Conservation & Ecological RestorationChristopher Moore
2019 The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
Christopher Moore is a PhD candidate in the Biology Department at East Carolina University, a public research university in Greenville, NC. He is investigating whether parasite diversity can be used as an indicator of overall biodiversity, particularly in the context of habitat restoration. Parasites that require multiple hosts may be thought of as representing the links between organisms in the environment and “healthy” ecosystems, which are also full of parasites. His project will test how parasite diversity changes across a time-series of previously restored oyster reefs, and whether managers can implement more ef cient forms of restoration to maximize the diversity of parasites and their hosts.
The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
The Garden Club of America (the GCA) offers an annual Fellowship in Ecological Restoration. Established in 2000 with funds from the John B. Young Charitable Trust as well as GCA members and clubs, the fellowship’s goal is to support research that will advance knowledge and increase the number of scientists in the important field of ecological restoration, the active healing of the land. The $8,000 grant is awarded annually to exceptional graduate students to support specialized study in ecological restoration at an accredited U.S. university. Preference will be given to projects that include field research conducted in the United States. A panel of experts associated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the GCA Scholarship Committee.
For the purposes of this scholarship, The Garden Club of America agrees to the definition of ecological restoration as stated by the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER).