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Research Internships in Plant Ecology, 2003: Ideal for Students with Undergraduate Degrees Contemplating Graduate School

Openings are available for research internships at Archbold Biological Station in south-central Florida. Research in the plant ecology laboratory of Eric Menges emphasizes conservation biology, plant demography, population viability assessment, fire ecology, landscape ecology, and fire management. We study many species of endemic vascular plants in endangered Florida scrub and related communities, at Archbold's 2000-ha preserve and other preserves on Florida's Lake Wales Ridge. Active fire management provides outstanding opportunities for short-term comparative studies in fire ecology. Our long-term (12-year) datasets on dozens of scrub plants gives context to short-term, focused, field projects.

Interns receive room, board, and a weekly stipend of $100. They work 20 hours per week as research assistants and the remainder of the time on their independent research project. Internships generally run for 4-6 months but are flexible in their starting dates and durations. Internships offer an opportunity for experience in every aspect of scientific research, from project choice and experimental design to oral and written presentations. Several past intern projects have resulted in publications in peer-reviewed journals, and most Archbold interns have continued on to successful graduate careers.

Archbold Biological Station is active in research, conservation, and education. Our facilities include an outstanding regional library and a GIS lab running ARCINFO. We have a staff of about 50 with many visiting scientists, an active seminar program, and a relaxed biological station atmosphere. Staff research is varied, with particular strengths in population biology, behavioral ecology, geographic ecology, systematics, landscape ecology, and conservation planning. Study organisms include plants, invertebrates, birds, mammals, and herptiles.

To apply for an internship in the plant ecology lab, send a letter stating research interests, a resume or cv, a summary of grades, and two letters of recommendation to:

Dr. Eric S. Menges
Archbold Biological Station, P.O. Box 2057, Lake Placid, Florida 33862 USA
Phone: 863-465-2571   FAX: 863-699-1927
Email: emenges@archbold-station.org

Plant Ecology Lab: Research Assistants and Interns Supervised (Current Affiliation)

ASSISTANTS AND INTERNS SUPERVISED (Current Affiliation):

Research Assistants:

1. Noreen Gallo
2. Kevin Main (Archbold Biological Station)
3. Nancy Kohfeldt
4. Rebecca Yahr (Duke University)
5. Margaret Evans (Arizona State University)
6. Christina Casado (University of Missouri-St. Louis)
7. Carl Weekley (Archbold Biological Station)
8. Dorothy Mundell
9. Samara Hamze
10. Alaa Wally (SUNY-Cortland)
11. Darien McElwain 

PLANT LAB INTERNS AND INTERN PROJECTS, n=54
Updated by Eric Menges, October 2003

Intern Statistics

• Number of internships: 54
• Number of reports completed (or published) 39, in prep 7, research ongoing 2
• Number of publications from intern research: 27
• Number of graduate degrees subsequently obtained: 14
• Number currently in graduate school: 19

Interns & Graduate Students

1. Nancy Kohfeldt, summer 1989. Seed bank and vegetation of rosemary scrub as a function of time since fire. (report completed, part of ms published in larger paper as Menges and Kohfeldt 1995 in Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 122:282-297)
2. Ginny Salzman, summer 1990. Pollination biology of Hypericum cumulicola. (no report)
3. Becky Ostertag, fall 1991, spring 1992. Reproductive effort of woody resprouting shrubs of scrubby flatwoods with time since fire. (report completed, ms published as Ostertag and Menges 1994 in Journal of Vegetation Science 5:303-310.). PhD University of Florida.
4. Dawn Berry, fall 1991, summer 1992. Clonal growth patterns in two oaks and effects of fire. (report completed). MS Cornell University.
5. Suzanne Schecter, summer 1992. Seed dispersal and seed predation in sand pine. (report completed).
6. Mary Carrington, summer 1992, summer 1993 (GRADUATE). Microhabitats and fire in four herbs and small shrubs of sand pine scrub and sandhill. (thesis completed in 1996; 4 publications). PhD University of Florida.
7. Jennifer McAnlis (Kimmich), fall 1992. Microhabitat analysis for Eryngium cuneifolium. (report completed, included in larger ms published as Menges and Kimmich 1996 in American Journal of Botany 83:185-191).
8. Joe Helkowski, summer 1993. Seedling density patterns, seed germination, and seedling survival in relation to time since fire, water, and light in sand pine. (report completed). MS, Stetson University.
9. Sherrie Gill, fall 1993. Invasion of loblolly bay into a seasonal pond. (partial report).
10. Christine Phillips (Hawkes), fall 1993. Density and seed production of Polygonella basiramia in relation to time since fire and open sand. (report completed, ms published as Hawkes and Menges 1995 in American Midland Naturalist 133:138-148). PhD, University of Pennsylvania.
11. Christine Hawkes, spring 1994. Effects of open space and time since fire on rosemary scrub plants. (report completed, ms published as Hawkes and Menges 1996 in Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 123: 81-92).
12. Jacqui Shaw, spring 1994. Within-patch microsite effects on seedlings of Dicerandra frutescens. (report completed).
13. Andreas Erler, spring 1994. Vegetation of the Price Tract. (report completed).
14. Craig Young, summer 1994. Gap dynamics and effects of gaps on plants of scrubby flatwoods. (report completed; ms published as Young and Menges 1999 in Florida Scientist 62:1-11). MS University of Georgia.
15. Stacey Halpern, fall 1994. Edge effects in scrubby flatwoods and flatwoods. (report completed). PhD University of Minnesota (in process).
16. Deborah Graves, fall 1994, spring 1995. Spatial patterns and microsites for sand pine saplings after fire. (no report).
17. Margie Mayfield, summer 1995. Pollination biology of Chapmannia floridana. (report completed; ms published as Mayfield 1998 in Florida Entomologist 81:489-496). MS Stanford University.
18. George Landman, summer and fall, 1995. Bayhead invasion of seasonal ponds. (report completed, ms published as Landman and Menges 1999 in Castanea 64:130-137). MS University of Georgia.
19. Joyce Voneman, fall 1995. Correlates of distribution of Hypericum edisonianum in seasonal ponds. (no report).
20. Dawn Berry, fall 1995 (GRADUATE). Effects of nutrients and light on growth of scrubby flatwoods plants. (no report).
21. Pedro Quintana-Ascencio (GRADUATE) fall 1995, spring 1996, fall 1996, spring 1997. Hypericum cumulicola: demography, patch dynamics, competition, and patterns of occurrence in relationship to neighbors, fire, and open space. (thesis completed in 1997; many publications include Quintana-Ascencio and Menges 1996, Conserv. Biol.; Quintana-Ascencio and Morales Hernandez 1997, Oecologia; Quintana et al. 1998 American Journal of Botany, Quintana-Ascencio et al. 2003 Conservation Biology). PhD, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
22. Jose Luis Hierro, spring 1996. Effects of patches of high fire intensity on shrub regeneration in palmetto-dominated flatwoods. (report completed, ms published as Hierro and Menges 2002 in Florida Scientist 65:51-61). MS University of Florida, PhD University of Montana (in preparation).
23. Christina M. Casado, spring and summer 1996. Bryophytes of Archbold Biological Station. (no report). MS University of Missouri.
24. Helen A. Violi, spring and summer 1996. Restoration of abandoned bahiagrass ((Paspalum notatum) pasture through various control treatments. (reports completed, submitted to USFWS). PhD, University of California-Riverside (in process).
25. Kelly W. McConnell, summer 1996. Responses to fire and treatments mimicking fire in Eriogonum floridanum. (report completed; manuscript published as McConnell and Menges 2002 in Natural Areas Journal 22:194-201).
26. Sanyaalak Burkhart, fall 1996. Polygonella genders and microhabitats. (partial report).
27. Owen D. Boyle, fall 1996. Effects of plant density on pollinator visitation to Hypericum cumulicola. (report completed, manuscript published as Boyle and Menges 2001 in Florida Scientist 64: 107-117). PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison (in process).
28. Satya Maliakal, spring 1997. Community patterns and regeneration in wiregrass flatwoods sites with different years since last fire. (report completed; manuscript published as Maliakal et al. 2000 in Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 127:125-138). PhD, Louisiana State University (in process).
29. Kurt O. Reinhart, spring 1997. Can the reintroduction of fire restore fire-suppressed southern ridge sandhill. (report completed, ms published as Reinhart and Menges 2004 in J. Veg Sci.). PhD, University of Montana.
30. Erica Goss, summer and fall 1997. Herbivory on the scrub endemic Liatris ohlingerae: a description of attack, damage, and compensatory response. (no report). MS, University of Illinois (in process).
31. Matthew Finer, fall 1997. Seed dispersal patterns in Dicerandra frutescens. (report completed; manuscript in preparation). PhD, Washington State University (in process).
32. Patrick McIntyre, fall 1997. Gall and their effects on Palafoxia feayi. (report completed). MS, Northern Arizona University.
33. Abigail McCarthy, summer and fall 1998. Outbreeding depression in Dicerandra frutescens. (draft report completed).
34. Philip Higuera, fall 1998 and winter 1999. Dendroecology of south Florida slash pine. (report completed, ms in preparation). PhD, University of Washington (in process).
35. Molly Hunter, fall 1998 and winter 1999. Effects of allelopathy by Florida rosemary on germination and growth of scrub plants. (report completed; manuscript published as Hunter and Menges 2002 in American Journal of Botany 89:1113-1118). PhD, Colorado State University (in process).
36. Karin Kettenring, summer and fall 1999. Effects of herbivory on reproduction of Liatris ohlingerae (the scrub blazing star). (report completed). PhD, University of Minnesota (in process).
37. Amy Armbruster, summer and fall 1999. The effects of disturbance caused by firelanes and fires on the population densities of five Lake Wales Ridge endemics. (report completed).
38. Martina Petru, fall 1999 and spring 2000. The role of disturbance in plant life histories (check title). (thesis completed, manuscripts published as Petru and Menges 2002 in Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 130:89-100 and Petru and Menges 2004 in American Midland Naturalist 151:). MS, University of South Bohemia; PhD Leipzig (in process).
39. Will Satterthwaite, spring and summer 2000. Population viability of Eriogonum floridanum with fire. (report completed, manuscript published as Satterthwaite et al. 2002 in Ecological Applications 12:1672-1687). PhD, University of California-Santa Cruz (in process).
40. Nicole Lang, fall 2000 and spring 2001. Seed bank dynamics of southern Lake Wales Ridge sandhill communities. (report completed, ms in preparation).
41. David Matlaga, spring 2001-spring 2002. Fire-related edge effects on two bayhead sites. (report in preparation). PhD, University of Miami (in process).
42. Dee Sipe, summer 2001. Effect of fire and drought on fruit production and fruit size of Serenoa repens. (report completed). MS, Oregon State University (in process).
43. Jane Carlson, summer 2001. Seed dispersal by Gopherus polyphemus) at Archbold Biological Station, Florida. (report completed, manuscript published as Carlson et al. 2003 in Florida Scientist 66:147-154). PhD, Louisiana State University (in process).
44. Lars Brunvig, summer and fall 2001. Herbivory and postgrazing response in Hypericum cumulicola. (report completed, manuscript published as Brunvig and Quintana-Ascencio in Florida Scientist 66: 99-108).
45. Molly Matthias, spring 2002. The effects of density and fire history on pollinator visitation and fecundity in Asimina obovata (Annonaceae). (report completed).
46. Betsey Hermanson, spring and summer 2002. Do ecotones really exist in Florida scrub? A quantitative analysis of vegetation gradients. (report in preparation).
47. Courtney McCusker, spring and summer 2002. Sundews in seasonal ponds (approx. title). (report in preparation).
48. Matt Trager, summer and fall 2002. Outcrossing effects in Hypericum cumulicola, a federally endangered central Florida scrub endemic. (report in preparation). PhD, University of Florida (in process).
49. Jenny Schafer, fall 2002. Where, oh where, does Paronychia chartacea grow? Effects of fire, microhabitat, and gap size. (research ongoing, report in preparation). PhD, University of Florida (in process).
50. Amanda Brothers, spring 2003. The Effects of Pollinator Exclusion on Flower Development and Fruit Set in Polygala lewtonii. (report in preparation).
51. Orou Gande Gaoue, spring and summer 2003. Population viability analysis of an endemic Florida scrub mint. (report as manuscript in preparation). PhD, University of Hawaii (in process).
52. Jessica Salo, summer 2003. Factors that influence gap occupancy in the rosemary scrub. (report completed, manuscript in preparation).
53. Josephine Tucker, fall 2003. Effects of lichens on seed germination of Liatris ohlingerae.
54. Stephanie Neimeister, fall 2003 and spring 2004. Effects of litter on seed germination of Liatris species.

RESEARCH IDEAS THAT MIGHT WORK FOR INTERN PROJECTS, n=13

1. Broad-scale study of reproductive effort with time since fire in scrubby flatwoods or other habitats. Would follow up more detailed work of Ostertag and might lead to interesting conclusions on the evolution of flowering schedules.
2. Life history strategies of plants of seasonal ponds. Would expand on work of Menges and Kohfeldt, Maliakal, and Lang.
3. Do sprouting shrubs recruit seedlings in long-unburned areas? This pattern has been found for similar spp in CA chapparel. Could be part of a broad survey for seedlings of dominant shrubs.
4. Effects of scrub jays on oak demography. Scrub jays bury lots of acorns and do not recover them all. What happens to them ? Do seedlings result ?
5. Growth strategies among resprouting scrub plants. These plants vary in their ways of recovering (height, canopy, spread). Abrahamson and Menges have outlined a potential study.
6. Effects of burning vs. clipping on scrub plants. In other systems, results are often similar. Has both evolutionary and management implications.
7. Effects of physical disturbance on seedling recruitment. Could be important; has been studied by Petru but more work is possible.
8. Effects of burial on scrub plants. They may have evolved in conditions where sand movement was common. Beach and dune plants can often tolerate gradual or partial burial and have evolved specific growth responses. Studied by Petru on seeds.
9. Herbivory. Some work by Abrahamson and Melika on galls and intern projects of Goss, Kettenring, Brunvig, and McIntyre on Liatris ohlingerae, Hypericum cumulicola and Palafoxia feayi.
10. Gender specialization. We have conducted or are conducting studies on Florida rosemary and Nolina brittoniana. Burkhart=s intern project on Polygonella spp. Other plants might be interesting to study, e.g. Ilex opaca var. arenicola, Smilax auriculata. Are females found in more benign microhabitats or habitats as predicted by theory? Do males have more rapid growth ?
11. Seed dispersal. Very little has been done on any species, except for Finer=s intern project on Dicerandra frutescens.
12. Bare spaces created by fire. Hot spots can create open space (although this is not well documented). How often and under what conditions does this occur ? Are there different spp that come in ? Are they permanent ? Hiero did a project on this in flatwoods.
13. Ecotones. Are they sharp? Permanent thru fire (I have prefire data on one)? See scrub lit. Being studied by Hermanson.

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