Student Projects

CESE faculty members and students conduct research in a wide variety of environmental disciplines and focus on problems at local to global scales. Selected research projects are organized into a number of categories and can be seen by clicking on a particular file tab.

Projects include basic and applied topics in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Many use multidisciplinary approaches from hydrological, atmospheric, soil, or biological sciences, apply engineering approaches to provide technological solutions, or explicitly address agricultural systems and management strategies that lead to long-term sustainability.

• Improving electricity generation from bacteria
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    Escherichia coli are bacteria that live in most mammal intestines. There are many strains of this microbe: some cause gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections, while others aid digestion. Researchers are now finding that E. coli can also help to power new types of fuel cells, called microbial fuel cells (MCFs). This project aims to create a more productive strain of E. coli and therefore to significantly increase the power output from MCFs.
    
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• Ancient Mayan gardening
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    The ancient Maya civilization, which once spanned Mesoamerica, was supported by a sophisticated agricultural system, an important component of which was the forest garden. Built around Maya homes, the tree-dominated gardens mimicked the natural forest structure and provided food, medicine, and other resources. This project investigates whether the effects of ancient Maya forest gardens can still be observed in the contemporary forest. It also considers the role that relationships between tree species might have played in the continued impact of these ancient forest gardens.
    
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• Assessing the Environmental Risks of a Genetically Modified Grass
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    To manage their lands, farmers, homeowners, businesses, and others need tools, such as herbicides, to kill unwanted plants. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide, is among the most environmentally friendly products. The effectiveness of glyphosate, however, may now be threatened. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a proposal to allow the release of a form of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) in which the genes have been modified so that the plants can withstand the lethal effects of glyphosate.
    
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• Diversity of soil bacteria
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    The soil beneath our feet is home to a staggering array of bacteria. A handful of soil may hold up to 500,000 species, according to some estimates. These bacteria play key roles in plant growth, decomposition, recycling of nutrients, and the creation and maintenance of soil structure. Their diversity is a key to the functioning of soil, but it is poorly understood. This research examines the physical properties of soil and the relationship of these properties to the diversity of soil bacteria.
    
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• Freshwater mussels in Connecticut
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    Freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled animals in the world. In North America, where mussels have been most diverse and abundant, more than 70 percent of the nearly 300 species are considered extinct, endangered, or in need of special protection. The loss of freshwater mussels would be a biological tragedy. We need a better understanding of mussel habitat requirements and environmental stresses so that we can develop effective conservation and recovery plans.
    
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• Mapping the recovery of a tropical rainforest after logging
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    Tropical rainforests hold a wealth of natural treasures: timber, medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, and other sustainable resources. Rainforests also produce oxygen that circulates around the globe. But sustainability, biodiversity, and the health of the planet’s ecosystems are seriously threatened if uncontrolled exploitation destroys these forests. Scientists have been studying how forests recover after various logging practices. However, to understand recovery over large areas, they need new approaches, such as remote sensing.
    
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• Nutritional stress in Alaskan Moose
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    Monitoring the nutritional status of moose and other wildlife is essential to maintaining healthy, sustainable populations. When food is very scarce, animals may become emaciated and die. However, when food is moderately scarce or low in nutritional value, the effects on animal health are more subtle. These indirect effects of poor nutrition are difficult to quantify, but they may have substantial effects on wildlife survival and hence on population trends. This research aims to develop a model that will give wildlife managers better tools to evaluate the nutritional status of both individual animals and wildlife populations.
    
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• Sea squirt invades Long Island Sound
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    Long Island Sound is home to many valuable animals. However, an invasive colonial sea squirt (Didemnum sp.) poses a serious new threat to the ecological health of the Sound and to all of the organisms that depend on it. Unlike any other invasive species that scientists have seen in the region, Didemnum has the unique ability to cover massive areas of the sea floor, endangering native organisms that rely on that area for their food or habitat.
    
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• Ecological impacts of climate change in South Africa
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    Climate change is causing significant ecological changes throughout the world. Its effects may include increased coastal erosion, greater ferocity and frequency of forest fires, loss of habitats, and either drought or flooding. This project examines the effects of climate change in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa. The overall goal is to understand how weather and climate have affected plants and fires in the CFR in the recent past, to help predict and plan for the future.
    
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• Rainfall changes and tallgrass prairie
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    For decades, scientists have observed a trend toward an increasing number of very heavy rainfalls in the contiguous United States. This project examines how predicted changes in the timing and intensity of precipitation may affect plants in the tallgrass prairie. Understanding this response to climate change is important because grasslands cover 40 percent of the world’s land surface, feed the world’s wild herbivores and livestock, and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
    
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• Using natural pesticides to prevent plant diseases
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    In the agricultural world, compost is known as black gold. Rich in essential plant nutrients and beneficial microbes, it can improve the soil of farms, gardens, and orchards. Compost also contains beneficial bacteria, some of which produce natural pesticides, including antibiotics that can destroy disease-causing fungi. However, not all compost is equally effective in suppressing diseases. The goal of this project is to explore why compost varies in effectiveness and to make disease suppression more reliable.
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