At the end of each summer students produce oral and written reports worthy of presenting at conferences or to potential employers.  The following list illustrates a concrete evaluation of the quality of work these students perform each summer.  We strongly encourage and financially help the students attend professional conferences through this grant and mentor’s external grants.  Students names are underlined.

Presentations:

Dunham, S. 2000, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, University of Miami, Oxford, OH, Oct. 19-21, 2000. 

Poulos, L. 2000, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, University of Miami, Oxford, OH, Oct. 19-21, 2000. 

Terranova-Webb, A.  2000, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, University of Miami, Oxford, OH, Oct. 19-21, 2000.

Terranova-Webb, A. 2001, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, Association of American Geographer’s 97^th Annual Meeting in New York City, February 27-March 3, 2001. 

Veluci, R.M., K. Ketcham, D. A. Neher, 2001, Microbiotic Crust Communities Fix Nitrogen In A Temperate Oak Savanna. Ohio Academy of Science, April 2001.

Edwards, M., K. P. Czajkowski, K. P. and P. Lawrence, 2001, Application of Total Solids and Turbidity Readings in the Ottawa River Watershed for Non-point Source Pollution Detection, East Lakes Division of Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, Cincinnati, OH, Oct. 27.

Lawrence, P., S. Fuller, and K. P. Czajkowski, 2001, The Application of Remote Sensing Technology for Wetland Classification and Implications for Environmental Planning within the Maumee River Watershed, NW Ohio, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, Cincinnati, OH, Oct. 27, 2001.

Weis, E. and K. P. Czajkowski, 2001, Expand or Reroute: a Study of US Route 24, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, Cincinnati, OH, Oct. 27, 2001.

Ketcham, K. 2002, Microbiotic Crust Communities Fix Nitrogen In A Temperate Oak Savanna. (DA Neher), National Conference for Undergraduate Research, UWisconsin-Whitewater, WI, April 2002.

Hosken A. and D.A. Neher, 2002, Effect Of Environmental Stress On Soil Nematode Life History Characteristics, National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR), UWisconsin-Whitewater, WI, April 2002.

Hosken, A. J. and D. A. Neher 2002, Effect Of Environmental Stress On Soil Nematode Life History Characteristics, Ohio Academy of Science, April 2002.

DeMars, A. and K. Czajkowski, 2002,  Landsat 7 vs. EO1 Hyperion for the Classification of Corn and Soy, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG) conference, Mount Pleasant, MI, Oct. 18, 2002.

Dellinger, A. 2002, Duck and Otter Creek GIS, Pennsylvania Geographical Society, Erie, PA, 2002.

DeMars, A. 2003, Landsat 7 Mosaics and classification of Ohio, OhioView annual meeting, 1-15-03.

Bishop, E., 2003, An Accuracy Comparison of an ASTER Derived DEM to existing USGS 30 meter DEM http://www.osu-ours.okstate.edu/gradcoll/events/ressymp/default_ORIGINAL.html, 14th Annual Research Symposium March 5- March 7, 2003

K. McKenna, D. Moorhead. 2003. Response of native turtles to habitat variation in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge: preliminary analysis 2002-2003 seasons. International Association of Great Lakes Researchers (IAGLR) Conference, Chicago, IL June, 2003 (D. Tessier and S. Spears)

VanFossen, J. 2003 Presentation to the Duck and Otter Creek Partnership, 7/17/2003.

Haney, P., 2003 Presentation to the Toledo Metroparks, 7/31/2003.

Gerwin, K. and P. Lawrence. 2003, Impact of Land Use on Water Quality for the Ottawa River, Association of American Geographers, Kalamazoo, MI. Oct 17 – 20, 2003.

K. McKenna, D. Moorhead 2004, Response of native turtles to habitat variation in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge: preliminary analysis 2002-2003 seasons., Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, March 5-7, 2004,(Kregar, R. and D. Ryan)

K. McKenna, D. Moorhead 2004, Response of native turtles to habitat variation in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge: preliminary analysis 2002-2003 seasons., Western Great Lakes Research Conference, National Park Service, March 16-17. (D. Tessier, S. Spears, Kregar, R, and D. Ryan)

Gross, C. 2004, Validation of the MODIS Snow Product with Student Observations, Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 15-20, 2004.

Rodriquez, A.  Presentation to the Duck and Otter Creek Partnership, 7/2004.

Witter, J., A.L. Spongberg and A. Pittenger.  Soil temperature with depth:  reassessing the GLOBE soil temperature protocol.  AAPG regional meeting, Columbus, OH October, 2004.  ***Received Section Award for Best Poster***

Bragg, T., 2004. Surface temperature observations; making it fun for students, GLOBE training, University of Toledo, October 9, 2004.

Czajkowski, D. J., K. P. Czajkowski, J.E Rader, A. L. Spongberg, and K. Gerwin, 2004, Investigation of potential environmental impact of biosolid sludge application on agricultural fields, East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers, Athens, Ohio, Oct. 15-16, 2004.

Sigler, V and L Keinath.  2004. DGGE analysis of E. coli community structure as a potential bacterial course tracking tool: a comparison with BOX-PCR.  Great Lakes Beach Association Conference.  Nov 30-Dec 1, Parma, OH

Lohner, R. N., C. Balogh, W.V. Sigler, C.M. Mayer, 2005 Dreissena clusters on the benthic microbial community of lakes.  Presentation at International Association of Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, MI, May 2005. (L. Keinath)

Bragg, T., 2005. Surface temperature observations; making it fun for students, GLOBE training, Bowling Green State University, June 22, 2005.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem (Terry). 2005. Screening Potential Escherichia coli Gene Targets for DGGE-Based Bacterial Source Tracking. Presented at the IUMS XI International Congress of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology meeting, July 23 - 28, San Francisco, CA.

Bragg, T., 2005 Surface Temperature Protocol, Observing Earth from Space Teacher Institute, GLOBE training, Stark County Education Service Center, Aug. 2, 2005.

Bragg, T., 2005. Surface Temperature Protocol, Observing Earth from Space Teacher Institute, GLOBE training, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Aug. 9, 2005.

Kassen, I, D. Terry, M. Esselli and V. Sigler (Terry). 2005. Enumeration and PCR-based detection of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus in field-applied class B sludge. 67^th Ohio Section of the American Water Works Association,  Sep 19-22, 2005, Columbus, Ohio.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem (Terry). 2005. Assessment of potential gene targets for DGGE profiling and source tracking of Escherichia coli in the environment. Presented at the 67th Ohio Section American Water Works Association (OAWWA), September 19 - 22, Columbus, Ohio.

Kassem, I., V. Sigler, and M. Esseili (D. Terry) . 2006. Multiplex PCR-based detection and genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus in environmental matrices. Presented at the USDA-CSREES Water Quality Conference, February 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Kassem, I., V. Sigler, M. Esseili, and D. Terry. 2006. Optimization of PCR-based Methods for Studying Staphylococcus aureus: an Emerging Environmental Pathogen. Presented at the annual meeting of the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, April 21 - 22, Mason, OH.

Terry, D., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem. 2006. Impact of class B biosolids on soil bacteria. Presented at the annual meeting of the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, April 21-22, Mason, OH.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, I. Kassem (Terry). 2006. DGGE community fingerprinting to track the soucres of E. coli contamination. Presented at the annual meeting of the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, April 21 - 22, Mason, OH.

Terry, D., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem. 2006. Characterization of the composition of the bacterial communities and potential pathogens in field applied biosolids. Presented at the 115th annual meeting of The Ohio Academy of Science, April 22, Dayton, OH.

Huang, X. and V. Sigler (Terry). 2006. DNA fingerprinting for source tracking of E. coli at Lake Erie Beach. Presented at the 115th annual meeting of The Ohio Academy of Science, April 22, Dayton, OH.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem (Terry). 2006. Developing a DGGE-based E. coli community fingerprinting method for bacterial source tracking. Presented at the 115th annual meeting of The Ohio Academy of Science, April 22, Dayton, OH.

Kassem, I., V. Sigler, M. Esseili, and D. Terry. 2006. Detection and genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus in the environment using multiplex- and rep-PCR. Presented at the 115th annual meeting of The Ohio Academy of Science, April 22, Dayton, OH.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem (Terry). 2006. Source Tracking of E. coli potential application of DGGE. Presented at the 49th Annual Conference of the International Association of Great Lakes Research, May 22 - 26, Windsor, CA.

Huang, X. and V. Sigler (Terry). 2006. Population-based molecular tracking of E. coli at Lake Erie Beach and Huntington Beach (Ohio). Presented at the 49th Annual Conference of the International Association of Great Lakes Research, May 22 - 26, Windsor, CA.

Huang, X. and V. Sigler (Terry). 2006. DNA fingerprinting for source tracking of E. coli at Lake Erie Beach, Northwest Ohio. Presented at the annual meeting of the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, April 21 - 22, Mason, OH.

Sigler, V. (Terry) 2006. On the trail of microbes: application of molecular fingerprinting to characterize pathogen transmission. Presented at Washington State University, February 22, Pullman, WA.

Sigler, V. (Terry)  2006. Molecular applications in bacterial source tracking: current perspectives and small victories. Presented at the USDA-CSREES Water Quality Conference, February 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem. 2006. A DGGE-based E. coli community profiling method for bacterial source tracking. Presented at the USDA-CSREES Water Quality Conference, February 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Sigler, V. .(Pasutti, Terry)   2006 On the trail of microbes: application of molecular fingerprinting to characterize environmental pathogen transmission. Presented at the Medical University of Ohio Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology Seminar Series, October 11, Toledo, OH.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem (D. Terry). 2006. Rapid identification of fecal pollution: A community fingerprinting approach. Presented at BioOhio 2006, October 23 - 24, Columbus, OH.

Esseili, M., V. Sigler, and I. Kassem. (D. Terry) 2006. DGGE-based community fingerprinting: Rapid identification of fecal contamination sources. Presented at the 2006 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference, November 2 - 5, Detroit, MI.

Huang, X., and V. Sigler. 2006 (D. Terry) . E. coli Seasonal Dynamics and Source Identification at Lake Erie Beach, OH. Presented at the Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference, November 2-5, Detroit, MI.

Sigler, V. (Pasutti, Raina, Gardner). 2007 The use of genetic fingerprinting to identify a geographic pollution source at Huntington Beach. Presented at the Ohio–Lake Erie Beach Conference, January 18, Parma, OH.

Sigler, V. (Pasutti) 2007. Small successes: Library-independent methods to identify microbial pollution sources.  Presented at the USDA-CSREES Water Conference, January 30, Savannah, GA.

Sigler, V. (Pasutti, Raina, Gardner). 2007 Monitoring recreational waters: Indicators, pathogens and the environment.  Presented at the Environmental Pathogens Information Network Regional Workshop, February 2, Merrillville, IN.

Sigler (Pasutti, Rogers), 2007. Tracking microbes: established and emerging roles of environmental pathogens. Presented at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, May 30, 2007, Chapel Hill, NC.

Williams, J., The impact of land cover and land usage on water quality in the western Lake Erie watersheds, Hampton University Marine and Environmental Science Department DREAMS Seminar, Oct. 15, 2007. 

Jennifer L. Ohayon (and Carol A. Stepien) July 12, 2007.  American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists annual meeting held in St. Louis, MO.  Genetic and Biogeographic Relationships of the Racer Goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus from Introduced and Native Eurasian Populations.

Sigler, V. (Pasutti, Rogers) 2007. Where is it coming from? A community fingerprinting approach to microbial pollution source tracking. Presented at the Environmental Pathogens Information Network Regional Workshop, September 14, Chicago, IL.

Weintraub, M. and K. Peters. 2007 The below-ground effects of invasive plants.  Some Assembly Required: Preserving nature in a fragmented landscape.  Natural Areas Association 34^th Annual Conference October 9-12. Cleveland, OH

Williams, J., K. Czajkowski, R. Hayase, The impact of land cover and land usage on water quality in the western Lake Erie watersheds, Estuarine Research Federation (ERF), Providence Rhode Island, Nov 4-8, 2007. 

Weintraub, M. and K. Peters, 2008  The Belowground effects of invasive plants. Presented at the Oak Openings Research Forum, Metroparks of the Toledo Area, January 25-26.

Williams, J., K. Czajkowski, R. Hayase, The impact of land cover and land usage on water quality in the western Lake Erie watersheds, Ocean Sciences Meeting, Orlando, Florida, March 2-7, 2008.  Presented both oral and poster. Won 3^rd place in student symposium.

Kassem, I., V. Sigler and W. Rogers. 2008. Detection and differentiation of Staphylococcus bacteria using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Presented at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, June 1-5, Boston, MA.

Sigler, V. (Pasutti, Raina)  2008. Public health microbiology and environmental pathogens. Presented at the EPINet Use of indicators for monitoring water quality hands-on experience, April 11, Columbus, OH. 

 
Publications:

 Esseili, M. V. Sigler and I. Kassem* (R. Raina, K. Gardner). In Press. Optimization of DGGE community fingerprinting for characterizing Escherichia coli communities associated with fecal pollution. Water Research.

DeVanna, K.M., Mayer C.M., and Barrett, C.A. In review.  Role of Dreissena as ecosystem engineers: Effects on native bioturbators and benthic communities. In review at Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Ohayon, Jennifer L.  and Carol A. Stepien. 2007 Genetic and biogeographic relationships of the racer goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus (Gobiidae: Teleostei) from introduced and native Eurasian locations.  Journal of Fish Biology 71: 360-370.

Sigler, V. and L. Pasutti (formerly Kleinath). 2006. Evaluation of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to differentiate E. coli communities in secondary environments. Environ. Microbiol. 8:1703-1711.

Ault, T., K. P. Czajkowski, T. Benko, J. Coss, J. Struble, A. Spongberg, M. Templin, and C. Gross,  2006, Validation of the MODIS Snow Product (MOD10) and Cloud Mask Using Student and NWS Cooperative Station Observations, Remote Sensing of Environment, 105, 341-353.

 
Some of the Grants obtained as a result of REU research:

 Potential environmental and health impacts of sewage sludge applications. Funded by: USDA-CSREES, 07/2006 - 06/2007. $1,300,000. PI: K. Czajkowski, Co-PIs: M. Bisesi, University of Toledo, B. Vincent, Bowling Green State University

Community Molecular fingerprinting to identify the spatial origins of microbial contamination in Cuyahoga County within the Rocky River watershed. Funded by: Cuyahoga County Board of Health, 11/2005 - 05/2006. $5884.

Community Molecular fingerprinting to identify the spatial origins of microbial contamination in Cuyahoga County within the Rocky River watershed. Funded by: Cuyahoga County Board of Health, 07/2006 - 11/2006. $11,788.

Community molecular fingerprinting to identify the spatial origins of microbial contamination in Van Wert County II. Funded by: Van Wert Soil and Water Conservation District, 11/2006 - 02/2007. $5894.

 
PI presentations:

 The PIs have presented results from the REU program at several venues, sharing recruiting and training experiences with others from a wide range of disciplines interested in undergraduate mentoring.

 Czajkowski, K. P. and A. Spongberg, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center: Environmental Studies of the Lake Erie Watershed, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Dec. 10-14, 2001, p. 230.