The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship
School: PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

Fire-Flooding Interactions in Parque Nacional da Gorongosa, Mozambique

With hopes of having a tangible impact on ecosystem restoration and management, Abraham will focus on disturbances and their importance in structuring plant communities. Using Parque Nacional da Gorongosa in Mozambique as a model system in which to investigate disturbance interactions, Abraham will study how disturbances—particularly herbivory, fire, and flooding—interact and the implications for plant community composition, structure, and function. 

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship
School: Undergraduate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

Effects of Climate on Epigenetics of Yellow-Bellied Marmots

McArthur’s project at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado will facilitate identification of the effects of climate factors on hibernation emergence timing in yellow-bellied marmot populations. By comparing the epigenetics that result from the weather as well as the phenological effects they have on the marmot populations, McArthur will illuminate the mechanisms of epigenetic-driven change. The project will determine if DNA methylation is the mechanism of phenotypic plasticity in the population.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Landscape Effects on Population Connectivity of a Rare Specialist Bee

McCarthy will study the rare Parnassia mining bee to determine how well-connected bee populations fare in heterogeneous environments. McCarthy’s research will focus on populations of specialist wild bees and their relationship with host plants. McCarthy will measure genetic differentiation among populations to assess how geographic distance and landscape composition between sites affects population connectivity.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Impacts of Increasing Salt Concentrations and Artificial Root Exudates on Soil Function and Plant Growth

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Exploring Betalain Pigment Concentrations in Amaranth and Hibiscus Cultivars

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship
School: PhD candidate in Ecology & Evolution, Rutgers University

Plant-Pollinator Mutualisms in Temperate Deciduous Forests: Understanding the Resource Use and Functional Contributions of an Understudied Bee Fauna

Weinman studies the foraging patterns of bee species native to deciduous forest habitat in the upper Midwest. To learn what plants forest bees depend on, as well as the bees’ potential as pollen vectors for those plants, she is analyzing the pollen that female bees collect to provision their larvae, as well as the pollen that sticks to their bodies and is available for pollination. Her work will provide important information for conservation and management of forest bee communities.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Comparing Bee Pollinator Communities on Native versus Invasive Viburnums


Joseph M. Reiner is an undergraduate senior at Rutgers University majoring in environmental science. He plans to pursue graduate studies in 2021 with hopes of attaining a PhD in sustainability studies. His current project continues research started in spring 2019 that explores plant-pollinator interactions among species of understory trees and shrubs. With wild bee populations in decline, this investigation can offer insight into the pollinator communities that are attracted to these plants. In turn, this knowledge holds implications for conservation and habitat management.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

The Ecological Impacts of Federal Roadside Design Guidelines: Two State Interpretations


Ellen O. White is a Ph.D. candidate at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and a Coastal Climate Risk and Resiliency Fellow. She is a transportation researcher, urban designer, certified city planner,
 and GIS analyst with an interest
 in the environmental effects of transportation infrastructure. Her work combines macro-scale analyses of landscape history, ecology, transportation policy, and design, measuring the effects of these forces through the lens of climate resiliency. Her dissertation research focuses on roadside vegetation management practices and their ecological effects. Prior to pursuing her PhD, White worked as an urban designer and transportation planner, helping communities design better transit systems and streets. She also holds master’s degrees in urban planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and in landscape architecture from Rutgers.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Natalie Kashi is a doctoral candidate in the Natural Resources & Earth Systems Science PhD Program at the University of New Hampshire. She studies peatland development in response to permafrost thaw and, speci cally, how nutrients released from permafrost thaw impact microbes that produce and consume methane, an important greenhouse gas.  This research has important implications for managing greenhouse emissions in the restoration of wetlands.

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Tyler Coverdale is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. His project is titled “Plant Defenses in African Savannas: Does Herbivory Drive Epigenetic Variation?” He studies African savanna plant defenses at Mpala Research Center and Wildlife Foundation in Laikipia, Kenya, witha focus on how interactions between plants shape plant defense strategies. He will use a combination of field experiments and genetic analysis to investigate how the proximity of well defended neighbors, which shelter palatable plants from large savanna herbivores (e.g., elephants, zebra, impala), impacts the defensive strategy and epigenetic signature of a common savanna shrub.