An effort led by Brooke Maslo aims to redevelop property purchased through New Jersey’s Blue Acres initiative to protect flood-prone parts of the state In the Watson-Crampton neighborhood of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, meadows, marshlands and forests form a green, undeveloped crescent on the community’s eastern edge. At first glance, the acres of open space look like […]
Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources
Blue Acres: The Art and Science of Managing Flood-Prone Open-Space Properties in New Jersey
By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications A wildlife and conservation management expert for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, EOAS faculty member and Associate Professor Brooke Maslo works with local NJ municipalities to help them manage and restore properties in FEMA-established flood-prone areas purchased through the DEP Blue Acres program. Imagine the plight of families in New Jersey who […]
National Transfer Student Week: Isabel DeVita (SEBS’25) – A Committed Environmentalist
Isabel DeVita comes to SEBS already a committed environmentalist. A transfer student from the State University of New York (SUNY) Environmental Science and Forestry Program, Isabel joined us as a sophomore and anticipates graduating in 2025, majoring in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources where she sees lots of opportunities. This born and raised Jersey Girl […]
National Transfer Student Week: Christania Fraenkel (SEBS’24) – An Activist in the Making
Christania Fraenkel transferred from Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) with an associate’s degree and will graduate from SEBS in 2024. Originally a physics major, Christania quickly switched to environmental science and biology and has never looked back. Born and raised in New Jersey, she was attracted to Rutgers for the generous financial aid, and specifically […]
New Faces on Campus: Leah Kapps, First-generation Student on a Quest for Great Things
Leah Kapps, first-year student at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), grew up in Kearny, New Jersey. She’s a first-generation student, who is excited about earning a degree from Rutgers and making her family proud. A middle child, with two brothers, Leah lost her father when she was 10 years old. She feels […]
Charlie Kontos Memorial Scholarship for Environmental Activism Awarded to High School Senior
The Charlie Kontos Environmental Activist Award is named for Charlie Kontos, who passed away in 2010 and was, at the time, enrolled as a doctoral student in the Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program administered by the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Before his premature passing at age 33, Kontos had already made a significant contribution […]
Research Shows Protecting “Hot Reefs” is Key to Saving Coral Reefs
Coral reefs can adapt to climate change if given the chance to evolve, according to a study led by Coral Reef Alliance, Rutgers University, the University of Washington and other institutions. The recent study, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, finds that coral reefs can evolve and adapt to the effects of climate change—but […]
SEBS Researchers Receive NSF Funding to Explore Social and Ecological Factors of Pathogen Occurrence in Amphibian Pet Trade
Professor Julie Lockwood, Department of Ecology Evolution and Natural Resources, and Ryan Almeida, School of Graduate Studies, will work with collaborators across four universities to characterize the trade of pet amphibians within the United States, including the range of amphibian species sold as pets and which species are the most common and cheapest to purchase. […]
Rutgers-led Study on Bees Shows How Different Species Pollinate the Same Plants Over Time
Rutgers has conducted the first study showing how many more species of bees are needed to maintain crop yields when a longer-term time frame is considered. In the paper, which was recently published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, scientists said biodiversity of the bee population is critical to maintaining the ecosystem function of crop pollination, which […]
Feasible Surfclam Husbandry Techniques for Northeast Shellfish Growers
Editor’s note: Michael Acquafredda (GSNB’19) earned a doctoral degree in Ecology and Evolution in the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies A study that provides technical aspects of Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) husbandry supports the feasibility for the culture of the species in the U.S. Northeast region. “Overall, successful surfclam nursery culture aligns well with the […]