L-R: Arianda Sosa (SEBS’27) and colleagues Bria Nelson and Romolo Tobon-Ramirez working on the construction of the newest bridge at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve by screwing in new planks. Photo: Kendall Eldredge

For Rutgers senior Ariadna Sosa, a passion for wildlife that began in childhood has grown into a commitment to understanding ecosystems and protecting the natural world. Through an experiential learning project at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve, Sosa is exploring the relationships between native wildflowers and the insects that pollinate them, gaining practical research skills while helping others appreciate the importance of insect conservation.

Sosa, who expects to graduate in spring 2027 from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) with a degree in ecology, evolution, and natural resources and a minor in sustainability, has long been interested in the environment. As a child, she was fascinated by cheetahs and green sea turtles but learning that her favorite animals were endangered prompted her to think more deeply about the threats facing wildlife.

“I quickly learned that my favorite animals were endangered and that humans were at fault for hunting them and destroying their environment,” Sosa said. “Nine-year-old me couldn’t imagine a world where they wouldn’t be a part of it, so I needed an answer on what to do.”

That search for answers eventually led her toward environmental science. Her interest in sustainability developed later, following an environmental justice event at the community college she attended before transferring to Rutgers. Hearing Melissa Miles, executive director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, discuss justice and sustainability introduced Sosa to another dimension of environmentalism and inspired her to pursue the sustainability minor at Rutgers.

Today, her experiential learning project, funded by the Experiential Connections & Engaged Learning (ExCEL) Lab, brings those interests into the field, where she is investigating the small but essential organisms that help sustain healthy ecosystems.

Observing the connections between flowers and insects

A glimpse of the diverse fauna and flora in the Small Meadow at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve. Photo: Ariadna Sosa

Sosa’s project focuses on the Small Meadow at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve (RUEP), near the intersection of the northern white trail connector and the orange trail. Her goal is to document interactions between native wildflowers and insect pollinators, identifying which insects visit the meadow’s flowers and which flowers attract the most activity.

The opportunity developed through Sosa’s summer internship at the preserve. Interested in insects, she discussed possible experiential learning projects with Richard Lathrop, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources and faculty director of the Rutgers Ecological Preserve. Lathrop suggested studying pollinating invertebrates in the Small Meadow, with the possibility of turning her findings into an educational infographic for visitors.

Sosa began by identifying insects and flowers, drawing on the iNaturalist identification platform, online image searches and notes from a previous insect biology course. She then visited the meadow weekly to observe interactions between insects and flowering plants, recording each encounter by insect species in a spreadsheet.

One of many flowers and bees that Ariadna Sosa spent observing as part of her experiential learning experience.

The work required patience, careful observation and a willingness to refine her approach. Initially, Sosa planned to observe each flower species for 10 minutes at a time to maximize the amount of data collected. She soon discovered that maintaining focus while watching a single flower for that long was more difficult than anticipated.

“I hadn’t considered how long 10 minutes would feel when just staring at one flower,” she said.

Rather than abandon the project, she adjusted her methodology. In the second week, she shortened each observation period to five minutes and restarted her data collection. The revised approach allowed her to remain focused while still gathering substantial information and producing more consistent observations.

That experience became an important lesson in the realities of research: a well-designed project requires not only a clear question but also the flexibility to adapt when an initial method does not work as expected.

Building confidence outside of the classroom
For Sosa, one of the most rewarding aspects of the experience has been developing the confidence to conduct independent fieldwork and research.

Although she had gained scientific knowledge through her coursework, leading a project of this scale presented a new challenge. She was accustomed to assignments with clearly defined instructions and expectations. This project, by contrast, gave her greater independence in determining how to collect and interpret information.

“Having nearly free rein was exciting, but I had doubts whether I would be able to succeed,” she said. “With each passing week I got more confident with my work and problems that came my way were fixed with a bit of brainstorming.”

In addition to strengthening her research skills, Sosa expanded her ability to identify birds, insects and trees through her work at the preserve. Her experience also illustrates how experiential learning can help students apply classroom knowledge in less predictable settings, where observation, critical thinking and problem-solving are essential.

Arianda Sosa, with Romolo Tobon-Ramirez and Bria Nelson working on leveling the ground to place the new stringer boards to extend the new bridge at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve. Photo: Kendall Eldredge

Lathrop, who oversees the preserve’s student land stewardship program, sees these experiences as valuable opportunities for undergraduates to develop both practical skills and a deeper sense of connection to the environment.

“Each summer we hire a crew of 3-4 undergraduate students to serve as land stewards at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve,” Lathrop said. Working under the guidance of an experienced graduate student, Kendal Eldredge, and Lathrop, as faculty director, students participate in a 12-week experience that includes trail maintenance and construction, carpentry, plant and animal identification, invasive species removal and ecological restoration.

“Most importantly, I hope they learn the value of putting in a hard day out-of-doors and giving back to the natural and human community,” he said. “Everyone we meet on the trail is very appreciative for the work the crew puts in that allows them to traverse a landscape that they treasure.”

Sosa’s project complements that stewardship work by examining the ecological relationships that make natural spaces valuable and worth protecting.

Turning research into public education
Sosa hopes her findings will have an impact beyond her own academic development. Once her analysis is complete, she plans to create an infographic highlighting the pollinators observed in the Small Meadow and their interactions with native wildflowers. The finished resource will be displayed at the preserve to help visitors better understand the diversity of insects that support local ecosystems.

“Insects are foundational to ecosystems globally, but often get a bad reputation,” Sosa said. She hopes the infographic will demonstrate that wildflowers depend on a variety of insects, not just bees, while helping visitors recognize and better understand these often-overlooked organisms.

Her approach reflects a broader conservation challenge: protecting biodiversity requires not only scientific knowledge but also public understanding. By helping visitors identify insects and learn about their ecological roles, Sosa hopes to encourage greater appreciation for species that might otherwise be dismissed or misunderstood.

“If my infographic can get even one person to care about the conservation of an insect that they weren’t familiar with beforehand, I would be proud,” she said.

Ariadna Sosa learning how to properly clean and take care of a chainsaw at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve. Photo: Kendall Eldredge

As her Fall 2026 experiential learning project continues, Sosa has completed data collection and is nearing the end of her analysis. Her next steps are to draw conclusions about the observed pollinator interactions and translate those findings into the planned infographic.

An opportunity worth pursuing
Reflecting on her experience, Sosa encourages fellow students to explore experiential learning opportunities early in their academic careers. With a major as broad as ecology, evolution and natural resources, she noted, students have many possible paths to consider after graduation. Hands-on experiences can help them discover which interests they might wish to pursue professionally.

“I definitely would recommend students try getting into a learning experience sooner rather than later,” she said. Starting early gives students time to explore different options and choose an experience that genuinely excites them, rather than treating it as a last-minute academic requirement.

For Sosa, the experience at the Rutgers Ecological Preserve has brought together her longstanding interest in wildlife, her developing commitment to sustainability and the practical skills needed to investigate ecological questions. It has also shown her that research is not simply about collecting data; it is about asking questions, adapting when challenges arise and finding ways to make discoveries meaningful to others.

Through her work in the Small Meadow, Sosa is learning to see the natural world not just as something to appreciate, but as something to study, understand and help protect.

 

Image by hansstuart1nm, licensed via Adobe Stock (Education License)

Along the white sandy shores of the northern Gulf of Mexico, two endangered species share the same narrow strip of coastline — but they don’t always want the same things from it. From a new study published in the journal, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, affiliate of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute Brooke Maslo, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, alongside co-authors Lydia Heilferty, Sara Zeigler, and Thomas Schlacher, explore what it takes to protect both beach mice and snowy plovers.

By compiling related publications from 1980 to 2023, the authors synthesize the habitat preferences of both beach mice and snowy plovers. Beach mice are tiny, pale-colored rodents that live in vegetated sand dunes. Snowy plovers are small shorebirds that nest on flat, open, sandy beaches with very little plant cover. While they live side by side, these two species have very different habitat needs — and that creates a real problem for land managers trying to help both.

Climate change makes this harder. More frequent and intense storms will reshape future coastline environments. This puts pressure on managers to act quickly — and sometimes reactively — in ways that may not serve all species.

However, there could be some overlap to serving both species. The authors recommend maintaining a diverse mix of beach and dune features rather than optimizing for just one species. Vegetation that appears in both habitats can be planted. Dune heights can be regulated to appeal to both beach mice and snowy plovers. Ultimately, more work needs to be done to investigate the intersection of these preferred ecosystems.

 This “habitat mosaic” approach could benefit not only mice and plovers, but also other coastal species like least terns and black skimmers — and could inform coastal management policy at the state and federal level.

“As wildlife are continually confined to managed open space habitats, meeting the conservation needs of all species becomes increasingly challenging. Identifying congruence among species of conservation concern is essential to preserving population viability.” -Brooke Maslo

You can read the full study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109603

This article was written with assistance from Artificial Intelligence, was reviewed and edited by Kenneth Tam, and was reviewed by Brooke Maslo, a co-author on the study.

 

Suzanne Sukhdeo speaks with participants at the 2025 STEM Ambassadors program.

Suzanne Sukhdeo has overseen myriads of students during her career at Rutgers, whether as an associate teaching professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources or as a coordinator for the Student Success Initiative.   

After 37 years at Rutgers, she is set to retire in July. Her impact resonates both in the parasitology research she published and the students she has taught and advised. 

One of them is Russell Gurland, a Rutgers Honors College student who graduated this year with a bachelor of science degree in ecology, evolution and natural resources and a minor in entomology.    

Gurland’s first course at Rutgers was Sukhdeo’s “Trees and the Environment” class. 

“I’ve heard from a lot of people that the way people get interested in the ecology, evolution and natural resources major is Dr. Sukhdeo,” he said. “[She] gets people into the program through her enthusiasm for the subject and the way she teaches and her advising.”    

He recalled always sitting toward the front of her class and always asking questions. 

“Eventually, she had to limit me, saying ‘let the other people get a chance,’” he said jokingly. 

This wasn’t the first time he met Sukhdeo. In high school, Gurland was connected to Rutgers through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s  4-H program in Union County. He also participated in the Rutgers 4-H STEM Ambassadors Program in 2020. That is when he met Sukhdeo for the first time. 

In the program, participants have the chance to meet many different Rutgers researchers in a roundtable session, and they usually have their choice of researchers to question, from equine science to microbiology to mathematics.

The one table that stood out to Gurland was “the one with a bunch of intestinal worms and jars” on the table.  

“A lot of people are grossed out by that,” he said. “I found it pretty interesting.” 

There he met Sukhdeo and her husband.  

Suzanne Sukhdeo (left) and Russell Gurland at the 2026 SEBS Convocation.

Gurland’s time in the program kickstarted his student research career. While in high school, he reached out to a Rutgers professor to learn more about a particular interest: herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles. That professor referred him to her graduate student, and soon enough Gurland was going into the field before he even went to college. 

He credited the program for introducing him to the world of research academia and giving him the opportunity to interact with people he wouldn’t have otherwise. He advised those coming after him to take advantage of Rutgers outreach opportunities like these. 

“It is very hard to build up the courage to talk to somebody who you see as such a professional in their field,” he said. “The STEM Ambassadors Program …  gets you in a room with so many different individuals – so many who are so incredibly passionate about what they’re doing. And they’re there to share what they do with you and they’re happy to do so.”  

Becoming a Rutgers Researcher    

With experiences like these, “I was just like Rutgers [is] 100% the university I wanted to go to,” he said.   

As an Honors College student, Gurland was encouraged to get out of the classroom and do research for his credits. Through his connections at Rutgers, he was able to secure an internship at New York’s American Museum of Natural History in its invertebrate zoology department. There, he helped organize massive, but delicate international collections. 

“After being there and doing stuff for a couple of years, I just asked if I could come back,” said Gurland, who reached out to the herpetology department to have a chance to work with his favorite creatures.   

His research didn’t stop there. In the days leading up to convocation, he was helping another professor collect salamander specimens to swab for an amphibious disease. 

Gurland is looking to stay close as he contemplates graduate schools. In the meantime, he continues to volunteer at the museum, now studying snake genetics. He said the more research experience, the better when it comes to graduate school applications. 

Gurland said he would be happy to find himself in a museum position. But he feels like a university is where he would like to end up. 

“There’s the opportunity for research [and] interacting with people who are very like-minded and love animals,” he said. 

Gurland spokes fondly of the connections he’s made at Rutgers. He still talks to the graduate student (now a doctor) who gave him his start in field work back in high school. 

“I was just sending him a message about the salamanders I found this morning,” Gurland said. “His mentorship has been one of the most incredible things about Rutgers.”  

Gurland has remained in touch with Sukhdeo throughout his undergraduate career. 

“I only did have two classes with her, but she did make an amazing impact,” he said. “Essentially, she has been my first introduction to actually being a student at Rutgers and one of my last courses, as well. 

“I’m very glad to have had the chance to take them since she is retiring.”    

And as for matters outside of academia? Gurland, who is fond of reptiles (especially snakes) and amphibians, hopes to care for one as a pet once he has the space to do so. 

“They scare most people, but I’m the one who just picks them up when I see them,” he said with a smile. 

This article was written by Mitaali Taskar, a science communicator and research project assistant with Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, and first appeared in Rutgers Today.

 

Students, faculty and community members work together to plant thousands of native trees and shrubs.

On a patch of Livingston campus once covered in asphalt, Rutgers University-New Brunswick students are planting the beginnings of a forest, one designed not just to grow quickly but to bring people into the work of reforestation.

The transformation is part of the Livingston Abandoned Roadway Environmental Restoration project, which replaces an obsolete roadway dating back to the Camp Kilmer World War II staging ground with a dense planting of native species using the Miyawaki method, a fast-growing approach to reforestation that rebuilds soil and layers vegetation to accelerate natural growth.

But the project is about more than ecology.

“This is as much about people as it is about trees,” said Josh Kover SEBS’25, a graduate student in landscape architecture who designed the forest as part of his honors thesis and has helped lead the effort. “We’re thinking about how to build a culture of stewardship, how to make environmental work something that feels accessible, communal and lasting.”

Josh Kover, SEBS’25, who is working towards a master’s degree in landscape architecture, helps community participants plant trees at the Livingston Abandoned Roadway Environmental Restoration site.

Kover spent more than a year designing the site alongside faculty and university partners, including Jason Grabosky, a professor in the Rutgers Urban Forestry Program, working to recreate the complexity of a natural ecosystem in a highly managed environment. 

“We’re trying to design a system that works like a natural forest from day one, instead of waiting decades for it to get there,” Kover said. “The goal was to create something that’s not just planted, but functional, something that can sustain itself over time.”

That meant rebuilding the soil, carefully selecting native species and planting densely across layers, from canopy trees to shrubs to groundcover, to create the conditions for a self-sustaining system.

The project is supported by a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stormwater grant funded through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act. The concept was developed by Brian Clemson, the university’s landscape architect, who serves as principal investigator of the project. He worked with staff in Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations and faculty to shape the site not only as a stormwater solution, but as a living lab for teaching, research and environmental restoration. 

Operations and faculty to shape the site not only as a stormwater solution, but as a living lab for teaching, research and environmental restoration. 

“This is a significant and unique opportunity,” said Clemson. “The roadway had been abandoned for decades. It is almost a once in a lifetime professional career opportunity.”

This will enable current and future students and researchers an opportunity to study how forests, forest ecosystems and forest soils form and evolve, explained Clemson.

The project reflects a broader shift in how institutions think about land use.

“It’s rare to see a place decide a roadway is no longer necessary and even rarer to turn it into something that functions as an environmental asset,” Kover said. “It’s already a model for what you can do with old transportation corridors when they’re no longer in use.”

Professor Jason Grabosky speaks with participants at the Rutgers Tree Planting Festival.

The Miyawaki method, developed in Japan, has gained traction globally as communities look for ways to restore green space quickly. In New Jersey, a small but increasing number of sites have adopted the approach, though the practice remains relatively new in the United States.

Kover said the method is widely used but still being studied. Even so, he said, the growing interest has value.

“People are still doing the right things, planting native species, thinking about soil, thinking about systems,” he said. “And that’s a big step in the right direction.”

At Rutgers, the site will serve as a living lab. Researchers plan to study soil microbes, plant competition and long-term forest health, helping build a clearer understanding of how dense, fast-growing forests develop.

“This gives us a chance to answer some of those open questions while the forest is actually developing,” Kover said. “It’s not just a planting. It’s something we’ll be able to study for years.”

For Kover, the science is only half the story.

“The environmental benefits matter, but they don’t go very far if people don’t feel connected to them,” he said. “If no one knows about a project like this, it doesn’t reach its full potential.”

That vision came to life during the Rutgers Tree Planting Festival, a student-led, university-wide initiative designed not just to plant trees, but to bring people into the process. Held April 18, the festival drew more than 500 attendees, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and local residents, around a common goal: Plant 3,000 trees and, in the process, lay the foundation for a dense, fast-growing native forest.

“If I’d never attended the tree planting festival, I’d have thought that reforesting an area was an unfathomably difficult task that probably involved luck and the passage of thousands of years,” said Vikram Kadayan, who graduated from the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences in 2025 with a degree in computer science. “One tree planting festival later, I learned it’s actually an approachable process that I got to be a part of. And all the while, I got to listen to great music, learn about the natural world around me and enjoy delicious empanadas.”

The event combined hands-on planting with music, art and opportunities to learn, reflecting what Kover said is a critical piece of climate work that is often overlooked.

Read more in the full Rutgers Today article.

 

Asem Kiyalova (left), a Rutgers graduate student and research assistant, and Sue Huang examine plant specimens housed at the Chrysler Herbarium. Photo: Jeff Arban/Rutgers University

Sue Huang is using speculative and critical design to bring long-dead plant species in New Jersey back to life in the collective human consciousness.  

Sue Huang. Photo: Courtesy of Sue Huang

Her latest work is a collaborative effort founded in both science and the imagination – one that involves graduate students and mixes research, history, software development, visual design and plant biology. 

Central to the effort is the development of a software tool – “the heart of the project in many ways,” Huang said – that reconstructs plant forms from historical descriptions, generating three-dimensional models using artificial intelligence.

“The project reintroduces lost or disappearing plant species from New Jersey’s ecologies into contemporary culture by giving them new form,” said Huang, the inaugural Rutgers University-New Brunswick Laureate.

Her laureate project, Bodies of Flora, will culminate with what the artist and designer described as a “lecture performance” that explores botanical loss and visualizes the resurrection of vanished plants.  

Huang, an assistant professor with the Department of Art & Design at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, has enlisted help from the Chrysler Herbarium and Mycological Collection as well as the Department of Plant Biology and the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, all of which are part of the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.  

She also tapped graduate students – including two general research assistants with the Art & Design department at Mason Gross and a software engineering student from the Rutgers School of Engineering – in critical roles to help her realize this blending of art and science. 

Asem Kiyalova. Photo: Azhar Kudaibergenova

Asem Kiyalova, a graduate teaching fellow with the Art & Design department who teaches undergraduate courses in design and typography at Mason Gross, is helping Huang on a website for the project, particularly the user interface and user experience aspects.  

“She was my first professor when I arrived,” said Kiyalova, who hails from Almaty, Kazakhstan, and graduates in May with a master of fine arts degree in design. “I was dreaming about working with her at some point. And when she offered, I was like, ‘This is the dream come true.’” 

Kiyalova said that while testing the website, “We found that many people are not aware of the herbarium on the Rutgers campus, or even what an herbarium is, despite it being such a valuable resource. The website we are designing aims to highlight this space, bringing greater recognition to the herbarium and showcasing the important and fascinating work carried out there. In this way, it helps tell the broader story of herbaria and their significance.”

She also credited Huang for trusting her and others and involving them in “the conceptual part of this project.”

“I’m learning from her how to lead a project and how to make things happen from scratch,” said Kiyalova, who speaks Kazakh, Russian and English, received her bachelor degree in graphic design from Teesside University in the United Kingdom and worked for years in the advertising industry. “I’m so happy that I’m a part of a team. I’m so excited about the upcoming performance.” 

Another Mason Gross graduate student, Anukriti Kaushik, is a lecturer with the Art & Design department who is pursuing a master of fine arts degree in design. She is conducting materials research and physical fabrication for the project. 

Rutgers graduate student and research assistant Anukriti Kaushik works in the Mason Gross School of the Arts papermaking studio in December. Photo:
Sue Huang

Initially, when she started the project, Huang said her thought was to research scientific and historical archives “in which we would examine the morphological descriptions of the plants,” including extirpated plants – ones “that no longer exist locally in their original habitats” – and extinct plant species.  
 
“We are looking at these descriptions, and I was thinking about ways of using this language, which describes the plant body, to bring these plants back into the cultural consciousness through a range of social practices and material explorations, including the generation of visual and audio materials” she said. “I use language to give these botanical ghosts a body.” 

Kundan Kumar Reddy Digavinti, a graduate student attending the Rutgers School of Engineering, is working to make the project’s 3D-modeling software tool a reality.  

Digavinti, a native of Chennai, India, who earned his bachelor degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in India, said he was “just scrolling through” Rutgers webpages when he came across news about Huang and her laureate project. 

“The point which took my attention was the resurrection of the plants, the historical plans where we didn’t see them,” said Digavinti, further explaining that the challenge was to represent these lost plants based on archived descriptions of researchers from the past century or earlier. “It was like bringing back them to life in the form of art or something.” 

He added that his role – “to produce a good artwork based on the texts that were historical” – is to bring “all the tools by using the AI, the AI models and integrate it into one tool where the user will get an output by giving one single prompt.” 

Working on multiple artificial intelligence models was a “first for me,” said Digavinti, who is pursuing a master degree in electrical and computer engineering with a focus on software engineering.

Kundan Kumar Reddy Digavinti. Photo: Courtesy of Kundan Kumar Reddy Digavinti

“I was completely involved in building and designing a pipeline to generate images by processing natural language from the texts,” he said. “And since this was the first time that I was entirely working on a project from the beginning to the end working with multiple models, it was a good learning experience. It was also not my discipline.” 

Huang also is collaborating with Megan King, a graduate student and the collections manager at the Chrysler Herbarium who assists with access to the collections and offers insight into herbarium practices, and Lena Struwe, the director of Chrysler Herbarium and a professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, “who has been very instrumental to our understanding of what needed to be considered in the software tool development.” 

The professor said she has enjoyed having graduate students work with her on the project, adding that their mix of scholarly pursuits were critical to bringing Bodies of Flora to fruition. 

“They bring their own set of skills, which enhances the work we’re doing on the project,” Huang said. “I have my own areas of expertise, but I see deep knowledge in research as knowing how to bring together the skills of others to move the work forward.” 

“From another point of view, I would say the students bring vibrancy, excitement, optimism and a strong work ethic to the project.” 

Huang will present Bodies of Flora at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, as part of a performance program for the Jersey Art Book Fair held at Mana Contemporary, a cultural center at 888 Newark Ave., Jersey City, N.J. 

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

 

Brooke Maslo (with her dog, Poseidon) stands in the floodplain forest she designed in the Watson-Crampton neighborhood of Woodbridge, New Jersey, where houses once stood. Photo credit: Shelley Kusnetz.

Brooke Maslo, associate extension specialist in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, has been named the inaugural holder of the Joanna Burger Endowed Legacy Professorship. Maslo assumed the professorship effective April 23.

Maslo’s appointment is supported by a gift from Joanna Burger, a Distinguished Professor with appointments in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) and the School of Arts and Sciences, and Michael Gochfeld, professor emeritus in the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, to establish the professorship in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at SEBS.

“I am beyond honored to be selected as the Inaugural Burger Endowed Legacy Professor,” Maslo said. “Dr. Burger was instrumental in shaping my academic career trajectory so many years ago, and through this endeavor, she is continuing to promote both wildlife conservation and women in science. I am truly grateful for her mentorship, as well as Dr. Gochfeld’s generosity in supporting this professorship.”

In this role, Maslo will continue her research on the complex interactions between environmental change and species’ evolutionary, behavioral and physiological characteristics. As an applied ecologist, her work spans coastal ecosystem responses to sea-level rise, wildlife management in the face of emerging infectious diseases and restoration of ecosystem function in vulnerable habitats.

This is the first legacy professorship established within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Legacy professorships, approved by the Rutgers Board of Governors in 2020, enable current, emeritus and retired faculty and their families to create endowed positions that honor their legacy.

Maslo’s scholarship integrates applied and basic research. 

As an extension specialist, she focuses on connecting research with communities and public agencies. Her work includes scholarship, teaching and service, with projects that link research to public-sector decision-making.

Her applied approach is reflected in projects such as her work with New Jersey communities through the state’s Blue Acres program, helping guide the restoration of flood-prone coastal areas by transforming former residential land into natural floodplains that absorb stormwater, reduce future flooding and strengthen long-term resilience.

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today, under News From the Board of Governors: April 2026 | Rutgers University.

 

Image by Smileus, licensed via Adobe Stock (Education License)

Plants are remarkably good at adjusting how they capture sunlight and produce food through photosynthesis. A new computer model helps scientists better understand these adjustments by looking at what happens at different heights within a plant canopy, from the sun-drenched leaves at the top to the shaded leaves near the ground.

Chi Chen, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, and affiliate of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute, is the author of the study.

The research, published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, introduces a model called GMC-OPT (Global Multilayer Canopy OPTimization) that tracks how plants adjust their photosynthesis hour by hour and season by season. Unlike simpler models that treat an entire forest or field as one big leaf, this model considers how conditions change at different heights. Leaves at the top receive intense sunlight but risk damage, while lower leaves get less light and are more limited by energy availability. 

The model reveals several interesting patterns. First, the best time for leaves to maximize photosynthesis is not always at solar noon when sunlight is strongest. Upper canopy leaves actually perform best in the morning, before the sun becomes too intense, the environment becomes too dry, and conditions become potentially harmful to photosynthesis. Second, beyond instantaneous stomatal regulation, leaves adjust their photosynthetic capacity based on their position in the canopy at seasonal scales – called photosynthetic acclimation. The relationship between light and acclimated leaf photosynthetic capacity is not simply a straight line. Upper leaves can become saturated with too much light and other stresses, while lower leaves respond more efficiently to the light they receive.

The model also discovered that different types of vegetation manage their leaves differently through the seasons. Tree-dominated forests like evergreen and mixed forests prioritize keeping their upper, light-gathering leaves healthy. In contrast, grasslands and deciduous forests replace leaves more uniformly throughout the canopy. This helps explain why different ecosystems respond differently to seasonal changes and why forests and grasslands have distinct growth patterns.

Understanding these patterns has important implications for climate science. Photosynthesis is the largest carbon flux on land, meaning plants absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Better models of photosynthesis help scientists predict how ecosystems will respond to climate change, increasing temperatures, and rising carbon dioxide levels. They also help farmers and land managers understand how plants use water and nutrients, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture and water management.

“By understanding how plants optimize photosynthesis at different levels of the canopy and across different timescales, we can better predict how ecosystems will respond to environmental changes. This knowledge is essential for managing our forests, crops, and natural areas in a way that maximizes carbon capture while conserving water and nutrients,” said Chen.

The model was tested against data from 119 monitoring stations worldwide and accurately predicted carbon uptake at hourly to annual scales. While the model is complex, requiring detailed information about canopy structure and radiation, it provides insights that simpler models cannot. As satellite technology improves, scientists will be able to gather the detailed vertical structure information needed to apply this model globally, leading to better predictions of how vegetation affects our climate. Read the full study here.

This article was written with assistance from Artificial Intelligence, was reviewed and edited by Oliver Stringham, and was reviewed and edited by Chi Chen, the author of the study.

 

L-R: Frances Wood (UKRI), and collaborators Bruce Greive (U Manchester), Siobain Duffy (Rutgers), Linda Hanley-Bowdoin (North Carolina State U), Hujun Yin (U Manchester), Jose Trino Ascencio-Ibáñez (NCSU), Vasthi Alonso-Chavez (Rothamsted Research) pictured at the Pioneering UK–US Breakthroughs (PUB) Award event on March 4, 2026. Photo credit: Thomas Pospiech – UKRI North America Thomas.Pospiech@ukri.org

At a reception hosted at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. on March 4, Professor Siobain Duffy and her international research team were recognized with the Pioneering UK–US Breakthroughs (PUB) Award, a distinction honoring seven collaborative teams whose work is addressing some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

Presented by His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Christian Turner, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) International Director Frances Wood, the award highlights the global impact of cross-border scientific partnerships. Duffy, professor and chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, was part of one of the seven selected teams, recognized for pioneering a transformative technology to detect crop viruses.

Duffy serves as principal investigator on the NSF-BBSRC-funded project, “US-UK Collab: Resurrecting a role for roguing: Presymptomatic detection with multispectral imaging to quantify and control the transmission of cassava brown streak disease.” The research introduces a novel multispectral imaging device capable of detecting viral infections in crops earlier, faster, and more cost-effectively than traditional genetic testing.

Genetic analysis of cassava brown streak disease root necrosis using image analysis and genome-wide association studies. Copyright © 2024 Nandudu, Strock, Ogbonna, Kawuki and Jannink.

“This award reflects the strength of international collaboration in tackling complex global problems,” said Duffy. “By bringing together expertise across disciplines and continents, we are developing tools that can make a real difference for farmers and food systems worldwide.”

At the center of the team’s work is cassava brown streak disease, a devastating viral infection threatening cassava crops across sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava, a staple food for hundreds of millions of people, is also gaining traction globally as a climate-resilient alternative to wheat because it requires less water and can survive in harsher conditions.

The challenge, Duffy explains, is that the disease often goes undetected until it is too late. “The symptoms of the disease are often so subtle on the above-ground parts of the plant that farmers do not know their fields are infected,” she said. “The disease spreads throughout the growing season, and when the roots are harvested, they are full of necrotic lesions.”

To address this, the team has developed a cutting-edge multispectral imaging system that scans cassava leaves using wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum. Combined with machine learning models, the device can identify infected plants before visible symptoms appear—and even earlier than conventional molecular diagnostics.

“Our team has developed a multi-spectral imager that scans cassava leaves with many wavelengths of light,” Duffy explained. “Extensive training has yielded machine learning models that can detect diseased plants earlier than molecular tests, and much earlier than slight symptoms develop.” Early detection enables farmers to remove infected plants before the disease spreads. “If we had a better way to detect which plants were infected earlier in the season, then farmers could ‘rogue’ the diseased plants and prevent further spread of the disease,” she added.

A new device for field-testing crops for Cassava Mosaic and Brown Streak disease. Photo courtesy of UKRI.

The project brings together a highly interdisciplinary team spanning institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and East Africa, including molecular virologists, evolutionary biologists, engineers and AI specialists, mathematical modelers, and field-based researchers working directly with farming communities. Field testing of the imaging device is currently underway in Tanzania, where the team is evaluating its effectiveness in real-world conditions.

Looking ahead, Duffy notes that if the technology proves successful, the team plans to partner with Tanzania’s clean seed system to ensure that certified cassava planting material is free of the disease.

The broader implications of the research are significant. By enabling earlier detection and containment of plant viruses, the technology has the potential to reduce crop loss, boost yields, and decrease reliance on expensive laboratory diagnostics. In doing so, it supports local livelihoods, strengthens rural economies, and contributes to more resilient global food systems.

“This technology can help safeguard food security,” said Duffy, underscoring its importance for regions where cassava is a dietary and economic cornerstone.

Funded jointly by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council through the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease Program, the project exemplifies how international collaboration can drive innovation with meaningful, far-reaching impact.

 

New research has shown a way to easily differentiate healthy guts from unhealthy guts headed toward disease.

Scientists have identified a new way to distinguish healthy guts from diseased ones and track how some illnesses progress by measuring how gut bacteria interact with one another.

According to a study published in Science, a Rutgers-led team of scientists found that healthy and diseased digestive systems behave like two distinct ecological states, driven not by individual microbes but by how entire bacterial communities compete and cooperate.

“Instead of asking which bacteria are there, we started asking how they are related to other bacteria,” said Juan Bonachela, an assistant professor with the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a senior author of the study. “That change in perspective allowed us to see health and disease as two fundamentally different states of the gut microbiome.”

To measure how bacterial communities shift between health and disease, the team developed a new metric called the Ecological Network Balance Index, or ENBI, which captures whether microbial communities are dominated by competitive or cooperative interactions.

Applied to stool samples, ENBI consistently separated healthy individuals from patients across multiple diseases. In colorectal cancer, the index rose as the disease progressed.

“This new measure captures this shift using stool samples and can distinguish healthy people from diseased people,” said Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, the Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and an author of the study. 

Rod-shaped bacteria and spherical cocci, shown here in contrasting colors, represent different microbes that share the gut’s complex ecosystem. Scientists have found that shifts in how these microbes compete and cooperate can signal the difference between health and disease. Graphic: Xuesong Zhang/Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine

Dominguez-Bello said the findings show how disease emerges when microbial communities reorganize themselves.

“This work shows that gut health is not just about which bacteria are present, but how they interact with one another,” she said. “In diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, C. difficile infection, irritable bowel syndrome and colorectal cancer, bacteria form more cooperative, tightly connected groups that can dominate and disrupt normal function.”

Martin Blaser, an author of the study and director of Rutgers Health’s Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, said the findings help explain why so many gut-related diseases have been difficult to predict and treat.

“This gives us a new way to think about what goes wrong in the microbiome,” Blaser said. “Instead of focusing on individual microbes, it shows that disease emerges when the entire system shifts. That opens the door to earlier detection and more targeted interventions.”

The team started their research by building computer models that simulate how gut bacteria compete for nutrients and exchange metabolic byproducts.

“At first we were just testing whether the model could reproduce basic features of real microbiomes,” said Roberto Corral Lopez, the study’s lead author, who conducted the research as a Fulbright doctoral scholar at Rutgers and now is a postdoctoral associate at the Universidad de Granada and the Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional in Spain. “But very early on, we saw that it naturally produced two distinct patterns, one that looked like health and one that looked like disease.”

That prompted the researchers to compare their simulations with stool DNA data from patients.

“When we checked the data, we saw the same pattern,” Corral Lopez said. “That’s when we realized we were capturing something fundamental about how these communities reorganize in disease.”

The gut microbiome consistently settled into one of two configurations: a diverse, competitive state associated with health, and a second state dominated by small, tightly connected groups of cooperating bacteria linked to disease.

Bonachela said the insights and the tool could eventually help doctors identify problems earlier.

“In theory, it should be possible to measure it from just stool samples, which is a very non-invasive way to monitor gut health,” he said.

The findings also may help explain why gut therapies such as probiotics and fecal microbiota transplants sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

“Treatments are typically based on the idea that you need particular bacteria to be there,” Bonachela said. “But if that is not the issue, if the issue is the relationships, then it does not matter that you give the bacteria.”

With fecal transplants, he said, the benefit may come not from introducing individual species, but from restoring entire microbial communities.

“The interesting aspect is not that you introduce the species,” Bonachela said. “It is that you introduce a whole community, and therefore you are keeping the interactions that allow that community to be healthy. It is not that bacteria need to be there. They need to be there with the right partners.”

Corral Lopez said the work eventually could make microbiome-based therapies more predictable.

“Right now, donor selection is largely based on availability and basic health screening,” said Corral Lopez, referring to the process preceding fecal transplants. “What this opens up is the possibility of matching microbial communities based on how their interaction networks fit together, rather than just which species are present. That could help us design treatments that are tailored to each patient’s microbiome instead of relying on trial and error.”

Bonachela said the team hopes their work will eventually lead to earlier detection and more personalized care.

“We are trying to understand how these systems work so we can make a real difference in people’s lives,” he said.

Michael Manhart of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School contributed to the study. Other contributors include Simon Levin of Princeton University and Miguel Munoz of the Universidad de Granada.

This article originally appeared in Rutgers Today.

 

Allyson Salisbury teaches several tree-related courses that incorporate hands-on activities and getting outside. Photo credit: Roslyn Dvorin.

Allyson Salisbury, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is the recipient of the 2025 International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Early-Career Scientist Award. This Award of Distinction recognizes an individual who shows exceptional promise, with high potential to become an internationally recognized scientist.

The ISA Awards of Distinction are the highest honors given by ISA based on nominations submitted by members and industry professionals. Recipients were announced at the ISA Annual International Conference, which was held from 19-22 October in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“The Early-Career Scientist Award is designed to recognize those making a difference right from the start,” said ISA CEO and executive director Caitlyn Pollihan. “While success and impact can occur at any point in a career, we want to honor those making an impact early in their journey, which is why we are excited to present this award to Allyson Salisbury.”

As an assistant teaching professor at Rutgers, Salisbury teaches an introductory course called Trees and the Environment, as well as Arboriculture, Silviculture and Urban Forestry. In addition to teaching, she studies how to help trees and other plants thrive in towns and cities.

Before joining the Rutgers faculty, Salisbury worked as a remote researcher for the University of Florida and Temple University. Salisbury completed her master’s and Ph.D. in environmental science at Rutgers-New Brunswick and her bachelor’s degree in Earth and environmental science at Susquehanna University.

She worked as a post-doc at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and in the Holzapfel Lab at Rutgers-Newark. Additionally, she worked as a graduate mentor in the Douglass Project for Women in Math, Science and Engineering at Rutgers.

ABOUT ISA
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., U.S., is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to promoting the importance of arboriculture and educating the public about the significance of trees and the value of their proper care. As part of ISA’s advancing the arboriculture profession, it offers the only internationally recognized certification program in the industry, including ISA Certified Arborist ®. For more information about ISA and Certified Arborists, visit www.isa-arbor.com.