Graduate Student Research

Emily Eisenhauer, "The Construction of Socio-ecological Vulnerability to Climate Change"

PhD Dissertation advised by Gail Hollander

This research uses a political ecology framework to investigate the current and potential future impacts of climate change in South Florida through case studies of two neighborhoods. I will explore how discourses and logics of climate change, including questions of communication and environmental justice, work in diverse physical geographies, histories, and socio-economic and political contexts to shape the nature of vulnerability to climate change in Miami Beach and Liberty City.

Danielle Ogurcak, “The influence of disturbance, seasonality, and hydrogeologic controls on plant community boundary dynamics in the Lower Florida Keys”

PhD Dissertation in Geosciences, advised by Mike Ross

The purpose of this research is to investigate spatial and temporal relationships between plant community boundaries and nutrient and fresh water availability on low-lying islands of the Lower Florida Keys, and analyze shifts in community boundary locations between 1959 and the present using digital imagery. This research was started in 2009 and it is expected to be completed in 2013.

Suresh Subedi, "Determination of Nutrient Limitation on Trees Growing in Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) Tree Islands, Boynton Beach, Florida"

Master Thesis advised by Mike Ross (started 2009 – ongoing)

The purpose of this study was to determine the general patterns of response by tree species when conditions limiting optimal growth are improved by fertilization. Eighteen trees of each species, Annona glabra and Chrysobalanus icaco, were selected randomly from each island (two peat and two limestone) and each tree was treated with one of three nutrient: N, P, or Control.