Please save the date for next year’s Symposium on November 4 – 5, 2010.

Thanks to all that participated in the Regional Science Consortium’s 5th Annual Research Symposium! This year’s Symposium was quite successful with outstanding presentations by everyone.
 
The RSC would like to especially thank Karla Kaczmarec, Marti Martz, and Michelle Wunderly from PA Sea Grant and Ben Koncewicz from the Big Green Screen theatre for all their assistance.
 
The winners of the Student Presentations for this year’s Symposium are:
1st Place Oral Presentation – Meaghan Ropski*, Brian Wojtkielewicz, Greg Andraso, Gannon University – Possible Refugia of Dreissenid Mussels from Predation by Round Gobies
 
2nd Place Oral Presentation – Benjamin Lorson*, Jonathan Freedman, Jay Stauffer, Jr. – Pennsylvania State University – Update to the Distribution of Allegheny River Fishes Using a New Sampling Technique
 

1st Place Poster Presentation – Thomas Russo*, Sean Fouse, Krista Mershimer, Troy Skwor, Greg Andraso, Gannon University – Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance in Water Samplse and Feces of Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) and Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) from Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay

 

REGIONAL SCIENCE CONSORTIUM
5th Annual Research Symposium
November 5 – 6, 2009
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
At Presque Isle State Park
AGENDA
 
 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
 
11:00 – 12:30              RSC Board Meeting
                                                Board Members
 
12:30 – 1:30                 Lunch for Board Members and Presenters (Thursday)
 
1:00 – 1:30                   Registration
 
Presentation Times, Presentation Titles, Authors, and Institutions Represented
 
1:30 – 1:40                   Welcome
                                                Jeanette Schnars, Executive Director of the RSC
 
1:40 – 2:00                   Tracking Purple Martin and Wood Thrush Migration Using Geolocators
                                                John Tautin* – Purple Martin Conservation Association, Bridget J. M. Stutchbury, Scott A. Tarof, Tyler Done, Elizabeth Gow, and Patrick M. Kramer – York University
 
2:00 – 2:20                   Tick abundance and Lyme disease relating to Passerine migrants at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA
Linnea Rowse* – Audubon Pennsylvania; Andrea Reinhardt* – SCA Avian Conservation Intern
 
2:20 – 2:40                   A Study of Anisoptera Diversity and Abundance in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
                                                Margaret J. Dicks*, Martin Mitchell – Edinboro University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
2:40 – 3:00                   Shifting Sands: A Constructivist Coastal Laboratory for Environmental Geology at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania
                                                Patrick Burkhart – Slippery Rock University
 
3:00 – 3:20                   Creating a GIS database of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College Campus
                                                Robert Aeppli*, Andrew Stauffer, Michelle Wunderly* – Penn State Erie
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
3:20 – 3:40                   Break
                                    Poster Presentations (Room 108)
 
3:40 – 4:00                   Brown Bullhead Sediment Contact Time in Relationship to Water Temperature
                                                Eric Obert – Pennsylvania Sea Grant
 
4:00 – 4:20                   Presque Isle Bay Watershed Restoration, Protection, and Monitoring Plan: A GIS-based Watershed Management Effort
                                    Sean Rafferty* – Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Lori Boughton – Pennsylvania DEP, J. Michael Campbell – Mercyhurst College
 
4:20 – 4:40                   Alterations in Glucose Absorption Across the Small Intestines of Rats Exposed to Penta and Deca Brominated Diphenyl Ethers
                                                Joshua Reynolds*, Mary C. Vagula – Gannon University; Charles F. Nelatury – Penn State Erie
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
4:40 – 5:00                   N-Isopropylacrylamide Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Extraction of Caffeine
                                                Kimberly C. Clarke*, Clinton D. Jones – Mercyhurst College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
5:00 – 5:20                   Analysis of Caffeine in Local Waters
                                                Michelle L. Clemens*, Clinton D. Jones – Mercyhurst College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
5:20 – 5:40                   Investigation of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Separation via HPLC Mobile Phase Variation
                                                Elizabeth A. Pillar*, Clinton D. Jones – Mercyhurst College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
5:40 – 6:00                   2009 Bacterial Water Quality Assessment of Presque Isle Bay, Erie, Pennsylvania
                                                Jeremiah Covert* – Penn State Erie; Jerry Covert – Regional Science Consortium
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
 
6:00 – 6:20                   Causes of Presque Isle Swimming Restrictions: Where Are We?
                                                Jerry Covert – Regional Science Consortium
 
6:20 – 6:40                   Advances in Cochlear Implants
                                                Ryan Scanlon*, Sudarshan R. Nelatury, Penn State Erie
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
6:40 – 9:00                   Poster Viewing
                                                Room 110
 
6:40 – 8:00                   Dinner
                                                TREC Lobby
 
8:00 – 9:00                   Film, “Mysteries of the Great Lakes
                                                Theatre
 
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009
 
8:00 – 9:00                   Registration
                                                Continental Breakfast
                                    Poster Viewing (Room 108)
 
9:00 – 9:20                   Eutrophication Status of Presque Isle Bay
                                                Rick Diz – Gannon University
 
9:20 – 9:40                   Distribution and Abundance of Chemicals of Concern in the Beach Waters of Presque Isle State Park
                                                Ryan Hindman, Kendall Greene, Steve Mauro* – Mercyhurst College
 
9:40 – 10:00                 Maternal Genetic Variance Determined by Sequencing Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) mtDNA D-loop
                                                Lara Linden*, Jacqueline McCullough, Mark Gooss, Andrew Berglund, Durwood B. Ray, Frederic J. Brenner – Grove City College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
10:00 – 10:20               Determining Breeding Patterns of Odocoileus virginianus by Nuclear DNA Fingerprinting
                                                Michelle Peck*, Richard Toth, Durwood B. Ray, Frederic   Brenner – Grove City College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
10:20 – 10:40               Determining Rates of Infection of Peromyscus leucopus with Borrelia burgdorferi on Presque Isle State Park
                                                Isis M. Kuczaj*, Cynthia E. Rebar, David Fulford – Edinboro   University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
10:40 – 11:00               Wetland Rapid Assessments – Erie and Crawford Counties, PA
                                                Karla Kaczmarek*, Marti Martz, Erie Cafferty, Ray Bierbower – Pennsylvania Sea Grant; Kevin Hess – Pennsylvania DEP
 
11:00 – 11:20               The Secret Underground Life of Switchgrass: Exploring Belowground Processes
                                                Sandra Wayman*, Richard Bowden, Ali Trunzo, Taylor Weiss – Allegheny College
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
11:20 – 11:40               The Erie County Natural Heritage Inventory Update
                                                Peter Woods*, Christopher Tracey – PA Natural Heritage Program
 
11:40 – 12:00               The Effect of Invasive Vegetation on Avian Abundance and Nesting Success in a Southern Lake Erie Coastal Wetland
                                                Chris Villella*, Mark Lazaran*, Robert Whyte, Carol Bocetti – California University of Pennsylvania
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
12:00 – 1:00                 Lunch – Buffet in the Café
                                    Seating in the Café and Room 108
 
1:00 – 1:20                   Dietary Analysis of Coyotes on Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA
                                                Carrie Ann Duafala*, Cynthia E. Rebar – Edinboro University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
1:20 – 1:40                   Invasion of Snakes to the Interior Forest Due to Fragmentation
                                                Casey Bradshaw – Marshall University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
1:40 – 2:00                   The Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera) of Misery Bay and Associated Habitats on Presque Isle, Pennsylvania
                                                Peter V. Lindeman – Edinboro University
 
2:00 – 2:20                   Update to the Distribution of Allegheny River Fishes Using a New Sampling Technique
                                                Benjamin D. Lorson*, Jonathan A. Freedman, Jay R. Stauffer, Jr. – Pennsylvania State University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
2:20 – 2:40                   Distribution of Larval Fish in the Ohio River Basin, Pennsylvania
                                                Richard B. Taylor*, Jay R. Stauffer, Jr. – Pennsylvania State University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
2:40 – 3:00                   Break
                                    Poster Presentations (Room 108)
 
3:20 – 3:40                   Possible Refugia of Dreissenid Mussels from Predation by Round Gobies
                                                Meaghan Ropski*, Brian Wojtkielewicz, Greg Andraso – Gannon University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
3:40 – 4:00                   Possible Factors Influencing Size-Selective Predation on Dreissenid Mussels by Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in the Field
                                                Greg M. Andraso*, Michael T. Ganger, J. Gluvna – Gannon University
 
4:00 – 4:20                   Effective Diagnosis and Monitoring of Aortic Insufficiency Using Biomedical Signals
                                                Joanathan Georgino*, Sudarshan R. Nelatury, Penn State Erie; Charles W. Nelatury, Penn State University
                                    (Student Presentation)
 
4:20 – 4:40                   Space-Based Solar Power Generation
                                                Jonathan Georgino*, Sudarshan R. Nelatury, Penn State Erie

            (Student Presentation)

 
 
POSTERS
 
Title:                 Cross-linking Cellulase for Post-Catalytic Recovery
Author:Jillian Bona, Naod Kebede, Lisa M. Unico
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444
 
Title:                 Preliminary Hydrogeologic Interpretations of the Jacksville Esker Chain, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Author:            Jeremiah Hyldahl, Quinten Cameron, Neil Durco, and Patrick Burkhart
Slippery Rock University
 
Title:                 Beach Erosion and the Migration of Presque Isle Peninsula, Erie, Pennsylvania  
Author:            Gregory Kolenda
Geosciences Department, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
 
Title:                 Freshwater mussel, fish, and macroinvertebrate surveys in the major tributaries of French Creek, Pennsylvania
Author:             Tamara A. Smithand Elizabeth S. Meyer
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
 
Title:                 Survey and Status Assessment of the Blanding’s Turtle (Emys blandingii) in Pennsylvania
Author: Ryan E. Miller
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy – Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
 
Title:    
Authors:             Prof. Jennifer DeHart, Andrew Pfeifer, Brendan O'Leary, Sam Elliot
                        Environmental Science, Allegheny College
 
 
Title:                 Hydrogeologic Monitoring of a Headwater Wetland in the Four-Mile Creek Watershed
Authors:             AM Foyle & MS Ritz (co-presenting), MD Naber
Geoscience Program, School of Science, Penn State Erie – The Behrend College, Erie PA 16563
 
 
Title:                 Bacterial antibiotic resistance in water samples and feces of round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) and bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) from Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay 
Author:             Thomas J Russo1, Sean Fouse1, Krista Mershimer1, Troy Skwor1, 2 and Greg Andraso1
1Gannon University, Biology Department, Erie, PA 16541-0001, 2Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA 94609
 
 
Title:                 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage rates in Erie County, Pennsylvania
Author: Leslie Y. Schlaud and Christopher C. Keller, Ph.D., C.P.H.
Laboratory of Human Pathogens, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
 
Title:            A Role for the Auxin Uptake Carrier in Auxin-Induced Gene Expression
Author:             Stephen A. Shinsky, Dr. Catharina Coenen
                        Department of Biology, Allegheny College
 
Title:                 A long record of sedimentation and landscape change from Sugar Lake, Crawford County, PA
Author:             Eric C. Straffin*, Todd Grote**, Kyle Jones*, Zachery Richardson*, and Brian Zimmerman*
*Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Department of Geosciences
**Allegheny College, Department of Geology
 
Title:                 Soil geomorphology and Holocene floodplain stability along French Creek near Meadville, Pennsylvania
Author: Todd Grote*, Eric C. Straffin**, Jon Malzone**, Kyle Jones**
*Allegheny College, Department of Geology
**Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Department of Geosciences
 
Title:                 Introduction of Novel Point Mutations into MSH2 and MSH6 DNA Mismatch Repair Proteins
Author:             William Dillen*, Gregory Sondag*, Dr.Lisa Unico* (EUP) Karin Scarpinato**
*Edinboro Unversity
** Wake Forest University
 
Title:                 Microbial Ecology of Freshwater Turtles
Author: David A. Stull Jr.*, Jeanette L. Schnars**
* Penn State Erie
** Regional Science Consortium
 
Title:                 Old Growth in the East? Forest Structure in Chautauqua County Swamps
Author: Alex Staunch, Lauren O’Neill, Kevin Ludwig and Jonathan Titus
Biology Dept., SUNY-Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063
 
Title:                 The Effect of Hydrology and Substrate on Germination of Three Wetland Woody Plants
Author: Alex Staunch, Vanessa Ricotta, Kevin Ludwig and Jonathan Titus
Biology Dept., SUNY-Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063
 
Title:                 In vitro studies on the conduction velocity in rat sciatic nerve following exposure to Penta BDE and Deca BDE
Author: Charles F. Nelatury†, Nathan Kubeldis§ and Mary C. Vagula§
†Biology Department, Penn State Erie, Erie PA 16563
§Biology Department, Gannon University, Erie PA 16541
 
Title:                 Effect of Invasive Plants on Stopover Habitat Quality for Songbirds
Author:            Sargent, S., Audubon Pennsylvania, Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA,
Narango, D., Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, USA, Balogh, A., Duluth, Minnesota, USA
 
 

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