environmental and sustainability studies

Graduation Profile: Environmental justice leader is force for positive change

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 20 May 2020 00:05:00 +0000

Graduation Profile: Environmental justice leader is force for positive change Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 05/19/2020 - 20:05

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Graduation

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Environmental Research

environmental and sustainability studies

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

study abroad

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With Mason students to the rescue, Virginia Environmental Justice Summit is a go

Damian Cristodero — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:32:10 +0000

With Mason students to the rescue, Virginia Environmental Justice Summit is a go Damian Cristodero Thu, 03/26/2020 - 14:32

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George Mason University

environmental and sustainability studies

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Honors College

coronavirus; COVID-19; News; Editorial

Students

Five environmental science students receive Cosmos grants to tackle critical conservation research

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:05:00 +0000

Five environmental science students receive Cosmos grants to tackle critical conservation research Mariam Aburdeineh Wed, 03/18/2020 - 20:05

Five PhD students in Mason's Department of Environmental Science and Policy received grants from the Cosmos Club Foundation to conduct conservation research. Chase LaDue, one of the grantees, is studying male Asian elephants. Photo provided.

Around the world, environmental crises are making headlines, from the potential extinction of species and ecosystems to climate change. Students in George Mason University’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) are driven to make a change.

This year five PhD students in the department received grants from the Cosmos Club Foundation to tackle a wide range of conservation efforts.

In any given year, Mason has received one or two Cosmos grants, said Kathryn Agoston, director of Graduate Fellowships. “To earn five is very exciting.”

The role Mason students play in helping the earth is extremely fundamental, said A. Alonso Aguirre, ESP department chair. Mason’s top-tier faculty, R1 research status and unparalleled opportunities in the backyard of the nation’s capital help take their impact to a new level, he said.

“Now more than ever you see the passion of students to work with species and ecosystems that are threatened, mostly by human impact,” Aguirre said. “They are committed to solving actual problems.”

The Cosmos Scholars grant program is open to graduate students in the Washington, D.C., area in all fields of study. Mason’s Office of Graduate Fellowships is also available to help students secure similar funding opportunities.

“The goal is to provide applicants with the support they need to put forward the strongest possible application,” Agoston said, adding that some awards qualify for additional university support including tuition assistance and health insurance. “We have policies in place to help ensure that these costs do not create a barrier to our students accessing prestigious, nationally competitive awards.”

Here is how Mason’s Cosmos Scholars are making an impact:

Cosmos Scholar Meadhbh Molloy. Photo provided.

Meadhbh Molloy:
Exploring Beyond Face Value

In one of her first graduate classes on disease ecology, Meadhbh Molloy read a paper projecting the extinction of Tasmanian devils. An aggressive and highly contagious facial cancer would likely be the cause of termination within a couple decades, the researcher estimated. The species is endangered, but they have not become extinct.

“[The cancer] spreads like crazy and almost always leads to death,” Molloy said. “But [Tasmanian devils] are persisting in the wild, and no one really knows exactly how.”

Since the class, Molloy said she became fascinated by how species co-evolve with diseases.

“When I learned that diseases were in a way caused by pathogens trying to survive, I started to understand their role in ecology and how they’ve shaped the evolution of other life forms,” Molloy said.

Through the Cosmos grant and an award from the American Australian Association, Molloy will spend up to a year in Australia, working in a lab at the University of Sydney, where she will be analyzing devil fecal samples. She will also be potentially looking at the species’ microbiomes and parasite loads to see if there are differences between diseased wild devils and cancer-free wild devils.

“It’s all about making sure they are successful when they’re released into their native habitat,” said Molloy, who first realized she could have a career with endangered species after a field trip and Mason courses at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” the Northern Virginia native said. “I’m looking forward to a lot of personal growth and being able to work with the species that I have been thinking about since I first started my masters.”

—Mariam Aburdeineh

Tovah Siegel, pictured here in the Peruvian Amazon, holds a few piranhas she caught for dinner that night. Photo provided.

Tovah Siegel:
Her Own Best Advocate

Tovah Siegel had never met or spoken to Thomas Lovejoy, and knew him only as the world’s preeminent conservation biologist. But that did not stop Siegel from emailing the Mason University Professor to ask if he would be her advisor as she pursued her PhD in environmental science and policy at Mason.

One return email and three or four phone calls later, he agreed.

“You have to advocate for yourself,” said Siegel, who is from Oregon and earned her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Puget Sound in Washington.

Siegel, who is also a Smithsonian Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History, is studying the interactions of species and how forest fragmentation in the Brazilian Amazon impacts those interactions.

“A lot of research looks at how one species responds individually to fragmentation. But there isn’t a lot of research about how species A impacts species B that relies on species A,” Siegel said. “You can take that information and say we shouldn’t be looking at one species. We should be looking at these ecosystems as a complex array of interactions.”

Siegel, who previously used a Boren Fellowship to take field courses in the Amazon, will continue her research with the help of the Cosmos grant.

—Damian Cristodero

Chase LaDue with an elephant at the Patara Elephant Farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo provided.

Chase LaDue:
Where the Elephants Are

African elephants have had a time in the spotlight when it comes to research and media, due to the ivory crisis. But a different elephant species doing worse in terms of survival has received far less attention. Chase LaDue is changing that with his research of male Asian elephants in Sri Lanka.

“I study male Asian elephants in particular because they’ve been less studied than African elephants, and male elephants are unique because they go through this period called musth,” said LaDue, a Dallas native. “It’s completely unique, only elephants do it.”

Musth, which means “intoxicated” in Urdu, is similar to rutting season for a deer, LaDue explained. Testosterone levels and aggression are high, but unlike for other animals, there is no predictable musth season.

Elephants in musth can also pose an economic burden, he said.

“Elephants will raid farmers’ crops, so that can be dangerous to the people that live around elephants, and a single elephant can wipe out a farmer’s crop for the entire year,” LaDue said.

Through behavioral observations and analyzing hormones in fecal samples, LaDue will examine what environmental and social factors influence musth. Because Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the findings could also contribute to understanding how to better conserve their populations.

This year marks the second time LaDue has earned a Cosmos grant. He also received a Fulbright scholarship to go to Sri Lanka in 2019, but had to return to the United States early due to terrorism in the country. Being able to continue his studies is both validating and rewarding, he said.

—Mariam Aburdeineh

Betsy Collins:
Leafing for Answers

Collins standing next to a palo santo tree in the Marañón Valley, Peru. Photo provided.

From churches to yoga studios to individual homes, communities have been burning palo santo—holy wood—for generations. The South American plant similar to frankincense and myrrh is primarily used as incense, and it has been so widely marketed that its populations are declining due to habitat loss. Betsy Collins hopes her research can help save the species.

“It’s really important when you’re planting for reforestation that what you’re planting is genetically diverse,” said Collins, who is from West Palm Beach, Florida. “I’m looking at comparing the genetics of the replanted populations with the natural population to see [whether] they are in line or can be doing better in our reforestation projects.”

A National Geographic grant in 2018 took Collins to Peru, Mexico and Colombia to collect leaf samples and preserve the plants’ DNA. With her Cosmos grant, she will work in Mason’s labs to extract and analyze the DNA from those hundreds of samples, she said.

“No country has unlimited sources for conservation,” Collins said. “I hope that this research can give some ideas as to where are some really unique genetically diverse populations that we should look at protecting.”

—Mariam Aburdeineh

Charles Coddington:
Flocking to the Amazon

Cosmos Scholar Charles Coddington. Photo provided.

Birds of a feather may flock together, but to avoid predators, birds of different species will do the same. Once at their destination, Charles Coddington wants to know how deforestation and habitat fragmentation affect them.

“One of the most critical [threats] to conservation is the loss of diversity,” said Coddington, who graduated from Mason in 2018 with a master’s in evolutionary biology and returned to the university for his PhD. “I hope that my research will help contribute to better restoring biodiversity to fragmented landscapes.”

Mix-species flocks are found on every continent except Antarctica, Coddington said, and they are especially prevalent in the Amazon. Hundreds of birds and dozens of species fly there, he said.

Going into Amazonian forests, Coddington will study how these birds use regenerating forest fragments, and how their nesting behaviors are affected in forests that have developed naturally (primary forests) versus forests recovering from human disturbances (secondary forests).

After finding the nests, Coddington said he will set up camera traps to record what happens when predators are near. He will also set up artificial nests in primary and secondary forests “to see if predation is one of the limiting factors that’s preventing [birds] from successfully breeding in secondary forests.”

The opportunities Coddington has had at Mason, including a fellowship with the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, and the Cosmos grant, have allowed him to foster a community and conduct meaningful research, he said.

“This is the time to get involved in conservation of species and ecosystems as many factors are threating the health of all,” Aguirre said.

—Mariam Aburdeineh

Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)

Student Research

World-class research

Sustainability Research

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

Smithsonian

Environmental Research

environmental and sustainability studies

Thomas Lovejoy

A. Alonso Aguirre

Office of Fellowships

Research

Mason students lead the vote at first Iowa caucus satellite site on campus

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Mason students lead the vote at first Iowa caucus satellite site on campus Mariam Aburdeineh Wed, 02/05/2020 - 00:00

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Schar School of Policy and Government

Schar School

Leadership

environmental and sustainability studies

Leadership and governance

Scholars program a ‘stepping stone’ for students and (maybe) the planet

Melanie Balog — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 09:28:01 +0000

Scholars program a ‘stepping stone’ for students and (maybe) the planet Melanie Balog Wed, 06/05/2019 - 05:28

Topics

environmental and sustainability studies

STEM

NSF

Future Earth

Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR)

Students

Wild DC: Mason student, Smithsonian scientist set up camera traps to study city wildlife

Melanie Balog — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 17:06:56 +0000

Wild DC: Mason student, Smithsonian scientist set up camera traps to study city wildlife Melanie Balog Thu, 12/13/2018 - 12:06

Learn more about SMSC

Ever wondered what creatures might be roaming in your city when you’re not looking?

Across five continents, more than 100 Smithsonian research projects collect a continuous stream of data on wildlife using camera traps—motion-triggered cameras that clue scientists in on what’s happening when humans aren’t around.

This semester, George Mason University senior Jamie Fetherolf is contributing to the network firsthand, by setting up camera traps in Washington, D.C., and analyzing the data with a Smithsonian conservation scientist at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation.

“This is the first time this scale of a project has ever been done,” said Dr. Michael Cove, Fetherolf’s project mentor and a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Research Fellow. While most camera traps are set up in natural areas, this wildlife survey of D.C. places them in urban environments like alleyways and neighborhoods, he explained. “That’s why it’s pretty exciting and a neat opportunity for Jamie.”

Senior Jamie Fetherolf (right) and Smithsonian Post Doctoral Research Fellow Michael Cove place a camera trap at the Smithsonian's National Zoo as part of a research project where Fetherolf looks at wildlife in Washington D.C. during her study at the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications

Small mammals (including squirrels, chipmunks, rats, and mice) and their possible predators (such as foxes and coyotes) are the primary focus of Fetherolf’s research.

“There’s been research to show animals change their behavior in the presence of humans,” said Fetherolf. “The idea’s that those changes in behavior that the human exposure is causing can change the activity patterns of these different animals.” It could also influence how the mammals and their predators typically interact, she added.

As the photo data rolls in, Fetherolf and Cove will explore these possible changes and their consequences on wildlife. Because their cameras capture anything that moves in front of the sensor, they’re also likely to observe things they never expected—like the presence of large bucks and other wildlife that are resilient through urbanization and living in the heart of the city.

A photo of a fox captured via one of the camera traps. Photo courtesy of eMammal.

“The cool thing about what I’m going to school for and what Mike does is that you can learn anything new, any time,” said Fetherolf. For her, the excitement is in the discovery. Looking at the captured photos allows the duo to observe numerous behaviors and ask an unlimited number of questions.

Working side-by-side with a Smithsonian scientist on current conservation challenges is also part of the thrill.

“You don’t realize how amazing of an opportunity [SMSC] is until you’re there,” said Fetherolf, who said that the world-renowned scientists and authors of journal articles she cites in papers are the same ones she gets to work with at Mason every day. “It’s a huge networking experience that you will never have anywhere else.”

That’s no exaggeration.

“SMSC is the only school of conservation in the world offering its students access to a vast global network of sites and practitioners,” said Ricardo Stanoss, Academic Program Manager at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation. “Students are embedded in teams of scientists dealing with the most intractable issues in conservation, developing technical and nontechnical skills that employers need.”

Fetherolf’s research will likely have a lasting impact.

Cove said the data Fetherolf collected will help contribute to the understanding of wildlife in urban settings and will add to the Smithsonian’s current knowledge base.

And that’s not the only benefit for Fetherolf, an aspiring conservation biologist who hopes to earn her master’s after completing her environmental and sustainability studies degree.

“I wouldn’t have had as much experience with field work if I hadn’t gone to this semester [at SMSC],” she said. “It’s like no other schooling I’ve ever been in.”

A squirrel with a tennis ball caught on one of the camera traps. Photo courtesy of eMammal.

Quality

Impact

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

environmental and sustainability studies

Jamie Fetherolf

Dr. Michael Cove

Ricardo Stanoss

wildlife in urban environments

animal behavior

Smithsonian

Research