Research

A Bayesian Statistical Network Model of Bluff Retreat and a Littoral Sediment Budget Model for the Western Erie County Littoral Cell, Lake Erie

This project uses a combination of coastal and stratigraphic mapping at selected field sites; wave climate and sedimentologic data; GIS change-detection analysis; and Bayesian statistical modeling to improve understanding of the relationships between coastal processes, hazards, and sediment supply associated with bluff retreat on the Lake Erie coast. The project quantifies relationships between physical processes […]

Comparison of Age and Growth Patterns of Flathead Catfish in Invasive and Native Populations: A Meta-analysis with Implications for Invasive Species Management

Flathead Catfish are a long-lived apex predator native to the Gulf Coast drainage including the Ohio Basin in Pennsylvania; however, they are invasive in the Atlantic Slope of Pennsylvania. Large-scale range expansion and population increases were not realized until the late 1990s in the Delaware River drainage and the early 2000s in the Susquehanna River […]

Keystone Microtrack: Mapping Microbes and Pathogens in the Susquehanna River Basin

This project sought to characterize Salmonella in the Susquehanna River Basin, with a focus on both prevalence and which serovars were present. Additionally, we wanted to examine basic physical characteristics, as well as the bacterial communities, of those streams. Lastly, we collated this information and developed an open-source, interactive mapping tool (Keystone MicroTrack) to make […]

Assessing the Ability of Green Adsorbents to Improve Water Quality and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Performance

Stormwater runoff from urban areas is primary cause of flooding and erosion of urban streams, as well as a major source of pollution of receiving water bodies. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is increasingly being employed as a stormwater management tool in urban areas, with the intent of using infiltration to address both water quantity and […]

Wastewater as an Indicator of the Physical and Mental Health of Pennsylvania Communities

Wastewater-based epidemiology is increasingly being viewed as a powerful tool for providing information about the health of a community because each person in a treatment plant’s service area inevitably contributes to the wastewater. Here, we partnered with two wastewater treatment plants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Derry Municipal Water Authority (WWTP A) and a […]

Evaluating the Comprehensive Impacts of Urbanization and Restoration on Stream Processes

Successful restoration of the urbanized Delaware Estuary will provide great benefit to people and wildlife alike by improving ecosystem services. Although considerable progress has been made towards this goal of restoration, the estuary’s location at the center of complex urban, suburban, and agricultural land use makes this a challenge. In urban areas, one of the […]

Stormwater Nitrogen Management – Evaluating the Intersection Between Stormwater Management Practice (SMP) Design, Nitrogen Speciation, and Performance

Nonpoint sources of contaminants and nutrients have led to impairments of many water systems in the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds. Stormwater management practices (SMPs) have been implemented to improvement both water quantity and water quality outcomes, and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI), a stormwater management approach which is largely based on water retention and infiltration, is […]

Quantifying Urban Litter Contribution to Plastic Pollution and Assessing Best Mitigation Practices

Thousands of tons of plastic pollution end up in the Great Lakes every year having adverse effects on marine life and on water quality. Quantifying major sources and pathways of plastic pollution entering the Great Lakes can be highly valuable for developing suitable mitigation strategies. We propose a two yearlong study to quantify urban plastic […]

Evaluating the Effects of the Recently Discovered Non-Native, Parasitic Copepods Salmincola Edwardsii and S. Californiensis on Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout, Respectively in Pennsylvania Inland Streams and Lake Erie Tributaries

The primary focus of this project is to determine the distribution, prevalence, and genetic composition of non-native Salmincola spp. (commonly referred to as gill lice) and the potential impacts that Salmincola spp. are having on the Commonwealth’s wild trout populations. Of particular concern are the impacts of Salmincola spp. on Pennsylvania’s wild Brook Trout and […]

A Paradigm Shift: Re-Evaluating Phragmites and Phragmites Management in Terms of Coastal Resilience

Coastal wetlands of the Delaware River Estuary and much of North America are converting at a rapid pace to near-monocultures of the invasive lineage of the common reed Phragmites australis (hereafter Phragmites). Unfortunately, we know surprisingly little about how Phragmites invasion affects coastal blue carbon, specifically carbon (C) sequestration or soil C processes (e.g. soil […]

Research

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