Contact Jonathan Husch at husch@rider.edu or 609-896-5330 for abstract or document availability. A written product (poster, abstract, manuscript, thesis, etc.) may not be available for all student research projects.

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2011-2012

• Caroline Baptist: Effects of light intensity on the feeding rate of the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum
• Caroline Baptist: Macroalgae preference for the purple sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata
• Nicole Chakowski: Did Thomas Jefferson plant the two tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera) adjacent to his House? (student co-author on a related paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Academy of Science Annual Meeting, South Orange, NJ)
• Elizabeth Evans: Assessment of Three Artisanal Fisheries in Northern Honduras: Rio Esteban, Chachahuate Cay, and Cayo Mejor/East End (student author of paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Manahawkin, NJ)
• Trevor Hiller: Size of Karlodinium veneficum in relation to amount of toxins produced
• Jessica Horton: Factors that influence the righting behavior of starfish
• Maria Huffine and Leeann Sinpatanasakul: Changes of Na/Cl molar ratio in a salting cycle and their application to estimation of sodium retention in salted watersheds (student co-authors of a manuscript published in the Journal of Contamination Hydrology)
• Allison Ingram: Factors controlling growth rates of oaks, tulip poplars and beech, across George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia (student co-author on a related paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New York City)
• Nina Joffe: Phylogenetic analysis of Oophila ambystomatis.
• Kelli Kaelin: Utilization of phosphate in the mixotrophic dinoflagellate, Karlodinium veneficum.
• Shannon Melick: Effect of size on habitat preference and agonistic behavior in crayfish.
• Nicholas Mazza: Hydrogeological characteristics of the Duck Island Landfill in Trenton, New Jersey and its relationship to volatile chemicals.
• Christine Sookhdeo: Effect of forest age on soil organic matter at Mount Vernon, Virginia (student co-author on a manuscript published in the Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science)
• Christine Sookhdeo: Analysis of properties of post-agricultural soils, Lawrenceville, New Jersey (student co-author on a related paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New York City)
• Amanda Young: Effects of different species of phytoplankton on the growth rate and survival of Arbacia punctulata larvae, their light/dark preference, and metamorphosis.

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2010-2011

• Caroline Baptist and Christien Laber: Influence of irradiance and growth, feeding, and toxin production in the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum (student co-authors on a related paper, presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Aquatic Sciences, San Juan, PR)
• Denise Breen: Microclimates and sustainability of roofing materials
• Victoria Capozzalo: Effectively teaching mathematics in suburban and urban school settings
• Elizabeth Evans: Assessment of three artisanal fisheries in northern Honduras: Rio Esteban, Chachahuate Cay, and Cayo Mejor/East End
• Jessica Horton: Comparing three methods of measuring organic matter content
• Maria Huffine: New methods for estimating sodium retention in a watershed due to deicing salt
• Nina Joffe: Ambystoma maculatum and Oophila ambystomatis: A proposed model system for investigating oxygen sensing during vertebrate development (student co-author on a related paper presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology, Albuquerque, NM)
• Nicholas Mazza: Variation of flow rate in the Centennial Lake watershed
• Michael McCormack: Forest cover and topography through time at Mount Vernon (student co-author on a related paper, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Ecological Society of America, Clifton, NJ)
• Kyle Munley: An examination of nutrient concentration and chlorophyll and bacterial abundance in Centennial Lake
• Becky Schmitt: Dinoflagellate use of alkaline phosphatase to take up organic phosphate
• Margaret Shaw: A review of the factors that influence mating success in the European Green Crab Carcinus maenas
• Leeann Sinpatanasakul: Transport of mixed salting of NaCl and CaCl2 in a watershed
• Christine Sookhdeo: Effect of forest age and past land use on organic carbon content of Mount Vernon, VA soils (student co-author on a related paper, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Ecological Society of America, Clifton, NJ)
• Robert Weber: The effect of nutrient pulses on the growth of the common reed, Phragmites australis

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2009-2010

• Stacy Belgiovene: Female brood production, egg development and sperm limitation in the invasive European green crab Carcinus maenas
• Elissa Connolly-Randazzo: The sex ratio of stoplight parrotfish found in Roatan, Honduras
• Elizabeth Evans: Cohabitation of damselfish in the western Caribbean
• Maria Huffine: Retention of sodium in a soil column experiment (student co-author on a related paper, Retention of sodium in a watershed due to the application of winter deicing salt, Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Stochastic Hydraulics and 5th International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research, Quebec, Canada)
• Christien Laber: Toxin production of the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum with variation in light intensity
• Jessica Langlois: Feeding rates of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum depend on prey density
• Amrita Paul: Comparing predatory fish populations between two islands: densely populated Roatan, Honduras, and sparsely populated San Salvador, Bahamas (published in Horizons: The Scholarly Journal of Rider University)
• Leeann Sinpatanasakul: CaCl2 salt transportation in soil column
• Robert Weber: Effectiveness of wetland mitigation and restoration
• Charlie Zielinski: Analysis of trichloroethylene (TCE) transport into soil and groundwater (published in Horizons: The Scholarly Journal of Rider University)

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2008-2009

• Elissa Connolly-Randazzo: An initial analysis of the male to female ratio of Parrotfish in different habitats, Roatan Honduras
• Elizabeth Evans: A preliminary study of Damselfish cohabitation, Roatan, Honduras
• Maria Huffine, Ashleigh Layton, Kelli Luccarino, and Leeann Sinpatanasakul: Retention of sodium in the Centennial Lake watershed, New Jersey (received the Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation Award at the New Jersey Water Environmental Association 2009 Annual Meeting)
• Ashleigh Layton: Soil and soil changes in an area affected by road salt near I-95, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
• Carl Natter: Glauconite deposition in the Cretaceous/Tertiary strata of the New Jersey Coastal Plain
• Matthew Nelson: Mineral structural water loss and estimation of soil organic matter content by LOI (student co-author of a related paper published in the Canadian Journal of Soil Science)
• Matthew Nelson: Is New Jersey barrier island morphology controlled by the Inner Continental Shelf?
• Amrita Paul: The effect of a large sharpnose puffer population explosion on the reef in Roatan, Honduras
• Valerie Romaniello: Evaluation of methodology in the estimation of percent organic matter in salt marsh sediments
• Carey Sliko and Susan Zabrocky: Two strains of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum differ in their ability to utilize organic phosphorus for growth
• Susan Zabrocky: Variation in the feeding and decoration behavior of spider crabs in tropical regions of the Eastern United States and the Caribbean

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2007-2008

• Samantha DeLaunay: Methodology of garnet separation to investigate the provenance of New Jersey beach sands
• Kenneth Kacperowski, Timothy Swavely, and Heather Warren: Relationships among grain size, infiltration rate, and foreshore slope on New Jersey beaches
• Kelli Lucarino, Carl Natter, and Daniel Carlson: Road salt application and its impact on the water quality of the Delaware River
• Carl Natter: Weathering rate of rocks in the non-tidal portion of the Delaware River Basin
• Matthew Nelson: Effect of structual water in clay minerals on the estimation of soil organic matter content by the LOI analytical method
• Carey Sliko: Chemical signaling as a defensive strategy for the Mud Snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta
• Carey Sliko, Alison Golinski, and Susan Zabrocky: Phosphate stress in two strains of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum determined using a single-cell alkaline phophatase assay (ELF 97)
• Brian Tate: Spatial distribution of intertidal organisms on man-made intertidal substrates in New Jersey
• Brian Tate: A comparison of intertidal communities along the New Jersey shore growing on rocky versus wooden structures
• Megan VonDeesten and Alyssa Tomlinson: Spatial literacy: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems: ENV-205, a new course at Rider University

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2006-2007

• Amber Andyshak: Factors influencing the growth and habitat choice of the Northern Piperfish, Syngnathus fuscus
• Daniel Hewins: Increase in impervious area and its hydrological impact over the last 50 years in the Delaware River Basin
• Daniel Hewins: Jack of all trades: Biological invasion facilitated by use of multiple forms of nitrogen
• Kelli Lucarino: Road salt application and its impact on water quality in the Delaware River watershed (student co-author on a related paper, Retention of sodium in a watershed due to the application of winter deicing salt, Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Stochastic Hydraulics and 5th International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research, Quebec, Canada)
• Kelli Lucarino: The transport and fate of lead and arsenic at the Ringwood Mines/Landfield Superfund site in New Jersey
• Matthew Nelson: Effect of structural water loss from clay minerals on estimation of soil organic content by loss on ignition method
• Carey Sliko: Phosphate stress in two strains of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum determined by single-cell alkaline phosphatase assay (ELF 97)
• Timothy Swavely: Relationships among infiltration rate, sediment grain size, and beach face slope on the coastline of New Jersey
• Heather Warren: The role of sediment size in the complex process of beach face development -- NJ coastline
• Susan Zabrocky: Does the ability to produce alkaline phosphatase affect the growth rates of Prorocentrum minimum under various phosphorus conditions?

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2005-2006

• Amber Andyshak: The influence of essential minerals on molting and survival of Blue Crab megalopae
• Kevin Becker: Impact of the Folcroft Landfill Superfund Site on the water quality of the lower Darby Creek near the Philadelphia International Airport
• Theresa Contor, Nicole Glen, Alison Golinski, Amanda Kagel, Elise Proctor, Carey Sliko, Brian Tate, Alyssa Tomlinson, and Susan Zabrocky: Comparison of plankton composition, phytoplankton growth, and zooplankton grazing at a coastal ocean versus a shallow backbay site in New Jersey
• Andy French: Factors influencing the abundance and distribution of American Eel larvae in the Manasquan River
• Alison Golinski: Sexual selection in the Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau
• Daniel Hewins: An analysis of impervious surfaces in the Delaware River Basin
• Kenneth Kacperowski: Does grain size determine beach face slope: A study of 15 New Jersey beaches
• Margaux Keller: Predatory selection of borehole location in the bivalve Anadara spp
• Harmony Liff: Crab induced shell defenses in ribbed mussels and muddog snails
• Jill Loveland: A day in the life of a marine mammal trainer: Internship at Atlantis Marine World
• Michelle Patullo: Factors influencing the movements of American Eel larvae
• Carey Sliko and Alison Golinski: The use of a single-cell alkaline phosphatase assay (ELF 97) to determine phosphorus limitation in mixotropic dinoflagellates
• Melissa Tresselt: Affect of salinity and temperature on the growth and development of the American Eel, Anguilla rostrata
• Melissa Tresselt: Presence of Xenobalanus globicipitis on the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, off the New Jersey coast
• Steven Vargo: Groundwater withdrawals in Cape May County and the resultant saltwater intrusion

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2004-2005

• Amber Andyshak, Grace Colletti, Claire O'Connell, Michelle Patullo, Melissa Tresselt, and Ranjit Suresh: Algal and invertebrate gradients across the rocky intertidal of Big Pine Key, Florida
• Justine Diana: Shell regeneration in mud snails, Ilyanassa obsoleta, subjected to a broader water temperature spectrum
• Bethany Eden: Results from COMB: Growth and development of blue crab larvae and culturing food chain organisms
• Daniel Latini: Hurricane Ivan induced flooding near the Delaware River at Trenton, NJ on September 19, 2004
• Harmony Liff: Effects of commercial fishing pressure on blue crab population structure
• Jill Loveland: Response to varying environmental factors by the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana
• Michelle Patullo: Factors affecting the feeding and growth of the larval American eel, Anguilla rostrata
• Danielle Roscoe: Shell regeneration rates in the mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta, under experimental hyposaline and increasing temperature regimes
• Candida St. John: Analysis of the petroleum contamination of soil and groundwater at a southern New Jersey site
• Jeffrey Zola: Recruitment to a coral reef within Castle Harbor, Bermuda, 2005

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2003-2004

• Kathryn Bateman: An evaluation of the impact of artificial shorelines on the habitat use and mortality of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus on the New Jersey coast
• Mia Castellucci: Where does the rain go? Analyses of river discharge and precipitation at three sites in New Jersey
• Mia Castellucci: Analysis of the commercial pilot bioremediation study of a Shell station in New Jersey
• Jessica Messersmith: A rapid method for detection of invasive Hematodinium sp. infections in Callinectes sapidus and Carcinus maenas using PCR
• Jason Morson: Experimental shell regeneration in aquairum-bound northern moonsnails, Euspira heros

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2002-2003

• William Bogetti: Identifying and delineating critical wildlife habitat in the Pinelands for Pine Barrens Tree Frogs (Hyla andersonii)
• Jonathan Cooper: The effect of chlorine, pH and temperature on the coliform bacteria counts in public and private pools and its health indication
• Sarah Faugno: Chemical and sedimentological analysis of Centennial Lake: An analysis for the use of dredging to help restore the lake ecosystem
• Frank Petrino: Determination of the origin of Archean stromatolite-like structures in the Cherry Creek Group near Dillon, Montana
• Gregory Ricci: Mapping the environmental sensitive locations in Watershed Management Areas 19 and 20 of Burlington County
• Steven Snopkowski: Interactions between invasive and native species: Prey selectivity and competitive ability of Carcinus maenas and Callinectes sapidus
• Melanie Spence: Uprighting abilities of horseshoe crabs on different substrates
• Melanie Spence: Color preferences for blue and gold macaws

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2001-2002

• Jill Brown: Size and site selectivity of parasitism by Cliona lampa on New Jersey gastropods
• Christine Buccheri: The effects of salinity, light intensity, temperature, and nutrients on the growth and chlorophyll content of Ulva lactuca
• Russell Burke: Influence of sediment grain size and salinity on the burrowing rate of juvenile hard lam, Mercenaria mercenaria
• Robert Mack: Predator-prey interactions between the moonsnail (Neverita duplicata) and three species of bivalves (Andara notabilis, Chione elevata, and Dinocardium robustum)
• Frank Petrino: Second year (2001) post-treatment evaluation for controlling Phragmites in the east pool at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Brigantine, NJ
• Serena Turner: Carrion selectivity of the mud dog whelk Ilyanassa obsoleta
• Matthew Wojtko: Comparisons of selected channel cores from offshore Monmouth County, New Jersey

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 2000-2001

• Karen Antozzeski: Centenial Lake restoration, watershed protection, and initial public outreach program, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
• Kimberly Bishop: Assessment of offshore sediments in AREA C from the New Jersey continental shelf for potential use in beach replenishment
• Brian Kennedy: Analysis of gasoline transport in a sandy aquifer
• Jennifer O'Reilly: Frequency, size selectivity, and repair rates of sublethal damage of Littorina obtusata
• Julie Pasternak: Grain size variation across natural and filled beaches
• Brett Williams: Comparative mobility of juvenile mussels: Mytilus edulis versus Geukensia demissa

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 1999-2000

• Robert Baron: Effect of burrowing in different substrates on shell accretion by and abrasion of Mercenaria mercenaria
• Russell Burke: Centennial Lake Watershed Project: Water quality monitoring update
• Heidi Burns: Land use history of Colonial Lake watershed and potential nonpoint source and point source implications
• Tricia Cranmer: Repair rates of surgically damaged Geukensia demissa and Mytilus edulis
• Jennifer Durkin: Assessment of predator-prey distributions across a Zostera marina habitat edge
• Jennifer Fager: Water chemistry of Colonial Lake, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
• Kimberly Kessler: The uptake of trace metals by roots, stems, and leaves of Spartina alterniflora in polluted versus cleaner sediments
• Karin Licsko: Removal of the invasive exotic, Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife): Impact on plant diversity in the constructed wetland at the Hamilton/Trenton tidal freshwater marsh
• Danielle McBride: Comparisons of trace metal accumulations of seven different algae within the Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, and Phaeophyta
• Lori Roth: Various trace metal concentrations in the shells of the freshwater mussel, Anodonta sp., at different ontogenetic stages
• Jennifer Sliko: Analysis of different parameters of Centennial Lake during the summer of 1998

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 1998-1999

• Russell Burke: Centennial Lake water quality monitoring
• Jennifer Hoag: Predator-prey interactions between A. forbesi, E. heros, and M. mercenaria
• Danielle Lake: The effects of development on the beach and dune width at Brant Beach, NJ
• Shauna Lee: Land use, potential pollutant sources, and stormwater quality of a portion of the Centennial Lake watershed, Rider University Campus, Lawrenceville, NJ
• Gretchen Mattes: The effects of oxygen concentration on byssal thread production by Mytilus edilus, the blue musssel, and Geukensia demissa, the ribbed mussel
• Frances Pustizzi: Copper, zinc, and chromium concentrations in the soft tissues of the mussels Modiolus modiolus and Mytilus edulis at different ontogenetic stages
• Frances Pustizzi: Zinc and copper concentrations in selected organs of the mussels Modiolus modiolus and Mytilus edulis at different ontogenetic stages
• Alanna Sanders: Twenty-four hour tidal fluctuations of Centennial Lake
• Nicole Viti: Sediment transport in a flume
• Jamie White: Comparison of filled and non-filled beaches after a beach replenishment project

Senior Theses and Student Independent Research: 1997-1998

• Matthew Distlehurst: Excess nitrate contamination in the waterways of golf courses
• Brad Dooley: The selectivity in predation of zooplankton of the Chesapeake Bay by Chrysaora quinquecirrha
• James Gordon: Selectivity of Naticids preying upon Chione cancellata from North Carolina to Florida
• Matthew Greenberg: A saline-water intrusion experiment in heterogeneous aquifers
• Deanne Greeny: Hydrodynamic stability of disarticulated clam valves from the South Carolina coast
• Jennifer Hoag and Jamie White: Tidal characteristics of Apalachicola Bay, Florida
• Kelly McAloon: The effects of bacterial mat entrainment on the chemical micro-stratigraphy of a Sea Isle City tidepool
• Michelle Nannen: Leaching of copper, chromium, and arsenic in saline water and underlying sediments from chromated copper-arsenate-treated wood
• Pamela Neeb: Burrowing rates and sediment grain size preference of the mud dog whelk Ilyanassa obsoleta
• Joanne Stott: The heavy metal uptake of the Honerstown glauconites
• Megan Tutera: Biodeposition by the mussel Geukensia demissa in a salt marsh
• Jamie White and Jennifer Hoag: Will the high tide be higher in the future in NJ because of the global sea level rise?
• Jaime Wuelfing: A comparison of filled and nonfilled beaches after a beach replenishment project