Ecology of Nematode-suppressive Soils in Midwest Soybean-cropping Systems, 1/1/09 start date. I will collaborate with Dr. Senyu Chen (University of Minnesota) on this project funded by the USDA-NRICGP Arthropod and Nematode Biology and Management (A) Organismal and Population Biology program.  We plan to quantify the effects of crop rotation  and tillage on soil suppressiveness to Heterodera glycines. In the proposed study , I am responsible for soil community composition and food web structure of predaceous, fungivorous and bacterivorous nematodes and mcirobes associated with associated with biocontrol agents. 

 

Winter pasture and bedded pack management for Vermont dairy farms, 8/16/08-present. I will collaborate with Lini Wollenberg, Jennifer Colby, Rachel Gilker (UVM Center of Sustainable Agriculture, Vermont Pasture Network), and Tom Gilbert (Highfields Institute) on this project funded by the URDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Innovation Grants. We plan to develop economically optimal winter grazing and bedded pack management for enhanced pasture land quality and reduced energy and feed costs. Our group is responsible for enumerating whole communities of soil nematodes to genus to compute a maturity index, quantify soil aggregate structure and organic carbon.

 

Integrated Land-use, Transportation and Environmental Modeling: Complex Systems Approaches and Advanced Policy Applications, 1/08-present. I collaborate with Dr. Sarah Taylor Lovell (University of Vermont) on this project funded by the UVM University Transportation Center. Our role in this larger signature project is to quantify impacts of road particulate matter (e.g. road salt, gravel, dust, litter) on the soils and vegetative communities of forests immediately surrounding roadways, based on road type, traffic volume and topography.

 

Training for Agricultural Service Providers in the Diagnosis, Visual Assessment, and Management of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes,  5/1/07 - present. I collaborate with Drs. George Abawi and Beth Gugino (Cornell University) and James LaMondia (University of Connecticut) on this project funded by Northeastern Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education-Professional Development. We will be hosting 13 workshops over the next 3 years: Albany, NY (Sept 19, 2007); Windsor, CT (Oct 3, 2007); Hershey, PA (Jan 28, 2008); Batavia, NY (March 10, 2008); Fairlee, VT (March 20, 2008); Newport, RI (Oct 10, 2008); Westhampton, NJ (Oct. 21, 2008); Allentown, PA (Nov. 18). We plan to hold 2-3 more workshops in spring 2009 with one being in Maine.

Modeling Spatial-Temporal Impacts of Soil Aggregation on Total and Net Nitrogen Mineralization by Bacterivorous Nematodes with Contrasting Life Strategies, 9/05-present. This project is led by Thomas Weicht and funded by the USDA-NRICGP 25.0 Soil Processes Program. In the proposed study, associations between soil aggregates properties, and species-specific life-history traits and energetics of bacterivorous nematodes will be quantified.

Species inventory of nematodes in tropical forests of Costa Rica, 1/05-present. I collaborate with Drs. Thomas Powers (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Robin Giblin-Davis (University of Florida, Ft Lauderdale), S. Patricia Stock (University of Arizona, Tucson), Alejandro Esquivel (Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica), Lorena Uribe and Marielos Mora (University of Costa Rica, San Jose) on this project funded by the National Science Foundation Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories.

Climatic Change in Arid Lands: Effects on Soil Biota and Ecosystem Processes, 5/05-4/09. I collaborate with Drs. Cheryl Kuske (Los Alamos National Laboratories, NM) and Jayne Belnap (USGS, Moab, UT) on this project funded by the Department of Energy - Program for Ecosystems Research.  Current weather at our field site in Utah. 2006 PI Meeting Report, 2007 PI Meeting Report.  University of Vermont, The View (9/18/08)

Impact of Coleopteran-active Bt corn on non-target soil micro-faunal communities, 9/02-9/07. I collaborated with Dr. Galen Dively (University of Maryland) and Jeffrey Buyer (USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland) on this project funded by the USDA Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program. A large field experiment was conducted at the University of Maryland Research and Education Center (Beltsville, MY). The overall objective of this study was to quantify the effects of the coleopteran-active Bt corn on decomposition processes and non-target coleopterans, mites, collembolans and nematodes that inhabit the soil and/or litter.

Validation of nematode life history-based indices using biomarkers of DNA damage, 10/04-7/06. Funded by the National Science Foundation - International Opportunities for Science and Engineering - Western Europe Program.  I collaborated with Dr. Stephen Sturzenbaum (Kings College, London, UK).

CURRENT AND RECENT PROJECTS