Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology. Dr. Risa Cohen’s research group focuses on how changes in aquatic environments (freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, estuaries, marine systems) affect organisms, communities, and ecosystems, and how to use this information to improve monitoring, conservation, and restoration strategies. Dr. Cohen’s group is interested in aquatic systems in the coastal plain and near-shore ecosystems because they are affected by environmental disturbance, including anthropogenic inputs of substances from agriculture, urban runoff, and waste from domestic and industrial sewage. The health of these systems is extremely important not only to the people living in coastal areas and surrounding regions, but also to the wildlife inhabiting them. This work contributes to assessing the status of coastal plain and near-shore ecosystems and developing novel monitoring and restoration tools.

Research Plan for REU Participant: Students in the program will be able to design laboratory and/or field studies geared to (1) develop biological tools that integrate measurements of multiple stressors associated with disturbance in coastal plain and near-shore aquatic ecosystems, (2) assess ecosystem structure and function in disturbed areas and compare to reference sites, and (3) use the information obtained from comparisons of disturbed vs. reference coastal systems to develop methodology to enhance conditions that lead to conservation and restoration success.