Past Research Projects

Are you planning a research project in the Nature Park?  Please complete a Research Project Form.  This will help us maintain records of current and past research projects.

Research projects:  updated January 29, 2018

Forest Composition and Growth

• Forest composition and structure - Vanessa Fox, Dana Dudle, Bryan Helm, David Pope, and Aaron Randolph

• Forest composition and structure - Iesha Brooks, Stephany Cook, Grace Harsha, Jamie Oriez, and Vanessa Fox 

• Forest composition and health - Kyra Reed and Vanessa Fox

• Riparian forest - Brittany Mohrman, Tory Pavlovich, and Brett Bohlander

• Walnut trees and allelopathy – Kelsey Nosek

• Dendroclimatology in Putnam County - Julia Roell, Peter Konieczny, Rudra Vishweshwar, Ben Harsha, Weiqing Zhang, SRF project with Jim Mills, fall 2011

• Walnut and sycamore trees in an old field - Nan Ash, Anna Dixon, Cameron Meehan, and Hope Palalay

• Trees in Robe Ann Park  - Sara Lejsner, Nathan Fox, Michelle Tykvart, and Abby Missimer
  

Trees and Vines

• Trees and vines - Scott Meyer, Danny Wetli, Vanessa Fox, and Bruce Serlin

• Grape vines and ash trees – Jessica Pond and Pooja Rathore

• Grape vines and sugar maple trees – Jack Gomez, Sam Sullivan, Chase Sadler, and Jason Kirchhoff

• Grape vines and cherry trees - Chase Sadler and Jack Gomez

Leaf litter

• Where has all the leaf litter gone? - Charlotte Buehler, Chad Byers, Summer Drake, and Vanessa Fox, summer 2006

Quarry Bottom

• Sycamore growth patterns - David Pope

• Health of sycamore trees - Zachary Young, Sarah Minor, and Hunter Schouweiler

• Juniper seed dispersal – Briana White

• Juniper and sycamore growth rates – Ellen Buening, Linda Sebisaho, Jia Qi, Ashley Junger, and Cassidy Ragains

• Distribution of junipers and sycamores - Linda Sebisaho

• Junipers and soil pH - Ellen Buening and Cassidy Ragains

• Juniper growth patterns - Eric Tandy and Tyler Hume, BIO 342 project, fall 2014

• Primary succession - Madeline Mohrman

• Cyanobacteria and primary succession - Nicole Stone and Dana Dudle

Deer

• Deer exclosures - Vanessa Fox, Ryan Kelly, Emily Meadows, and Kristen Frederick

• Deer and human scent - Mitch Strobl and Vanessa Fox

• Deer and human scent - Jason Kirchhoff and Sam Sullivan

• Deer trails and activity - Amanda Faulkenberg and Caitlin Cleary

• Deer trails - Hunter Mitchell and Kathleen Raymond-Judy

Songbirds

• Forest songbird communities - Vanessa Fox, Dana Dudle, Bryan Helm, David Pope, and Aaron Randolph

• Forest songbird communities - Libby Allard and Vanessa Fox

• Bird banding - Andy Zuwerink

Mammals

• Small mammal trapping in the Arboretum and Nature Park - Vanessa Fox and students in Organismal Biology, BIO 135, 2003-2006

• White-footed mice living "on the edge" in the Nature Park - Dan Zindrick and Ryan Heffernan, Ecology class, BIO 342, fall 2005

• Small mammal communities - Emily Vincent, Michael Britton, Curt Hardacre, and Michael Tobin

• Squirrel nests – Casandra Brocksmith and Lauren Gray

• Mammal activity - Madhavi Sreenath, Sarah Glasshagel, Eli Penate, and Melinda Ervin

Arthropods and Earthworms

• Surface active invertebrates – Aaron Randolph

• Invertebrate and leaf litter dynamics in the DePauw University Nature Park – Karl Koehler and Vanessa Fox, summer 2005

• Crickets in a meadow: does mowing improve habitat? – Jackie Betsch, Jake Donlon, Bryan Helm, and Mark Loomis, Ecology class, BIO 342, fall 2005

• Insect diversity in old field succession – Kelsey Nosek, Wesley Jones, Hannah Ramage

• Microarthropods and juglone - Colleen Conway and Rachel Miller

• Microarthropods and leaf litter - Casandra Brocksmith, Colleen Conway, Lauren Gray and Rachel Miller

• Microarthropods, earthworms, and leaf litter - Iesha Brooks

• Insect and spider abundance - Maggie Furtner, Erin Wiemels, John Sherers, and Josh Hanselman

Educational Outreach

• “Outdoor Explorers,” an environmental education program - Laura Stevens, Melinda Voss, Andie Wyatt, and Taya Malone

• Natural history of the Quarry Trail - Genevieve Espinoza, Megan Michael, and Shayla Williamson, Conservation Biology class, BIO 345, spring 2006

•  “Survivor!” an educational outreach program for Greencastle Middle School students - Kala Pattar, Kathy Frees, Suzanne Donoval, Conservation Biology class, BIO 345, spring 2006

Secondary succession

• Plant communities in the floodplain field (K2 loop):  classification by soil type, nutrient availability, and flooding frequency – Taylor Cantril, Megan Jensen, and Josh Yoder; BIO 342, Ecology class, fall 2010

Invasive species

• Phragmites and cattails - Susan Cordes, Brandon Dawson, Jerilyn Kramer, and Ryan Miller

• Phragmites expansion - Katie Berry, Clay Langley, Amarilis Roman, Peter Steiner, and Dana Dudle

• Garlic mustard - Kyle Burns, Tyler McPheters, Ashley Paschal, and Brian Scott

• Emerald ash borer - Megan Walton, Neil Broshears, Alex Eades, and Amanda Hendricks

• Emerald ash borer - Laura Francisco, Jillian Snow, and Julia Grace Reinke

Other plants

• Reproductive success of wild parsnip –  Jing Yang and Dana Dudle

• Reproductive success of tall boneset – Brett Bohlander, Debbie Jewell, Dan Zindrick, and Ryan Heffernan

• Mullein abundance along trails - Laura Crawford and Gaby Duong, BIO 345, fall 2013

• Mullein growth patterns – Iesha Brooks and Grace Harsha

• Boneset and gall midges – Blair Qi and Emily Vincent

• Boneset and gall midges - Stephany Cook and Emily Vincent

• Boneset and gall midges – Brian Allman and Morgan Grant

• Goldenrod growth patterns - Eric Tandy, Tim Kobba, and Seth Mills

• Greenbrier growth patterns - Grace Harsha

• Bouncing bet growth patterns - J'Nai Macklin and Khadijah Crosby

• Sexual dimorphism of male- and female-phase flowers of bouncing bet - Sandra Davis, Dana Dudle, Jenna Nawrocki, Leah Freestone, Peter Konieczny, Michael Tobin, and Michael Britton, 2012-2013

• Bouncing bet: heritability of flower color - Dana Dudle, Mary Ritke, and Sandra Davis

• Why does bouncing bet blush? - Dana Dudle, Elisabeth Wilson, Michael Tobin, Trung Nguyen, Kenneth Cruz, Scott Lockwood, summer 2015

• Jewelweed growth patterns - Hanna Wood, Maddy Burds, and Izzy Murphy

• Effects of trails on vegetation - Jake Kittaka, Connor Einertson, Kyle Whistler, and Jason Kirchhoff

• Purslane:  response to saline stress - Kristina Mulry, Bryan Hanson, and Dana Dudle

• Examining the potential for local adaptation of Apocynum cannabinum populations at an abandoned limestone quarry - Bryan Helm, Dana Dudle, and Vanessa Fox, summer 2004

• Apocynum cannabinum:  anthocyanin expression in sun and shade - Erica Ross, Ryan Edelen, Matthew Howes and Dana Dudle

• Apocynum cannabinum:  indices of anthocyanin production - Erica Ross, Ryan Edelen, Matthew Howes and Dana Dudle

• Apocynum cannabinum:  anthocyanin expression over a three day period - Erica Ross, Ryan Edelen, Matthew Howes and Dana Dudle

• Apocynum cannabinum:  genetic variation in anthocyanin production - Erica Ross, Allison Barnes, Dana Dudle

• Apocynum cannabinum:  effect of light intensity on anthocyanin production - David Furman and Dana Dudle

• Apocynum cannabinum:  variation in leaf traits - Beth Drewes, Betsy Feighner, and Dana Dudle, summer 2006

• Apocynum cannabinum:  anthocyanin content of stems and leaves - Lauren Guggina and Dana Dudle

Aquatic Ecology

• Crayfish - Jason Hutchison and Scott Kreuzman

• Caddisflies - Kelly Blair, Anna Fogt, Scott Graf, and Lauren Leipprandt

• Aquatic macroinvertebrates - Stephany Cook

• Effects of fish on zooplankton - Brian Allman, Muska Fahim, Megan May, Cody Roldan, and Ryan Edelen

• Nutrient bioassay of two ponds - Katie Kraska, Stephen Hesterberg, and Matt Brown

• Bathymetry of the Quarry Pond - Alan Lee and Neil Fitzharris

• Effects of trail construction on the Quarry Pond - Shannon Crosby and Melissa Cobb