spectral interpretation.
 
1:00 – 1:30                  Poster Session
 
Session Chair: 
1:30 – 1:45                  Jumping Kinematics of the Plethodontidae: Performance, Morphological Variables and Tail Loss Effects
Anthony Hessel*, Ariel Statman and Lisa Whitenack, Allegheny College; William Ryerson, University of Connecticut
(Student Presentation)
 
1:45 – 2:00                  Renewable Energy Sources and Their Environmental Impacts
Michelle Wunderley, Point Park University
(Student Presentation)
 
2:00 – 2:15                  Thermal Conversion of Waste Organics into Solid Fuel by Means of Torrefaction
                                                Ted McMahon* and Rick Diz, Gannon University
(Student Presentation)
                       
2:15 – 2:30                  Determination of the Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Sediments, Water and Biota of the Lake Erie
Marissa Vartak*, Weslene Tallmadge and Mary Vagula, Gannon University
(Student Presentation)
 
2:30 – 2:45                  IMS/ATP – The Newest, Most Novel Technique Used by the Regional Science Consortium to Monitor Water Quality
                                                Jerry Covert, Regional Science Consortium
 
2:45 - 3:15                   Student Awards
 
 
 
 
 

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