NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
NOVEMBER 2017 
Scientists seek answers on emerging bat disease in Maryland
For three seasons of the year, Beth Stevenson can be found at the edge of streams, nearby caves or abandoned mines, where bats live, eat, and roost. A faculty research assistant at the Appalachian Laboratory, she has been working to understand how a deadly bat disease called white-nose syndrome has affected populations of different bat species. 

" If you go back and look at what folks were catching before white-nose syndrome, they were catching a lot of bats per night, anywhere from 10 to 20. Now if we catch one or two, we consider it a good night, " she said.
Bill Dennison receives award for contributions to estuarine scientific community

Bill Dennison, Professor and Vice President for Science Application at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, has received the first-ever 2017 Margaret A. Davidson Award for Stewardship from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) for professional contributions to the estuarine scientific community. 

Dennison was lauded for strong scientific leadership, his positive personality, and professional collaboration that have helped create a positive environment and contribution to the scientific community at large.

IMET to host U.S. symposium on harmful algae
New faculty members join Appalachian Laboratory 

The Appalachian Laboratory welcomes two new faculty members who will help provide the scientific expertise needed to inform management of the region's natural resources. Mark Cochrane is an ecologist and wildfire expert, who researches the characteristics, behaviors, and effects of fire in tropical and temperate forests.  Tyler Flockhart is a population ecologist and conservation biologist whose research focuses on understanding what factors influence animal population changes. 

Science in the First Person: Pat Glibert on harmful algal blooms

Harmful algal blooms can contaminate seafood with toxins and make us sick and cause fish kills or environmental problems that alter can ecosystem function. UMCES Professor Pat Glibert of the Horn Point Laboratory has been studying this increasingly more frequent phenomena and its impact around the world. She breaks down what we need to know and how we as individuals can make a difference.

Next Generation: 
Jacob Oster on mercury in Maryland

" I study mercury accumulation in small stream ecosystems. I'm looking for an invertebrate species (usually insects) that could serve as an indicator for mercury exposure risk. 

Maryland has several rivers and numerous lakes and reservoirs with fish consumption advisories for elevated mercury levels. We still don't have a firm grasp on why some aquatic ecosystems and food webs have higher mercury levels than others. By studying the route of mercury into fish (what the fish are eating), we may be able to better understand how mercury accumulates."







  

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