The University of Toledo

Dissertations & Theses

MS Theses & PhD Dissertations Completed in the Environmental Sciences Department Since 2000 AD

2013

BACA, KIRA (MS Geology, 2013) Thesis: "Environmental Impacts on the Development and Dune Activity of Oxbow Lake along the Southwest Coast of Lake Michigan at Saugatuck, Michigan USA" [advisor: Timothy Fisher] BLOCKLAND, JOSEPH (MS Geology, 2013) Thesis: "The Surficial Geology of Fulton County, Ohio: Insight into the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Glaciated Landscape of the Huron-Erie Lake Plain, Fulton County, Ohio, USA" [advisor: Timothy Fisher] BRYAN, NICHOLAS (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis:  "Characteristics of the unionid community and habitat in a power plant thermal plume in western Lake Erie" [advisor: Daryl Moorhead] CHAFFIN, JUSTIN (PhD Biology, 2013) Thesis: "Effects of Low Bioavailable Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Cyanobacteria Dynamics in Eutrophic Lake Erie" [advisor: Thomas Bridgeman] HAPONSKI, AMANDA (PhD Biology, 2013) Thesis: "Evolutionary, biogeographic, and population genetic patterns of walleye and other Sander. Relationships across continents, corridors, and spawning sites" [adviser: Carol Stepien] KUHANECK, RACHEL (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis: "Vegetation or riprapped shorelines: implications for invertebrate communities and restoration of nearshore areas" [advisors: T. Bridgeman & C. Mayer]  LIGHTLE, NICOLE (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis: "Effects of Air vs. Air+Soil Heating During a Simulated Heat Wave on White Oak" [advisor: Scott Heckathorn] MANNING, NATHAN (PhD Biology, 2013) Thesis:  "Modeling the Effects of Turbidity on Age-0 Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) in the Western Basin of Lake Erie" [advisor: Jonathan Bossenbroek] PIERCE, LINDSAY (PhD Biology 2013) Thesis: "The Evolution and Detection of the Fish Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia virus (VHSv)" [adviser: Carol Stepien] ROSS, JASON (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis: "A Coastal Monitoring Program for a Large Lake Fish Community: the first step in capturing long-term trends and addressing evolving questions" [advisor: Christine Mayer] SELDEN, JUSTIN (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis: "The Effect of Dredging on Fish Communities in Agricultural Streams in Crawford, Sandusky and Seneca Counties of Ohio" [adviser: Johan Gottgens] SIEMER, KYLE (MS Geology, 2013) Thesis: "You've got that sinking feeling: Measuring subsidence above abandoned underground mines in Ohio, USA" [adviser: Richard Becker] SIMMERS LEADY, BRENDA (PhD Biology, 2013) Thesis: "Historic Patterns of Deposition and Biomagnification of Mercury in Selected Wetland Systems" [adviser: Johan Gottgens] SULLIVAN, TIMOTHY (MS Biology, 2013) Thesis: "A Fine-scale Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Population Genetic Patterns in the Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) [advisor: Carol Stepien] TRAUB, JANET (MS Geology, 2013) Thesis: "Patterns in the Variation of CDOM Spectral Slopes in the Western Lake Erie Basis" [advisor: Richard Becker] ZMIJEWSKI, KIRK (MS Geology, 2013) Thesis: "Connecting the dots: Using remote sensing to identify Glossy and Common Buckthorn (Frangula alnus and Rhamnus cathartica) in the Oak Openings Region of NW Ohio" [adviser: Richard Becker]

2012

CRAIL, TODD (PhD Biology, 2012) Thesis: "The Ecological Niche of Darters (Pisces:Percidae) Across Multiple Scales in the Ohio River Basin" [advisors: Jon Bossenbroek & Johan Gottgens] GRABARKIEWICZ, JEFFREY (MS Biology, 2012) Thesis: "Habitat Use and Community Structure of Unionid Mussels in Three Lake Erie Tributaries" [adviser: Johan Gottgens] JACKSON-HARRIS, STACY (MS Biology, 2012) Thesis: "Contact and Consumption Advisories on Ten Mile Creek/Ottawa River (Ohio): Rationale, Scientific Justification and Continued Need" [advisor: Johan Gottgens] MAY, BRANDEN (MS Biology, 2012) Thesis: "Optimal Wetland Design for the Removal of Pathogens from Discharges into Lake Erie: Literature Synthesis and Evaluation of the Current Proposed Wetland at Maumee Bay State Park" [advisor: Johan Gottgens] PANEK, SARAH (MS Biology, 2012) Thesis: "The Ecology of the Nuisance Cyanobacterium, Lyngbya wollei,in the Western Basin of Lake Erie" [advisor: Thomas Bridgeman] TESSLER, NATE R. (MS Biology, 2012) Thesis: "Agricultural Streams as Spawning and Nursery Habitat for Northern Pike (Esox lucius) in the Northern Branch of the Portage River Drainage of Northwestern Ohio" [adviser: Johan Gottgens]

2011

ANDERSON, BRAD (MS Geology, 2011) Thesis: "Estimating the duration of ancestral Lake Erie using varve analysis at and above the Warren Stage in Northwest Ohio" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] ARMENIO, PATRICIA (MS Ecology, 2011) Thesis: "Nutrient contributions from Dreissena spp. to Lyngbya wollei and Cladophora" [adviser: C.M. Mayer] BANASZAK, JOEL (MS Geology, 2011) Thesis: "Hydrostratigraphic framework for the surficial aquifer in the Indian River Bay, Delaware, watershed" [adviser: D. Krantz] CHATTERJEE, KANISTHA (MS Ecology, 2011) Thesis: "A novel, periodic sampling method to assess airborne bacteria populations" [adviser: W.V. Sigler] FANG, MIN (MS Geology, 2011) Thesis: "Removal of natural synthetic steroid hormones through constructed wetland microcosm" [adviser: A. L. Spongberg] GORR, MATTHEW (MS Ecology, 2011) Thesis: "Arsenic remediation using constructed treatment wetlands" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] LINDELOF, KARA (MS Ecology, 2011) Thesis: "Contribution of biosolids-derived bioaerosols to the airborne microbial population" [adviser: W.V. Sigler] SEPULVEDA VILLET, OSVALDO J (Ph.D Biology, 2011) Thesis: "Population genetic structure and biogeographic patterns in the yellow perch Perca flavescens: An analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers" [advisor: Carol Stepien]

2010

BARNSWELL, KRISTOPHER (PhD Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Determining preliminary components for a landfill evapotranspiration cover" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] BOBAK, DEANNA (MS Geology, 2010) Thesis: "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon characterization in Otter Creek, Northwest Ohio" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] BUCHANAN, CATHERINE (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Method to evaluate plants and soils to optimize conditions for phytoremediation of copper" [adviser: J.F. Gottgens] ELK, MICHAEL (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "A survey of plant root extracellular enzyme activity in native and exotic plants of Oak Openings" [adviser: M.Weintraub] FRIEDRICH, RUSSELL (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "The short-term impacts of burning and mowing on prairie ant communities of the Oak Openings Region" [adviser: S. Philpott] GONTHIER, DAVID (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Influence of soil quality on coffee plant quality and a complex tropical insect food web" [adviser: S. Philpott] HANES, BARBARA (MS Geology, 2010) Thesis: "Paleo-storminess in the Southern Lake Michigan Basin, as recorded by eolian sand downwind of dunes" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] HERMAN, MARIA (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "The population and behavioral response of woodpeckers to the emerald ash borer invasion" [adviser: J. Bossenbroek] KUREK, DANIELLE (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Effects of prescribe burning on soil physical, biological, and chemical properties of the Oak Openings Region of Northwest Ohio" [adviser: M. Weintraub] ROFKAR, JORDAN (PhD Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "An ecologically engineered system for remediation of arsenic-contaminated water: selecting plant species for Northwest Ohio" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] STRUFFOLINO, PAMELA (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Identifying sources of Escherichia coli to Maumee Bay, Oregon Ohio" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] WU, CHENXI (MS Ecology, 2010) Thesis: "Indicative bacteria in stored biosolids and wastewater associated pharmaceuticals in the environment" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg]

2009

BROWN, JOSHUA (PhD Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Genetic portraits of introduced gobies and mussels: population variation delineates invasion pathways" [adviser: C.A. Stepien] CAMPBELL, MELINDA (MS Geology, 2009) Thesis: "The evolution and chronology of the Lake Warren shoreline in the Oak Openings region of Ohio, USA" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] CASTANEDA, MARIO (MS Geology, 2009) Thesis: "The origin and dynamics of coastal processes at Sand Point, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, USA" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] CHAFFIN, JUSTIN (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Physiological ecology of Microcystis blooms in turbid waters of Western Lake Erie" [advisor: T.B. Bridgeman] CROSKEY, AUDRA (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Evaluating the costs of emerald ash borer invasion in Ohio" [adviser: J.M. Bossenbroek] DUNCAN, ALEXANDER (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Evaluation of Azolla caroliniana to phytofiltrate arsenic from contaminated water" [adviser: J.F. Gottgens] ESSEILI, MALAK (PhD Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Characterization of fecal pollution sources associated with urban runoff and land applied biosolids" [adviser: W.V. Sigler] FISHER, JAMES (MS Geology, 2009) Thesis: "Evaluating the effectiveness of an evapotranspirative cover using an integrated hydrologic model" [adviser: J.Martin-Hayden] FRIEDHOFF, MICHAEL (MS Geology, 2009) Thesis: "Geophysical mapping of karst features at Sheridan Cave, Wyandot County, Ohio" [adviser: D.J. Stierman] HAMMER, ERIN (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Effects of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) on soil nutrient dynamics and microbial community function and structure" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] KASSEM, ISSMAT (PhD Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Detection and characterization of staphylococcal pathogens in the environment: a community approach" [adviser: W.V. Sigler] LU, NAN (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Regional climate change and vegetation-water relations in Inner Mongolia lessons learned within the NASA project Effects of land use change on the energy and water balance of the semi-arid region of Inner Mongolia, China"[adviser: J. Chen] NEILSON, MATTHEW (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments of marinas, Western Basin Lake Erie, U.S.A." [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] NEILSON, MATTHEW (PhD Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Evolution systematic, and phylogeography of Ponto-Caspian gobies (Benthophilinae: Gobiidae: Teleostei) [adviser: C.A. Stepien] PISARCZYK, ELIZABETH (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "The effect of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) density on soil nutrient availability and microbial enzyme activity in Northwest Ohio: a gradient analysis" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] SCHAEFER, JESSICA (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "The effects of inter-annual climate variability on butterfly communities in a heterogeneous landscape of the Oak Openings Region, Northwest Ohio" [adviser: J. Chen] XU, JIANYE (MS Ecology, 2009) Thesis: "Interannual dynamics of soil respiration in managed oak forests in Missouri Ozarks" [adviser: J. Chen]

2008

GALLANT, PATRICIA (MS Geology, 2008) Thesis: "Geophysical signatures of Quaternary sediments in Lucas County, Ohio" [adviser: D.J. Stierman] NORTON, ABBY (MS Geology, 2008) Thesis: "Post-glacial stratigraphy and sand resources in the Western Basin of Lake Erie" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] OYEWUMI, OLUYINKA (MS Geology, 2008) Thesis: "Sorption characteristics of soils for heavy metals uptake within some landfill sites of Northwest Ohio" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] TRIPATHEE, RAJAN (MS Ecology, 2008) Thesis: "Effect of on the response of C and N relations to a heat wave in sunflower corn" [adviser: S.A. Heckathorn] WANG, DAN (PhD Ecology, 2008) Thesis: "Effects of and Nitrogen on plant response to heat stress" [adviser: S.A. Heckathorn] WELLINGTON, COLLEEN (MS Ecology, 2008) Thesis: "Effects of turbidity and prey density on the foraging success of age-0 yellow perch (Perca flavescens)" [adviser: J.M. Bossenbroek and C.M. Mayer] WITTER, JASON (MS Geology, 2008) Thesis: "A two part thesis: Diurnal soil temperature effects within the GLOBE program dataset’ and Pharmaceutical compounds in the wastewater process stream in Northwest Ohio" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg]

2007

ABOU ALAIWI, WISSAM (PhD Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "Advances in biotechnology for the enhancement of medicinal plants pharmacology" [adviser: S. Goldman] AUSTIN, BRITTANY (MS Geology, 2007) Thesis: "Holocene paleoecology and climate change in Silver and Stony Lakes, Oceana County, Michigan, U.S.A." [adviser: T.G. Fisher] BODAMER, BETSY (MS Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "The effects of wetland streams on the secondary dispersal of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in connected lake-stream systems" [adviser: J.M. Bossenbroek] BRANDEBERRY, JESSICA (MS Geology, 2007) Thesis: "A passive seismic investigation of the crustal structure under Ohio" [adviser: D.J. Stierman] CRAIL, TODD (MS Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "Testing the impact of plant colonization on fish communities in agricultural ditches of the Ottawa River, Northwest Ohio" [adviser: J.F. Gottgens] HAPONSKI, AMANDA (MS Ecology 2007) Thesis: "Molecular, morphological, and biogeographic resolution of cryptic taxa in the Greenside Darter Etheostoma blennioides complex" [adviser: C.A. Stepien] HENDERSON, RACHEL (MS Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "Partitioning soil efflux through vertical profiles of manipulated forests in MOFEP" [adviser: J. Chen] MAINALI, KUMAR (MS Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "Impact of heat wave on plant-soil links in tall-grass prairie" [adviser: S.A. Heckathorn] STEARNS, ANNE (MS Ecology, 2007) Thesis: "The management status of southwestern coastal Lake Erie marshes: challenges and opportunities to maximize natural wetland functions" [adviser: J.A. Gottgens]

2006

ARGO, DAVID (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Habitat use by two native turtle species in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] CHEN, MEI (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Protein profile changes of Arabidopsis leaves in response to boron stress" [adviser: S.A. Heckathorn] ELKINGTON, BRIAN (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "The effects of turbidity quality and quantity on zooplankton consumption by young of year yellow perch (Perca flavescens)" [adviser: C.M. Mayer] LACROIX, JACOB (PhD Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Interactions between fire and landscape structure: applications of the FARSITE model" [adviser: J. Chen] LAWHORN, NICOLE (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Impact of Coleoptran-active Bt corn on extracellular enzyme activities and decomposition processes of non-target microbial communities in soil and litter" [adviser: D. Neher] LI, QINGLIN (PhD Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Carbon storage and fluxes in a managed oak forest landscape" [adviser: J. Chen] LOOPE, HENRY (MS Geology, 2006) Thesis: "Deglacial chronology and glacial stratigraphy of the western Thunder Bay lowland, northwest Ontario, Canada" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] MCKENNA, KERRY (PhD Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Comparing carbon dynamics of pelagic food webs in two Antarctic lakes: a practical application of ecological network analysis to an ecological network" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] MEINHART, JAMES (MS Geology, 2006) Thesis: "Building stones of Toledo, Ohio: a survey of dimension stone use in significant structures including history and walking tours of the downtown area and the Old West End" [adviser: M.J. Camp] MIERZWIAK, SARA (MS Geology, 2006) Thesis: "Enhanced in situ bioremediation of a trichloroethylene groundwater plume using a dilute vegetable oil emulsion" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] MURBI, HARRISON (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Use of geospatial technology to map Great Lakes invasive species" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] SCARBRO, JONA (MS Ecology, 2006) Thesis: "Microbial transport through the vadose zone of a biosolid amended cropland: implications for land application of Class B biosolids and surface water quality" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer]

2005

ARCEO, AMANDA (MS Ecology, 2005) Thesis: "The impact of a small dam on fish community composition and structure in the Ottawa River, Ohio" [adviser: J.F. Gottgens] BARNSWELL, KRIS (MS Ecology, 2005) Thesis: "Survey of naturally developing vegetation on an inactive landfill in northwest Ohio" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] CONCILIO, AMY (MS Ecology, 2005) Thesis: "Interannual variability in soil respiration and response to experimental burning and thinning in an old growth mixed-conifer forest" [adviser: J. Chen] HERMAN, JOHN (MS Ecology, 2005) Thesis: "Herpetofaunal communities in agro-ecosystems: the effect of farm management style" [adviser: E.J. Tramer] LAHNERS, AMBER (MS Geology, 2005) Thesis: "Constraining the Nipissing transgression in the Central Lake Michigan Basin" [adviser: T.G. Fisher] MITCHELL, BRIAN (MS Geology, 2005) Thesis: "Identification and mapping of Greenland Gap (Upper Devonian) units on the eastern limb of Sideling Hill syncline, Hampshire, Hardy and Morgan Counties, West Virginia" [co-advisers: S.L. Dean and M.J. Camp] ROFKAR, JORDAN (MS Ecology, 2005) Thesis: "Arsenic accumulation by plant species selected for growth in northwest Ohio" [adviser: D.F. Dwyer] RYU, SOUNG-RYOUL (PhD Ecology, 2005) Dissertation: "Effect of disturbances on fuel loading, fire-mosaic, and interactions in managed forest lanscape" [adviser: J. Chen] SOKOLOSKI, PETER (MS Geology, 2005) Thesis: "Sedimentology and ichnology of Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician Skolithos Sandstone in the Deadwood Formation, northern Black Hills, South Dakota, and southeastern Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyoming" [co-advisers: J.A. Harrell and V.M. Brown] WEYER, KELLY (MS Geology, 2005) Thesis: "Eolian sand in lacustrine sediment: a proxy for water levels in the Lake Michigan Basin" [adviser: T.G. Fisher]

2004

BRESEE, MARY (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Photosynthesis characteristics of two climatically different landscapes" [adviser: J. Chen] DARBY, BRIAN (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Effects of biological soil crusts on nematode and protozoan communities in Colorado Plateau and Chihuahuan Desert soils" [adviser: D. Neher] HARTLEY, LINDY (MS Geology, 2004) Thesis: "Characterization of a heavy metal contaminated soil in Ohio for a phytoremediation project" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] LEMOINE, JAMES (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Soil respiration of three chronosequences in Chequamegon National Forest" [adviser: J. Chen] MCLAUGHLIN, MELANIE (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Effects of the Toledo Ohio Metroparks on stream quality and fish community structure" [adviser: E.J. Tramer] MULLER, BARRY (PhD Ecology, 2004) Dissertation: "The effect of long-term nonpoint-source agricultural runoff on assimilative capacity of freshwater marshes – a paleoecological approach" [adviser: J. Gottgens] MYSOREKAR, KAUSHIK (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Lidar remote sensing as a tool for ecosystem management of the Oak Opening region, Ohio" [adviser: J. Gottgens] RADEMACHER, JOHN (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: " Forest structure and carbon allocation within and between two northern-mixed hardwood edges" [co-advisers: J. Chen and K. Brosofske] SPERA, SHELLEY (MS Geology, 2004) Thesis: "Metal and pesticide preservation in the Winous Point Marshes, Sandusky, Ohio" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] TRAN, SUSAN (MS Ecology, 2004) Thesis: "Habitat selection by two native turtle species in a Lake Erie wetland" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] WALTERS, TIMOTHY (PhD Ecology, 2004) Dissertation: "The effects of controlled burning and mowing on vegetation in an Oak Openings sand prairie" [adviser: E. Tramer]

2003

COMES, MANDY (MS Ecology, 2003) Thesis: "Changing avian diversity in the Maumee Watershed" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] MA, SIYAN (PhD Ecology, 2003) Dissertation: "Interactions between microclimate, soil respiration, and disturbances in a forest ecosystem: Lessons from the Teakettle Experimental Forest" [adviser: J. Chen] VAGEN, JENNIFER (MS Geology, 2003) Thesis: "The influences of groundwater on bluff erosion at Bill Stanton Community Park, Lake County, OH" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg]

2002

AMONETTE, RACHEL (MS Ecology, 2002) Thesis: "Diversity, redundancy, and efficiency in microbial decompostion of Typha litter" [adviser: R.L. Sinsabaugh] CONRAD, FRANK (MS Geology, 2002) Thesis: "Crinoid deformation and regional structural geology in northeastern West Virginia, northwestern Virginia, western Maryland, and south central Rennsylvania" [adviser: S. L. Dean] FERGUSON, MARK (MS Geology, 2002) Thesis: "A paleo-stratigraphic correlation of the Greenland Gap Group (Upper Devonian) in Town Hill Syncline, Whip Cove Syncline, and Whip Cove Anticline, Hampshire and Hardy counties, northeastern West Virginia" [co-advisers: M.J. Camp and S.L. Dean] GALLO, MARCY (MS Ecology, 2002) Thesis: "Short-term effects of N amendment on oxidative enzyme activity and microbial community compositon in three northern hardwood forest," [adviser: R.L. Sinsabaugh] OROS, DAN (MS Geology, 2002) Thesis: "The occurrence and impact of fractures within glacial deposits near a hazardous waste landfill, Oregon, Ohio" [adviser: A.L. Spongberg] VELUCI, ROBERTA (MS Ecology, 2002) Thesis: "Microbiotic crusts: ecological roles in an Oak Savanna of northwest Ohio" [adviser: D.A. Neher]

2001

BUHOVECKEY, GREG (MS Geology, 2001) Thesis: "A wellhead protection plan for the Village of Montpelier, OH" [adviser: J.M. Martin-Hayden] ELLIOT, JEFFREY (MS Geology, 2001) Thesis: "Filtering and analysis of the gravity signature of the Kentland dome structure, Indiana" [adviser: Dr. D.J. Stierman] IANEV, ROMAN (MS Geology, 2001) Thesis: "Origin of Opal Cement in the Pennsylvania minnelusa sandstone, northern Blackhills, South Dakota" [co-advisers: J.A. Harrell and V.M. Brown) LAUBER, CHRISTIAN (MS Ecology, 2001) Thesis: "Characterization of diffuse sources of fecal pollution and pathogenic constituents of Escherichia coli populations in Maumee Bay State Park" [adviser: R.L. Sinsabaugh] SAIYA-CORK, KELLYANNE (MS Ecology, 2001) Thesis: "The effects of long term nitrogen deposition on soil microbial communities in a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) forest in northern Michigan" [adviser: R.L. Sinsabaugh] SCHMELING, JAMIE (MS Ecology, 2001) Thesis: "Sensitivity of carbon dynamics to changing light availability of benthic microbial mats in Lake Hoare, Antarctica" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] TAYLOR, GREGORY (MS Geology, 2001) Thesis: "Environmental impacts on soils within two northwest Ohio Cemeteries" [adviser: Dr. A.L. Spongberg]

2000

BENEDICT, MICHAEL (MS Ecology, 2000) Thesis: "Successional development of cambará (Vochysia divergens)-dominated forest stands in the Northern Pantanal of Brazil." [adviser: J.F. Gottgens] BURNETT, LAURA (MS Ecology, 2000) Thesis: "Dynamics of the deep chlorophyll maximum in lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica" [adviser: D.L. Moorhead] HATFIELD, NANCY (PhD Ecology, 2000) Dissertation: "Tracking diverse sources of recreational beach contamination by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis and monitoring beaches for public safety" [adviser: R.L. Sinsabaugh] HOMSHER, MICHAEL (PhD Ecology, 2000) Dissertation: "Time-integrated contaminant monitoring in an aquatic ecosystem using semi-permeable membrane devices and dreissena polymorpha" [co-advisers: J.F. Gottgens and A.L. Spongberg] MCKENNA , KERRY (MS Ecology, 2000) Thesis: "Behavior interactions betwen the introduced Red-eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans) and the Native Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata)" [adviser: E.J. Tramer] MINAROVIC, RAY (MS Geology, 2000) Thesis: "The characterization of the hydrogeological functionality of an engineered wetland within the Maumee River watershed of northwest Ohio" [adviser: J.M. Martin-Hayden]