Past and Present REU Projects

Hundreds of REU students have completed the program at Blandy

Browse past projects, read advice from alumni, and check out our social media posts featuring some of our recent students: Jaya, Syntyche, Zane, Skye, and Lindsey

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Projects available for the upcoming summer

To see a mentor's website, click on their name!

Genetic resistance of tree species to environmental extremes – Meghan Blumstein (Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences and Architecture, University of Virginia). The Blumstein lab examines resilience of trees to stressors such as extreme drought or fungal pathogens. We use a mixture of common gardens, experiments, and modeling to understand how shifting climate may impact tree growth and mortality and how interventions like assisted migration may enable populations to adapt faster. At Blandy specifically, we are testing how populations collected from across the range of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) fare under experimental drought and flooding conditions. REU students will gain experience collecting physiological data in the field (common garden, dry down/flooding experiments) and utilizing R to conduct data analysis. 

Salt pollution impacts on plant-pollinator interactions – David Carr (Research Professor of Environmental Sciences and Director of Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia). The Carr lab investigates the ways in environmental and genetic stresses (reduced variation) affect plant-insect interactions. Salt is one of the most ubiquitous anthropogenic environmental contaminants and can have complex effects on terrestrial food webs. Sodium tends to be toxic to plants, but terrestrial herbivores and pollinators commonly fail to get sufficient sodium from their plant-based diets. REU students will design and conduct greenhouse and field experiments that examine the direct and interactive effects of excess sodium on plant-insect interactions. The systems used by Carr permit full life-cycle experiments over a 10-week summer, teaching students data collection on plants, herbivores, pollinators, and other mutualists. Students will learn data analysis and coding in R and how to communicate results to scientific peers. 

Ecosystem succession and invasive species – Howie Epstein (Sidman P. Poole Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). The Epstein lab has been studying post-agricultural ecosystem secondary succession since 2000 at Blandy. Major ecosystem stressors likely determine the trajectory of secondary succession, potentially slowing, altering, or even halting succession to pre-cultivation temperate forests. These stressors are reduced soil fertility and nutrient availability post-agriculture, and the dominance of invasive species, particularly invasive shrubs that form dense canopies and have allelopathic properties. We have recently used field-, drone-, and satellite-based techniques to identify invasive plant species and their traits remotely. Finally, we are participating in a global network study (DRAGNet), which examines how grassland ecosystems (in our case, early successional) respond to disturbances and nutrient additions. REU students can gain experience in field sampling and laboratory processing of vegetation and soils, and potentially remote sensing of vegetation and soil processes, along with appropriate data analysis techniques. 

Environmental stressors in insect-plant communities – Rebecca Forkner (Associate Professor of Biology, George Mason University). The Forkner lab investigates how environmental stressors, in particular thermal stress, alter plant growth, physiology, chemistry, and phenology in ways that modify insect survival. REU students will have the freedom to research a variety of taxa (e.g., Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Araneidae) in the context of insect behavior, morphology, or survival. Students will become adept at the design, execution, and interpretation of experiments, the identification of insects, and the basics of laboratory chemistry, while answering pressing questions related to insect conservation.

Color-mediated brood parasitism – Daniel Hanley (Assistant Professor of Biology, George Mason University). The Hanley Color Lab investigates how color mediates interactions between populations. Students will learn how to design experiments that consider the color perception of animals that see the world differently than we do. The lab emphasizes antagonistic interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts, where brood parasites lay eggs in unrelated host nests and hosts often use color to detect and remove those eggs. These brood parasites are serious biotic stressors for hosts, which must recognize and respond to parasitic eggs. Students will explore the perceptual and cognitive bases of decisions, and how optimal decisions may be traded off against environmental factors such as light and temperature. Students will gain transferable skills in managing multivariate datasets, conducting spectroscopy, designing experiments, and analyzing biological data. 

Artificial light at night, trophic dynamics, and insect declines – Kyle Haynes (Research Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). Haynes has 12 years of experience as PI of the Blandy REU Site program. The Haynes lab investigates the spatiotemporal population dynamics of insects and how they are shaped by anthropogenic environmental stressors. Students have investigated how artificial light at night (ALAN) affects insect abundances via effects on movement, mating, and feeding behaviors, and how the wavelength spectra of ALAN can mediate these impacts. Students can learn broadly applicable skills in experimental design, field surveys, insect identification, and statistical analysis in R, and gain experience working on topics of vital societal and ecological importance. 

Biotic stress from invasive bees – Kathryn LeCroy (Assistant Professor of Biology, Rhodes College). The LeCroy Lab investigates how invasive mason bee species act as biotic environmental stressors in urban, agricultural, and natural ecosystems. These invasions can displace native bees through competition, pathogen spillover, and altered resource dynamics. Students will develop independent research questions assessing native bee richness and health outcomes. Students will develop skills in taxonomy, GIS, and field work while engaging with a 200+ member community science network across Virginia, consequently developing impactful transferable skills in science communication and project management.

Ecological stressors in plant communities – Mary McKenna (Associate Professor of Biology, Howard University). The McKenna lab explores natural and human-induced environmental stressors that impact growth and reproduction in plants, including soil nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, herbivores and competitors such as invasive species. Recent projects include studying root foraging for nutrients and exploring plant responses to volatile signals in the rhizosphere. Students will develop confidence and skill in all aspects of the research process (developing hypotheses, designing experiments, analyzing data) while tackling critical questions related to environmental sustainability and global food security. 

Environmental soil stressors on plants – Justin Richardson (Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). The Richardson lab focuses on soil biogeochemistry in plant-soil-invertebrate connections in the Critical Zone. REU students will conduct quantitative field- and laboratory-based biogeochemical analyses of soils, plants, and invertebrates. Projects focus on nutrient-limitations, toxic element abundance, and soil water stressors on agriculturally and ecologically important annual and woody plants driven by human activities, invasive earthworms, and variable precipitation. Students will engage in quantitative chemical and biological analyses, analytical chemical equipment, and theoretical concepts of the plant-soil system. 

Ecological factors governing wild bee populations – T’ai Roulston (Research Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Curator of Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia). The Roulston lab examines environmental stressors on wild bee species, including abiotic stressors in anthropogenic landscapes and the complex interactions between bees and their parasites. REU students will explore the interface between natural history, biology, and the environment, testing how particular factors could influence population trends in study species. Students will gain confidence in posing research questions, crafting experimental approaches to answering them, analyzing data, and presenting results.