Intensive herbivory by white-tailed deer has plagued Valley Forge National Historical Park’s forests since the early 1980s. A deer management plan was enacted to reduce the size of the herd by at least 1000 deer over the next two years. The goal of my research was to model the impacts of changing levels of deer herbivory on the forests. I developed a forest model using data from a large deer exclosure erected in the park in the late 1980s. I am using the model to simulate how changes in herbivory and disturbance may affect forest composition over the next 120 years. My results suggest that changes in herbivory may be a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for restoring forests to their historical state. The finished model will serve as a tool for the park’s resource managers to use in developing long-term restoration plans.

People Meghan Blumstein Researcher Andrea Lloyd Sponsor & Professor of Biology

Related Links National Forest Service Tree Index National Park Service Organic Act National Park Service White-tailed Deer Management Plan USDA Plants Database

Downloads Symposium Presentation Slides Thesis Paper (Defense Draft)

Middlebury College has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2016. As the largest private landowner in Addison County, there is tremendous potential for land management practices to contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality. As part of an effort to understand how carbon sequestration varies among the different forest types on College-owned lands, we monitored carbon uptake in the Battell Research Forest, an old-growth hemlock forest in East Middleury, VT. As expected for an old-growth forest, the Battell Research Forest contains substantial pools of carbon in live and dead biomass. The size of the woody debris pool was substantially larger at the Battell Research Forest than in secondary forests at Breadloaf. We conclude our presentation with a proposal for how to implement an ongoing carbon monitoring protocol on College-owned forest lands.

People Sama Winder Meghan Blumstein Elizabeth Davis Max Odland Lauren Sanchez Oliver Weisser Researchers Andrea Lloyd Sponsor & Professor of Biology

Related Links Multi-Cohort Management Project Carbon Neutrality at Middlebury College United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 2011. Kyoto Protocol. MiddLab: Changes in the leaf area index (LAI) due to ice storm damage at Harvard Forest

Downloads Symposium Presentation Slides Carbon Monitoring Proposal

The interface between science and art is the core of this residency. Innovative choreographer and current Guggenheim Fellow Tamar Rogoff, and actor/dancer Gregg Mozgala share their findings from two years of daily work expanding the limitations and possibilities of cerebral palsy through dance. Three days of free classes and discussions culminate in the public, ticketed performance of Diagnosis of a Faun on October 29 and 30.

Video top right: CBS Sunday Morning story, original broadcast December 2009

Video bottom right: Audience members leaving the Friday night, October 29th performance were asked “If you could describe Diagnosis of a Faun in one word, what would it be?”  Responses were as varied as they were enlightening.

People Tamar Rogoff Andrea Olsen

Related Links Tamar Rogoff Performance Projects Middlebury Residency Cerebal Palsy VSA ABC Good Morning America story on Gregg and Tamar Martha Graham School Seven Days blurt blog

Downloads Gregg Mozgala New York Times interview

It is important to understand how crops will respond to climate change. Temperature, water availability, and insect predation influence crop yield and may also affect crop nutrients. Camelina sativa (camelina), an oilseed crop high in omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), grows best in the cold climates of Canada and northwestern US. In this study, camelina seeds and leaf tissue were grown at different temperatures and analyzed for FAs; glucosinolate levels were also studied in leaf tissues. This study’s findings suggest that higher temperatures significantly reduce omega-3 FAs and glucosinates in camelina.

People Anne Runkel Researcher Helen Young Professor of Biology and Advisor Dr. David Sands and Dr. Alice Pilgeram Montana State University Advisors

Related Links Undergraduate Research Symposium Priscilla (Kay) Beck ’52 Botany Enrichment Fund

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

Terrestrial ecosystems play an integral role in the global carbon balance, potentially functioning as carbon sinks that fluctuate through time and seasonal changes. The net ecosystem exchange of these ecosystems has been heavily studied at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurements Site (HFEMS) and has shown an increase in carbon sequestration over the past two decades. My study was conducted to analyze various impacts of the ice storm tat struck New England in December 2008 with respect to the forest carbon flux.

People Lauren Sanchez Researcher Steve Trombulak Professor of Environmental and Biosphere Studies Andrea Lloyd Professor of Biology

Related Links Harvard Forest Environmental Measurements Site (MFEMS) Harvard Forest on Google Maps New England Ice Storm of 2008 on Wikipedia Undergraduate Research

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

This paper reports the results of a survey designed to examine trends in zoo and aquarium field trip attendance, as well as the perceptions and practices of zoo and aquarium educators. The results suggest that field trip attendance is down at most zoos and aquariums over the last five years, but increased during 2009 over 2008 at about half of the institutions reporting data. The results obtained here, combined with those reported in the published literature, suggest that zoo and aquarium educators must continue to provide classroom teachers with professional development opportunities if field trips are to remain an educationally-relevant part of the K-12 experience.

People Nicholas J. Meiers Researcher

Number and percent of zoo and aquarium educators mentioning a particular theme for their visit (n=37).

Related Links Association of Zoos and Aquariums International Zoo Educator’s Association

Downloads Trends and Perceptions in Zoo and Aquarium Field Trips: A Survey-Based Study Designing Effective Field Trips at Zoos and Aquariums – A Literature Review

According to Howard Zehr (2002), “Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.” We propose various methods of incorporating restorative practices into the Middlebury College judicial system.

People Ben Manger ’11, Philosophy Dana Callahan ’13, Biology Matthew George ’12.5, Biology Clayton Paschke ’13, Sociology Researchers Jon Kidde Sponsor, Sociology & Anthropology

Related Links Judicial Boards at Middlebury Diversity at Middlebury

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

For his thesis research, Tyler Prince (’11) is continuing our research with prolactin to examine the effects of prolonged exposure to prolactin upon adult neurogenesis. This summer, he conducted histological staining for newly proliferated cells in the hippocampus (See pictures).

The hippocampus is an area of the brain that plays a critical role in the processing of spatial and temporal memories and is involved in working memory more generally. Therefore, the growth of new nerve cells is of particular interest in this brain region, and our research has implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and chronic depression.

People Tyler Prince Researcher Mark Spritzer Assistant Professor of Biology

Related Links Biology Labs Biology Research

Downloads Full Project Description [DOC] Spritzer et al Figure 2 Evidence that an acute low dose of the hormone prolactin caused an increase in cell proliferation within the hippocampus region of the brain

A high mortality of seeds and seedlings has been documented in areas of high conspecific adult density as a result of increased predation and disease. Although this phenomenon has received significant attention in the scientific literature, the long-term evolutionary and ecological impact of density-dependent seedling mortality remains poorly understood. The purpose of the present study is to determine the population-level impact of density-dependent seedling mortality on heavily exploited big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).

People Chris Free Researcher Matt Landis Faculty Sponsor

Related Links Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna Undergraduate Research Office Senior Work Fund

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

Tim Parsons, the College’s Horticulturalist developed an interactive map of all the trees on campus. In Tim’s Urban Forest class, his students took the tree population and ran it through modeling software called iTree to look at carbon sequestration, pollution abatement, etc. Students in other classes have used the map for tree identification. For example, a student recently contacted Tim because she was looking for Cherry trees to evaluate for a plant community ecology class.

People Tim Parsons College Horticulturalist and Project Lead Bill Hegman GIS Specialist Katie Clagett and Chris Rodgers LIS GIS Interns

Related Links BIOL 1003: Trees in the Urban Forest Campus Tree Map Updated Campus Tree Map FAQs Case study in Teaching with Technology

Downloads Google Earth Campus Tree Map Heritage Elm Collection Memorial and Class Trees