Past and Present REU Projects

Hundreds of REU students have completed the program at Blandy

Browse past projects, read advice from alumni, and check out our social media posts featuring some of our recent students: Jaya, Syntyche, Zane, Skye, and Lindsey

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Projects available for the summer 2023 research season 

To see a mentor's website, click on their name!

Bumble bee foraging patterns – David Carr (Research Professor of Environmental Sciences and Director of Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia).  Bees rely almost exclusively on flowering plants for their food resources. Floral nectar is the primary source of carbohydrates, and pollen is the primary source of protein and lipids. Over the past several years, my REU students have been working on patterns of pollen collection by bees in greenhouse experiments and field studies. We are trying to understand cues that bees use in making foraging decisions and how bees respond to spatial and temporal variation in the availability of pollen rewards in their environment. Ultimately, our goal is to link bee foraging decisions to the evolution of cues and rewards and to bee population dynamics.

Environmental stressors and their effects on vertebrate populations, morphology, and behavior – Allyson Degrassi (Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Biology, Shenandoah University). The Degrassi lab investigates the environmental stressors associated with climate change (e.g., temperature, humidity, phenology) and urbanization (e.g., roadkills, habitat fragmentation, pollution) and their potential impacts on salamander morphology, freshwater turtle population dynamics, and small mammal foraging behaviors. REU students will have the opportunity to estimate populations using mark-recapture methods and to conduct both field-based and model-based experiments to study the effects of environmental stressors on salamanders, turtles, or small mammals.

Ecosystem succession and invasive species – Howie Epstein (Sidman P. Poole Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). The Epstein lab has been studying post-agricultural ecosystem secondary succession since 2000 at Blandy, with respect to vegetation dynamics, and carbon and nitrogen.  Important for the trajectory of secondary succession is the presence of invasive plant species, particularly dense canopy shrubs.  We have more recently used field-, drone-, and satellite-based techniques to identify invasive plant species and their traits remotely.  Finally, we are participating in a global network study (DragNet), which is examining how grassland ecosystems respond to disturbances and nutrient additions.  REU students can gain experience in field sampling and laboratory processing of vegetation and soils, and potentially with remote sensing of vegetation and soil processes, along with appropriate data analysis techniques.

Multi-trophic interactions of plants and insects – Rebecca Forkner (Associate Professor of Biology, George Mason University).  Chemicals not only determine the color and beauty we observe in nature, they also control the outcome of many species interaction. Following in the tradition of May Berenbaum, Tom Eisner, and David Lee, Dr. Forkner researches the role of plant chemistry in the evolution and community ecology of plant-insect interactions.  Her work includes projects that investigate the contribution of insects to autumn color and abscission chemistry in deciduous trees, the importance of plant mutualists to the chemistry of flower color, and the influence of host plant chemistry on insect behavior and morphology.  Her REU students’ projects frequently incorporate a combination laboratory chemical assays, greenhouse experiments, insect rearing or bioassays, and fieldwork. Past REU students have investigated butterfly-host plant interactions and rhizobia-plant-insect interactions.  Possible upcoming REU projects involve chemical ecology in microbe-plant-insect interactions of a) the ant-plant Chamaecrista and its herbivores or b) Colias or Vanessa butterflies and their Fabaceae host plants.  Given Dr. Forkner’s background in a variety of study systems, including spiders, ants, bees, butterflies and moths, and fireflies, students are also encouraged to develop novel collaborations with Rebecca and other REU faculty.

Perceptual and cognitive processes governing egg recognition in wild birds – Daniel Hanley (Assistant Professor of Biology, George Mason University). Avian brood parasitism occurs when one bird (a parasite) lays its eggs in another birds’ nest (a host). This alternative reproductive tactic allows parasites to offload parental care on their hosts, which must either pay these costs or adapt tactics to avoid parasitism. Many hosts have adapted mechanisms to avoid the costs of parasitism through recognizing and removing the young of brood parasites (either as eggs or young). Hanley’s research focuses on the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying these host defense systems. His research focuses on how hosts respond to natural variation in eggshell phenotypes, with a particular emphasis on the visual abilities of host species. Students will have the opportunity to develop field studies that reveal the decision-making process in these wild animals. Although there are several potential research directions, students can focus on the perceptual mechanisms that give rise to choices (using novel technologies we are developing) or focus on the cognitive processes that are employed by hosts (through careful experimental manipulation). Your REU research can help uncover the perceptual-cognitive processes that shape these inter-species interactions.

Ecological consequences of human-induced ecological change – Kyle Haynes (Research Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). Haynes is interested in understanding how human-induced environmental change at local to global scales impact ecological processes. One of these human-driven changes is artificial light at night (ALAN), better known as “light pollution”. ALAN disrupts circadian rhythms, alters a wide array of behaviors, and can have stong impacts on survivorship and reproduction and interspecific interactions. Consequently, ALAN is increasingly recognized as a major threat to plant and animal populations, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. Recent REU students working with Haynes have studied how ALAN affects plant growth or the movement, feeding, and spatial distributions of insects and other arthropods. Possible upcoming REU student projects on include field experiments to study a) the interactive effects of ALAN and other stressors on plant growth, b) effects of ALAN on local abundances of ground-dwelling insects through attraction or repulsion, and c) the movement and mating behaviors of bioluminescent fireflies, which use light flashes to court mates.

Invasive bee populations and community science – Kathryn LeCroy (Assistant Professor of Biology, Rhodes College). The LeCroy lab evaluates invasive bee species distributions across urban, agricultural, and natural landscapes and their impacts on native bee communities. REU students will craft their own research questions evaluating native bee community diversity and health outcomes (e.g., diseases and nutrition quality) within the context of landscape ecology and invasive species proliferation. In addition to taxonomic and GIS skills, REU students will gain experience with the lab’s existing community scientist network (200+) across Virginia, consequently developing impactful, reciprocal community engagement and educational program opportunities.

Ecological and evolutionary responses of plants to variable soil environments – Mary McKenna (Associate Professor of Biology, Howard University). My current research with REU students focuses on ant-plant mutualisms in black-eyed pea (Vigna unguiculata). This species is critically important for global food security, particularly in arid regions with rain-fed agriculture where climate change is expected to significantly increase hunger and famine. Black-eyed pea can avert malnutrition among subsistence farmers because of the high nitrogen content of its leaves (12%) and seeds (25%).  Symbiosis with N-fixing bacteria allows the plant to tolerate and replenish nutrient-poor soils. Many flowering plants use a portion of the energy they obtain from photosynthesis to produce floral nectar, because the reproductive benefits they obtain by attracting pollinators outweighs the costs of lost energy for vegetative growth.  Black- eyed pea sacrifices additional energy to produce nectar on vegetation; these “extrafloral nectaries” (EFN) attract ants that harvest the nectar.  Since ants are typically territorial, they often defend plants with EFN against herbivorous insects, providing plants with more energy for reproduction. We are exploring the possibility that investment in EFN results in higher reproductive success in black eyed pea. Other plant community studies in the McKenna lab seek to understand how heritable traits vary in different soil environments and how these traits contribute to evolutionary fitness. Recent studies at Blandy examine ways serpentine plants “forage” for soil nutrients and how they defend themselves against herbivory by deploying chemical, physical and inorganic (toxic metal) defenses. McKenna’s lab also focuses on community-level responses to volatile signals from plants. Plant volatiles influence a host of interactions (above- and below-ground) including relationships between plants and pathogens, herbivores, mutualists, and competitors. Studies at Blandy have explored interactions between mints and nodule-forming legumes that may be important for nutrient cycling and soil fertility in natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Biogeochemistry during ecological and anthropogenic change – Justin Richardson (Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). Inorganic elements serve roles as essential macronutrients and micronutrients but can also be toxic to plants and animals and are controlled by natural and human actions on the landscape. Soil biogeochemistry focuses on how these nutrient and toxic elements cycle between plant-soil-invertebrate and land-use change and ecological succession alters these dynamics. REU students working with Dr. Richardson will learn to conduct quantitative field and laboratory based biogeochemical analyses of soils, woody plants, and invertebrates (especially earthworms), with a focus on applied techniques used across research disciplines.  Students will gain strength in elemental fluxes and pools, quantitative chemical and biological analyses, and linkages between abiotic and biotic processes needed from ecological to ecotoxicological work. Possible projects include nutrient cycling among different forest types and succession states, perturbances by exotic and introduced earthworms, understory nutrient acquisition strategies, and invertebrate enhanced nutrient cycling.

Pollinator interactions with plants, parasites and their environment – T’ai Roulston (Research Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Curator of Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia). Native bees form a species-rich, diverse and ecologically important group of insects that support both wild plant reproduction and agricultural productivity. My lab focuses on pollinator interactions with plants, parasites, environmental stresses and each other in order to identify potential drivers of population abundance. Using field surveys as well as RFID technology coupled with other monitoring systems, we use bumble bee observation nests to examine foraging risk and opportunity in the local landscape. Possible REU projects for the coming year include examining how bee foraging efficiency, longevity, and floral host choice are mitigated by factors such as parasitism and pesticide exposure. In choosing a question and outlining research methods, the student will gain experience with native bees, designing research questions, and creating and adapting equipment in pursuit of answers.