Six Stevenson students and three faculty members—Dr. Frank Stearns, Dr. Sam Obae, and Dr. Mark Norris—from the Department of Biological Sciences attended the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America held April 4-6 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Click through the gallery below to view photos from the event.
At the conference, the students and faculty members from Stevenson’s Fine School of the Sciences presented research they had jointly conducted.
Biology majors Andrea Hawkins (’25) and Mike Merola (’25) presented two posters based on their Summer Science Scholars Research Program (S3RP) work with Dr. Frank Stearns, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences: “Investigating the Possible Effect of cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase on Dispersal Behavior in Chinese Praying Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) Nymphs” and “Gene Expression and Dispersal: Investigating for Gene in the Enchenopa binotata Species Complex.”
Environmental Science major Adam Abdur-Rahman (’26) and Dr. Sam Obae, Professor of Biological Sciences, presented the poster, “The Impact of Climate Change on the Phenology of Native and Invasive Plants.”
Environmental Science major Emily Connell (’25) and Dr. Mark Norris, Professor of Biological Sciences, presented the poster “Species Diversity and Distribution within Edge-Interior and Canopy-Understory Quercus rubras in a Temperate Deciduous Forest.”
Environmental Science majors Maggie Sehnert (’26) and Lauren Sober (’26) also presented a poster of research they had conducted with Dr. Norris: “Understory Complexity, Soil Conditions, and Landscape Characteristics as Potential Drivers of Eastern Red-backed Salamander Presence in Varied Forest Habitats.”
This experience provided Stevenson students with an opportunity to showcase their research and the chance to network with students, researchers, teachers and professionals from the Mid–Atlantic region and beyond.
