2010 CREST Annual Report - Alabama A&M University

Final Report: 0420541insect families and morphospecies, local lepidopteran species, and carabid species. She coordinates students, faculty and staff inthe collection and processing of insect samples and the entry and analysis of insect data. She assisted in refining study directionsand focus. She is also working on the identification of terrestrial snails. She trains students in insect sample curation andpreservation techniques, and also trains students in how to identify insects to order, family, and morphospecies. Heather alsoassists with data collection on small mammal, avian, and herpetofaunal research in the Bankhead National Forest and JacksonCounty, Alabama. She orders equipment and supplies necessary for thrust area research. She is Co-PI on a USDA-CSREES capacity building grant to develop a fisheries minor and aquatic ecology research experiencefor undergraduates. She co-authored a grant proposal with Dawn Lemke to the Birmingham Water Works Board to monitor theresponse of aquatic communities in Inland Lake and its tributaries to land cover and climate changes. She is also co-authoring aUSDA-CSREES watershed level proposal with integrated research, education, and extension activities in the Flint RiverWatershed.Her educational activities include developing and teaching two fisheries courses with Dr. Stone to enhance the opportunity foraquatic hands-on research training of undergraduate students at a minority serving institution. She participated in an AlabamaWater Watch Living Streams Workshop to develop skills in teaching about water-related issues to a broad range of age groups. Shetrained students in the use of water quality testing equipment and assisted in the training of students in fish collection techniques.She also tutors students in entomology identification, ecology and lab techniques. She guest lecturers for wildlife and entomologyclasses at AAMU. Heather presented an overview of the invertebrate study to the external advisory board and the internalexecutive committee. She also co-authored a poster presented at the 2007 CFEA Conference comparing the carabid beetle fauna ofJackson County, Alabama to that of the Bankhead National Forest.Her outreach/collaborative activities include assisting in the collection of herpetofaunal data in Jackson County, Alabama and theMAPS survey of birds at the Walls of Jericho in Jackson County. She also assisted in the collection, identification, and counting ofaquatic macroinvertebrates and the evaluation of sampling sites in collaboration with HsCARs. She participates in Flint RiverConservation Association meetings and assists them in activities to educate the community about and conserve the habitat for theSlackwater Darter in the Flint River Watershed. She also gave presentations about wildlife, fisheries, entomology, andbioasessment to several high school groups that toured the research lab facilities at AAMU. In addition, she presented on fishsampling techniques, native mussels, and macroinvertebrates to the Birmingham Water Works Board high school student WaterAmbassadors.Name: Lemke, DawnWorked for more than 160 Hours:YesContribution to Project:Contribution to Project: Ms. Lemke supports students and faculty from all thrust areas in an effort to build synergy throughoutCFEA and increase integration of GIS and remotely sensed information. She maintains the website and produces quarterlynewsletters. Her responsibilities include data management for the project, both spatial and non spatial. This has includeddevelopment of geodatabases for the Blackbelt, Bankhead National Forest and the Cumberland Plateau as well as non-spatialdatabases for the large datasets collected by the flora thrust area. She was involved in the logistics and planning of the CFEAconference. Ms Lemke supports Dr Tadesse in management of Thrust Area V (Human Dimension), including reporting andcoordination of research activities. She assists in the collection of the information for progress reports and CREST website andserves on the Core Steering Committee (CSC). She has developed collaboration with Canterbury University (New Zealand) oninvasive plant research and submitted a USDA CRESSE proposal to further develop this research. Some exploratory work onmodeling invasive plants using the Cumberland Plateau geodatabase and the Forest Service Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) datawas presented at the Weed Science Society meeting. Ms. Lemke is very involved in local environmental community groups andhas trained both community and local school groups in the use of technology in environmental endeavors. This has includedcommunity based habitat assessment and mapping of outdoor classrooms.Name: Lawson, DarylWorked for more than 160 Hours:YesContribution to Project:: Daryl manages the day to day operations of the Center, oversee budget expenditures, and assist CFEA researchers with securingresources. He reports to Dr. Wang the Center Director, and assist him with logistics for Center meetings, the CFEA Conference,and annual reporting for both NSF FastLane and CRESTWeb. In Addition he assist CFEA faculty by managing vehicle usage andfuel reporting. He supports students by advising them on field techniques in timber cruising, forest fire management and integratedGPS hand held use. Attended Local Society of American Foresters chapter meeting and assisted with Teacher ConservationPage 22 of 58