People

Dr. Lydia Ries O'Halloran

Education

B.A. Biology, Oberlin College

M.S., Ph.D. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia

Research Interests

Dr. O’Halloran is a plant ecologist with an interest in how plants respond to changing environments at different spatial and temporal scales. As plants are faced with novel abiotic conditions, they are forced to adapt, shift their range or die. She examines how plants respond to environmental impacts at the species scale (e.g. loss of fitness or phenotypic plasticity) and at ecosystem scales (e.g. changes in gross primary productivity, relative diversity and abundance) in hopes of providing the science necessary for climate change conservation planning. 

Justin Robbins - PhD Student

Education 

B.S. Tufts University

M.S. Villanova University 

Research Interests The effects of nitrogen on ecosystem functions and coastal wetlands (especially mangroves) and local land-use history at Hobcaw Barony. 

Shelby Rowland - UPIC Intern (Summer 2023)

Education

B.A. Clemson University (expected 2025)

Research Interests

Increasing sustainability in supply chain dynamics

Julie Grinstead- PhD Student (co-advised)

Education 

B.A. Liberal Arts, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

B.S. Environmental Biology, SUNY

M.A. Geography, Binghamton University-SUNY

Research Interests- Julie developed an interest in wetland conservation and restoration after taking a field trip to Costa Rica where she visited a mangrove marsh that had been restored after being altered by a shrimp factory. She was also inspired by an internship in which she observed the bogbean buckmoth during its mating window on freshwater fens off Lake Ontario. 

William Goldstein- High School Summer student (2022)

Education 

SC Governor's School for Science & Math