Research
Current projects
Student Lab Projects
Project: Urbanization's Impact on Bee Morphology
People: Isaiah Rejouis, Hannah Shahinian, Sabrina Gerace, Kathryn Wulf
Location(s): NJIT Campus
Project Description: TBD.
Project: The Effects of Mulch on Urban Soil Health
People: Anika Barnes, Cean Tenorio, Daniella Delgado, Lilith Janevska
Location(s): NJIT Campus
Project Description:
Project: Urban Ecology and Human Well-being
People: Gabriel Seedhom, Iman Elsherif, Abrar Awadeh, Melis Geckin
Location(s): NJIT Campus
Project Description: This project aims to study the psychological benefits of campus nature on student mental health.
Long-term Lab Projects
Project: Campus Survey
Theme(s): Urban Biodiversity
Principal Investigator(s): Caroline DeVan (contact), Maria Stanko
Collaborators: ADHC, NJIT Facilities
Locations(s): NJIT Campus
Project Description: Studying urban biodiversity requires an understanding of the species that occupy urban habitats. This project begins to characterize NJIT’s campus biodiversity with an assessment of the plant community. Through a detailed survey and mapping of the plants on the NJIT campus, we will document the plant species present, measure plant demographic characteristics, and assess the plant biodiversity for native status and the potential to provide wildlife habitat and support interspecific interactions. One goal of this project is to submit a report summarizing the campus plant community to NJIT Facilities with recommendations for future landscape planning.
Theme(s): Urban Biodiversity
Principal Investigator(s): Maria Stanko (contact), Caroline DeVan
Collaborators: ADHC, NJIT Facilities
Locations(s): NJIT Campus
Project Description: Pollinator gardens are increasingly being used as a way to increase biodiversity in human-dominated areas while providing ecosystem services (e.g., pollination, pest-control). NJIT Facilities and the ADHC are beginning to increase the number of these gardens on the NJIT campus. This project will survey both plants and pollinators in these gardens in order to evaluate how aspects of their design (e.g., size, spatial arrangement, plant composition) influence the biodiversity of the pollinators they attract. A core goal is to compare NJIT’s pollinator gardens to gardens throughout Newark and beyond, by using standardized protocols and training interested community members.
Themes
The UEL has a number of research themes, and most projects fall within one or more of these themes.
Theme: Urban Biodiversity
Broadly speaking the UEL is interested in how nature can coexist with people, especially in the most urban areas, and the benefits and costs of this coexistence to both sides. This can involve baseline surveys, core monitoring, behavioral observation, and estimates of ecosystem services.
Theme: Technology for Nature
Modern technological advances are usually driven by consumer desire, but can be harnessed for scientific research and environmental stewardship. Examples of ‘technological’ ecology include tracking devices, automated cameras and id systems, sound analysis, and apps for mobile data collection and citizen science.