URF and URF

No. 8, Fall 2002Newsletter of the Department of Geological and Marine Sciences at Rider University

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF2002!

This past May, ten students graduated from theenvironmental, geoscience, and marine sciencemajors, collectively. Russ Burke graduatedsumma cum laude as a double major inenvironmental and marine sciences. He wasinducted into the scholastic Honor Key Society,and the national leadership society, OmicronDelta Kappa. He was selected for “Who’s Who

Among Students inAmerican Universitiesand Colleges” and washonored to representgraduating students as thecommencement speaker.Russ was initiated intoSigma Xi, the National

Scientific Research Society for his independentresearch. During his undergraduate tenure, Russparticipated in a different research projects ineach of his four years, and won recognitions forhis poster presentations at national meetings ofprofessional societies. Russ accepted a researchfellowship in the graduate program of theVirginia Institute of Marine Sciences of Williamand Mary. Jill Brown graduated magna cumlaude as a double major in marine science andbiology. She was inducted into the Honor KeySociety for her diverse scholastic achievementand Sigma Xi for the quality of her senior thesis.Jill accepted a research fellowship in thegraduate program in marine sciences at theUniversity of Delaware. Bobby Mackgraduated in marine science and was initiatedinto Sigma Xi. Bobby has entered the graduateeducation certification program of RiderUniversity and plans to be a secondaryeducation science teacher. Matt Wotjko

graduated with a degree in geoscience and wasinducted into Sigma Xi. Matt was honored as anominee to the 2002 cooperative field summertraining program, sponsored by the UnitedStates Geological Survey, following hiscompletion of the University of PennsylvaniaGeology field camp in 2001. Suzanne Rosegraduated as a double major in geosciences andmarine sciences. Robyn Cromen, MarkHenderson, Serena Turner, and ChristineBuccheri all graduated with a B.S. in marinescience, while Sarah Chardavoyne graduatedwith a B.S. in geosciences. The departmentalfaculty congratulate all of our graduates andwish them well in their career pursuits.

SABBATICAL RESEARCH LEAVES IN2001-2002

Dr. Richard Alexander spent the fall semesterof 2001 on a sabbatical research leave at theCenter for Marine Science of the University ofNorth Carolina at Wilmington. He collaboratedwith Patricia Kelley, Chair of the Dept. of EarthSciences at UNCW, and doctoral candidateGreg Dietl (Rider marine sciences, class of '95)on research projects involving extinct and extantspecies of gastropods and bivalves. Alex’sresearch focused on shell repair frequenciesthrough geologic time based on molluscancollections from the Miocene to the Recent ofNorth Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.Concurrently with his survey of thousands ofmodern and fossil specimens, he experimentedwith shell regeneration rates in surgicaldamaged live clams and snails found in theneighboring tidal flats and salt marshes nearWilmington. NC. During his sabbatical leave,Alex traveled to Boston in November to make apresentation of his invited chapter contribution

to the Paleontological Society Short Coursededicated to brachiopods.

Centennial Lake Project Update

In the late spring of 1998, Dr. Kathy Browneand several students began a baseline study ofCentennial Lake in preparation for restorationactivities that were anticipated in the nearfuture. They mapped the bottom of the lake andbegan water quality monitoring. The latter datasupported the fairly obvious condition of thelake: overpopulation of Canada Geese andshoreline erosion. Facilities began controllingthe Canada Geese problem through the use ofthe "Geese Police," a local business that usesborder collies to "encourage" geese to goelsewhere. Randy Kertes ('84) proposed arestoration/education project and successfullyfound funding from the NJDEP in the form of a319h grant of $96,000 with additional in-kindservices of $45,000. Shoreline restorationefforts began in the late spring of 1999 and thebulk of the work was completed in two weeksthanks to many volunteer hours including quitea few from Randy! Since then, we havecontinued smaller components of the shorelinework as well as water quality monitoring. Todate, an estimated 500 hours of volunteer timehas gone into the project including help fromRider students, students from the LawrenceMiddle School and the Lawrenceville School,Rider faculty and staff, local communitymembers, and the water quality monitoringstaff, and project partners. The shoreline plantcommunity has filled in quite nicely since 1999,and we have received many supportivecomments across the campus on our work. Theincrease in plant diversity seems to haveincreased faunal diversity with all sorts ofinsects being seen. Evidence of an increasedfrog population can also be heard althoughgenerally not seen! In addition, the water qualityseems to have improved in that the water isgenerally clear and the blooming of planktonicalgae has decreased dramatically. There are stilllarge growths of green algae but they have alesser impact on water quality than the tinyalgae and cyanobacteria, which can turn thewater into something resembling pea soup when

they bloom uncontrolled. We may never resolvethe excess nutrient problem until the lake isdredged removing excess organics on thebottom that can release phosphorus back intothe lake water. Dredging is a costly endeavorthat will have to wait until funds are found.Given the limitations of restoration activities onthe lake, we think we've made a positive impacton the lake ecosystem. A new problem,however, has been encountered: a purpleloosestrife infiltration into the shorelinecommunity. This plant is non-native andinvasive. It very effectively establishes itself inwetter soils particularly if the area has beendisturbed. Loosestrife has rapidly filled inspaces between the plants we purposely added.We have tried cutting the plant back, treatingwith chemicals, and excavating, but none ofthese appears to have made an impact on theloosestrife population. It is possible thateventually the loosestrife will force out theintentionally planted flora and we will then havea mono-specific community of only loosestrife.This extreme limit to plant diversity will carryover into the faunal components of the shorelinecommunity. Early this summer, the NJDepartment of Agriculture came on campus torelease 3000 European leaf-eating beetles, anatural predator of loosestrife, in the hopes ofslowly decreasing (if not eliminating!) theloosestrife population. The beetles will takeseveral years to establish an effective "grazing"community on the loosestife (and it won't eatany of the other plants!). While we wait forthem to do their job, Rider and LawrenceMiddle School students will monitor the densityof the loosestrife population. Assuming thebeetles are effective in controlling theloosestrife, our data will document the process.Other options for decreasing the population willcontinue to be considered.

WELCOME TO NEW FACULTY

The Biology Department hired Dr. Paul Jivoff,a marine biologist associated with theSmithsonian Environmental Research Center,located on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay,MD, to replace Dr. David Campbell. Paulreceived his B.A. degree in biology from

Hartwick College in New York in 1983.Subsequently, he received his M.S. inenvironmental biology in 1986 from Ohio StateUniversity, and his Ph.D. in zoology from TheUniversity of Maryland in 1995. In addition tohis affiliation with their Chesapeake Bay marinelaboratory, Paul has conducted research at theSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute inPanama and at the Smithsonian Marine Stationat Fort Pierce, FL. Paul was also the director ofSeacamp at the Newfound Harbor MarineInstitute, Big Pine Key, FL, in 1989, a marinestation where the Department of Geological andMarine Sciences has periodically based severalcourses in January since 1982. Paul’s researchspecialty is mate selection in the commerciallyvaluable blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. He hasexpanded that focus to include the invasivegreen crab, Carcinus maenas. Recently, he wasawarded a NJ Sea Grant and has employedRider marine science major Steve Snopkowskito assist him this past summer in his blue crabproject based at the Rutgers UniversityTuckerton field station. Paul will teach theintroductory marine biology course in the fallsemester of 2002. Welcome, Paul, to Rider, tothe biology department, and to the marinesciences program.

HAVING A HOT TIME IN CHILE

You might blame global warming if you wereexperiencing temperatures of 95-100 degreesevery day at the end of December 2001. But notif you were in the capital city of Santiago, Chilelocated at 33 degrees south latitude. Although itmight be cold and snowy here at that time ofyear, it is the height of summer in the SouthernHemisphere. Fortunately, Dr. Jonathan Huschhad the chance to experience "summer inDecember" while also getting the opportunity tosee some of the fantastic geology of centralChile and the beautiful Andes Mountains.Although the primary purpose of Jon's trip wasto visit his uncle and family living in Santiago,

he also took every opportunity to look at someof the local rocks.

Santiago is a sprawling, modern city ofapproximately six million people. Situated inChile's Central Valley, sandwiched betweenrelatively low coastal mountains and the highpeaks of the Andes, Santiago sits atapproximately 1000 feet above sea level andreminded Jon very much of Los Angeles, bothin look and climate. Another similarity betweenSantiago and Los Angeles is the commonoccurrence of earthquakes, one of which (asmall one) Jon experienced during his visit.

The geologic and visual highlight of the tripcame when Jon travelled up into the Andes toValle Nevado, a popular ski area located about30 miles east of Santiago. The slow drive up tothe ski lodge, which sits fortress-like on a barrenpromontory at an elevation of approximately10,000 feet, took over two hours on a narrow,partially paved road full of tight turns andswitchbacks, but no shoulders or guard rails!The views of the high peaks of the Andes,including the range's highest peak (at 22,834feet), Cerro Aconcagua, were well worth theoften heart-stopping ride.

The geology at Valle Nevado is dominated byTertiary volcanoclastic and extrusive rocks,typically of andestic composition. Given therugged topography and large vertical relief, rockexposures are incredible (see accompanyingphotograph). Note also the deformation of theolder layers, whereas more recent units arerelatively flat lying. The angular unconformitybetween the two groups is strikingly apparent,even from over two miles away (seephotograph)! Jon waited over 20 years to makehis first trip to Chile. It will be a much shorterperiod of time before his next one.

DR. HONGBING SUN PROMOTED

Dr. Honbing Sun was promoted to AssociateProfessor this past spring by the RiderUniversity Board of Regents. Dr. Sun joined theDept. Of Geological and Marine Sciences in thefall of 1997. Since his affiliation, he has taughtcourses in Earth materials and processes lab,environmental geology, Earth and life throughtime laboratory, statistical applications in thenatural sciences laboratory, and hydrology andwater resources. A laboratory course was addedto his 400-level hydrology course in the fall of2001. Additionally, Hongbing developed new300-level courses in environmentalbiogeochemistry as well as soil and surficialgeology. Hongbing’s specialty is surface andsubsurface hydrology. Dr. Sun has published 12articles since his affiliation with Rider. He hasalso presented 19 abstracts at professionalmeetings, including 6 with Rider geosciencemajors. Recently, he has been focusing on thehydrology of New Jersey salt marshes invadedby the tall grass Phragmites, as well as gasolinetransport in sandy aquifers near coastal areasfollowing underground fuel tank ruptures.Congratulations, Hongbing.

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN

After an extensive international search, Dr.Reed Schwimmer '84 was unanimouslyselected by the department to fill the tenure-track faculty line vacated by Dr. Mary Jo Hall(Emeritus) as a full-time assistant professorstarting this September. This really should nothave come as much of a surprise given Reed'sexcellent work for the department over theyears, particularly during his one-yearappointment this past academic year. Forexample, just this past year alone, Reed taughtphysical geology, oceanography, environmentalgeology, environmental science lab, andstratigraphy. Both his students and colleaguesgave all his courses excellent reviews. Reed also

extensively participated in new studentrecruitment, curriculum development, andfacility improvements for the department.

At Rider, Reed will continue his research on thegeomorphology and evolution of salt marshes,while also studying how the science of geologyis taught to undergraduates. This new area of hisresearch resulted in a recent paper entitledCharting the course: Using flow charts toillustrate the connections and relationshipswithin geology, which was presented at the 2001Annual Meeting of the Geological Society ofAmerica.

We are all very excited to have Reed on ourfaculty and look forward to many more years ofhis continuing contributions to the department.

INDEPENDENT STUDENT RESEARCHAND SENIOR THESES

The following students completed independentresearch projects and senior theses for creditduring 2001–2002.

Jill Brown—Size- and Site-Selectivity ofParasitism by the Boring Sponge Cliona lampaon New Jersey Whelks and Moonsnails”Christine Buccheri—The Effects of Salinity,Light Intensity, Temperature, and Nutrients onthe Growth and Chlorophyll Content of Ulvalactuca; Russ Burke—Influence of SedimentGrain Size and Salinity on the Burrowing Rateof the Juvenile Hard Clam M e r c e n a r i amercenaria; Robert Mack—Predator-PreyInteractions Between the Moonsnail Neveritaduplicata and the Bivalve Species Anadaranotabilis, Chione elevata, and Dinocardiumrobustu; Serena Turner—Carrion Selection ofthe Mud Dog Whelk Ilyanassa obsoleta; MattWotjko—Comparisons of Selected ChannelCores Offshore Mommouth County, NJ.

ALUMNI UPDATE

Alumni continue to stop by to visit or contact uswith their latest news. If you haven't done sorecently, please feel free to tell us about what isgoing on in your life. You can find more alumni

news, including specific contact information, onour alumni web page, located athttp://enigma.rider.edu/~wwwgeo/ alumni.html.We look forward to hearing from you.

Kevin Kilmartin '77 is the manager of thegeology department at Tetra Tech NUS in Kingof Prussia, Pennsylvania. He's been with NUSfor about 12 years and is a hydrogeologist withresponsibilities in hazardous waste siteinvestigation and remediation for a variety ofgovernment clients, including the EPA, theNavy, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Priorto working for NUS, Kevin spent 9 years withExxon in Houston as a biostratigrapher andregional geologist. While at Exxon, he workedwith Richard Brown '76 and HenryPosamentier (Former Faculty). Kevin has alsohas run into Hilary Johns '76 and Rob Fisher'78 over the years. Kevin and his wife, Jill, havetwo daughters, Catherine and Rebecca.

Wayne Froelich '84 recently changed careers.He is now working for the New JerseyDepartment of Environmental Protection in theirUnderground Storage Division, along withDiane Pupa '84 and Ron Bannister '85.

Darin Klewsaat '88 is the Assistant OperationsManager for the Southern Lime Company's limeplant in Calera, Alabama. Southern Lime ownsand operates the plant, formally owned by BlueCircle Cement. Darin is responsible forproduction, health and safety, andenvironmental issues at the plant. He's alsoinvolved with evaluations of limestonegeochemistry and the resulting lime chemistry.Darin and his wife, Theresa (Rider financegraduate), have two sons, Austin and Tristan,and a daughter, Jenna.

Jacki Frizano '93 completed her Ph.D. inEnvironmental Geology from the University ofPennsylvania. Congratulations, Dr. Frizano!Jackie is living in Philadelphia and working as ageologist for an environmental consulting firm,URS Corporation, in Blue Bell, PA. Jackie saysshe is just trying to stay busy and out of trouble.Good luck on the latter.

Dawn Chicano '96 is living in Wildwood, NJand working in an animal hospital as aveterinary technician. She's also a substituteteacher for a local school district. She recentlypassed her certification exams and is looking toteach high school biology.

Jessica Stephen '96 completed her Masters inMarine Sciences at the University of SouthCarolina. Her thesis research involved nutritionin penaeid shrimp. Jessica is a marine biologistwith the S. Carolina Dept. of Natural Resourcesat their Marine Resources Research Institute,Shellfish Research Section. She is working onoyster reefs, including resident species, transientspecies, and restoration processes.

Kelly McAloon '98 completed her Master'sdegree in coastal estuary studies at theUniversity of Maryland. After Maryland, Kellyworked for the non-profit organization, RestoreAmerica's Estuaries, in Arlington, Virginia.Recently, she accepted a position as anenvironmental scientist for Versar, Inc. inSpringfield, Virginia. Kelly is working in theirhealth assessment risk division reviewingpesticide studies conducted by the EPA forcorrect protocols and results assessment.

Megan Tutera '98 is working at Sea World inOhio where she is responsible for training sealions. As you can tell from the picture, Megan isenjoying her work almost as much as her friendseems to be enjoying Megan.

Jennifer Fager Rauth '00 is still working forGroundwater and Environmental Services, Inc.,but now in their Mt. Laurel, NJ office. She's partof their ExxonMobil Group working on servicestation monitoring and remediation. She and her

husband, Scott, live in Bensalem, PA. Jen saysto check out her company's web site atwww.gesonline.com.

Brian Kennedy '01 is working forEnvironmental Business Solutions International,Inc. in Riverdale, NJ. He says he is doing manydifferent tasks for them, including computer andmap work, report writing, pump test analysis,and well logging and installation. Recently,Brian added computer modeling with ModFlowto his list of tasks. Sounds like all of hisgroundwater hydrology studies while he was atRider are being put to good use. Brian alsomentioned that he has been travelling a lot forwork, including trips to Baltimore, Boise,B o s t o n , a n d T e x a s .

7