Boudell Lab

Ongoing Projects

Student projects typically fall within the realm of my research interests but range from plant collections, to evaluating restoration project success (both vegetative and environmental characteristics), to determining the germination traits of a variety of desert species. 

Check out some of our previous projects!

Morrow, J. and T. Silva. Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University in partnership with Agnes Scott College.

Germination rates of 8 southwestern species were determined after exposure to varying concentrations of KNO₃ solutions. 

John and Thiago are currently students at Clayton State University.

Patton, Brittany, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University.

Foliage height diversity is defined as the level at which the majority of foliage appears (Robinson and Holmes, 1984). This is an important factor when evaluating the presence or absence of animals, insects, abiotic and biotic factors.  In 1961, MacArthur and MacArthur discovered that there was a positive correlation between the foliage diversity and avian species richness.  However, this theory has been scrutinized and other researchers have come to disagree with their initial findings (Mills et al, 1991).  Foliage height diversity and potential bird species richness was evaluated at the restored Jesters Creek riparian site and its reference site, Little Falling Creek using data previously collected by Serge Farinas.  It was found that foliage height diversity did not differ between the two riparian ecosystems.   A relationship could not be determined between potential bird species richness and foliage height diversity; however, potential bird species richness based on general habitat and plant requirements was determined.

Brittany recently graduated as is planning a career in the ecological sciences. 

Hanft, Michael, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University in partnership with Agnes Scott College.

Percent germination of 8 southwestern species was determined after exposure to saturated "soil" conditions.

Michael is currently a student at Clayton State University.

An Evaluation of the Jesters Creek Restoration Project: Vegetation

Farinas, Serge, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University , s.farinas@yahoo.com.

As a rapidly urbanizing area, Clayton County ’s watersheds have felt the impacts of rapid growth. An assessment found 75% of the streams were degraded. In an effort to ameliorate habitat degradation, degraded streams and habitat are being restored. The vegetative monitoring of Jester’s Creek is a crucial step in determining the success of the project as plants provide critical functions to wildlife and stream health. The evaluation focuses on number of measured biotic and abiotic factors as indicators of vegetation recovery. These are compared against the measured characteristics of a reference site to determine the state of Jester’s Creek. A full report and published paper will be presented detailing the conclusions. From this suggestions to improve monitoring assessment and protocol will be made. The results of the project will help determine the future course of restoration efforts in the piedmont watersheds.

Currently Serge is working on his Ph.D. in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at the University of Michigan.

Clayton State University Herbarium Project

Holmes, Robert  Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University . robertholmes@clayton.edu

A herbarium is a collection of preserved plant specimens that have been accurately identified, labeled and arranged according to an accepted classification scheme.  The specimens are usually preserved by drying and mounting on suitable paper stock.  An attempt is made to preserve as many parts of the specimen as possible (flowers, seeds, leaves, stems and roots).  The process is governed by established herbarium protocols.  The herbarium is an essential tool in the study of plant taxonomy and plant systematics.

As an ongoing project, Clayton State University biology students, such as myself, are collecting plant specimens at the William H. Reynolds Nature Preserve in Morrow, Georgia to contribute to new herbaria for Reynolds and Clayton State .  The plants collected and preserved will become a permanent record of the species represented at the nature preserve.  In the future, the herbarium may be used as a teaching tool in plant taxonomy courses and will provide a resource for students studying the plants and ecology of the Georgia Piedmont.  

Robert is currently in and out of retirement. 

Jacobo, Japhia, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University.

Soil holds some of the most important non-renewable resources which are found in a functioning ecosystem (Urbanska et. al, 1997).  Most notably it contains the mineral nutrients needed for vegetation growth and success (Urbanska et. al, 1997).  The impact of soil mineral nutrients on vegetation growth and success is a critical controlling factor during both the early and final stages of ecosystem development; descriptions of ecosystems highlight the interrelationships between soil and vegetation (Urbanska et. al, 1997). During normal vegetation loss in an ecosystem, the related loss of mineral nutrients is loss is small when compared to the amount of mineral nutrients that remain in the soil (Urbanksa et. al, 1997). However, soil can become degraded or destroyed during anthropogenic development in an ecosystem via agriculture or urban and industrial development resulting in soil composed of skeletal materials and very little organic matter (Urbanksa et. al, 1997). The lack of minerals and the absence of propagules due to development inhibits primary succession (Urbanksa et. al, 1997).

The objective of my project is to compare the East Jester’s Creek stream bank’s soil composition to that of Little Falling Creek in the piedmont region, a reference site.  The project will attempt to determine if restoration on East Jester’s creek will be successful by comparing the soil composition, available plant nutrients, and soil temperature to that of the reference site.

Japhia is currently a Masters student in the Biology program at the University of Alabama.

Nguyen, Anh-Xuan, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Clayton State University.

It is quite difficult to ascertain if a seed is either under a degree of dormancy or if it is not viable at all. In both cases, the seed does not germinate. For those who have dedicated their lives in studying about seeds know that seeds are not viable when the embryos within seeds are dead. As for seeds that are under a degree of dormancy, their embryos are alive. The purpose of dormancy in a seed embryo is to enable the seed embryo to remain viable under poor growing conditions. 

In this experiment, seeds were originally collected from the riparian zone in Arizona, southwest of the United States, for the germination experiment. Three different seed species will be the subject of the germination experiment.  Each species will be germinated in a sandy loam soil with a 100% of water saturation for three different  time lengths.

Anh-Xuan is currently a student in the Medical Imaging Program at Emory University School of Medicine.