The 13th Rice Rivers Center Symposium was held on May 9, 2025 with an overflow crowd of faculty and students. The event – which began in 2008 and ran consecutively until 2019 – was halted during the pandemic, and reemerged this year with strong presentations and posters/digital apps. 

The majority of the presenters are undergraduate or graduate students from VCU Biology, VCU Center for Environmental Studies (CES), and Center for Integrative Life Sciences Education (ILS). In addition, speakers and co-authors represent VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, VCU School of World Studies, VCU Urban and Regional Studies/Planning, VCU Computer Science (CS), VCU Honors College (HON), VCU Outdoor Adventure Program (OAP), National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the Virginia Ornithological Council, and Maymont Foundation.

"The Rice Rivers Center is research intensive and student-centric; the annual Scholars Symposium is a great showcase for that aspect of our academic mission,” says Greg Garman, Ph.D., director of the center. “We've had a wonderful day sharing environmental science with students, staff, and faculty from many different disciplines."

The day began with opening remarks from Dr. Garman, with oral presentations following and poster presentations to end the day.

 Opening Remarks. Dr. Greg Garman, director, VCU Rice Rivers Center 

Unexpected Cyanobacteria diversity: lessons from the Shenandoah River. Ronaldo Lopez*, VCU-ILS; Paul Zimba, VCU-RRC.

Evaluating the Match/Mismatch Hypothesis on larval alosines and plankton community in the South Anna and Pamunkey Rivers, Virginia. Brycen Boettcher*,  VCU-CES; Greg Garman, VCU-RRC; Stephen McIninch, VCU-CES and VCU-RRC; Paul Zimba, VCU-RRC.

Cross-scale coupling of plant traits and carbon cycling processes in a restored tidal freshwater marsh. Mindy Priddy*, VCU-ILS; Angelina De La Torre* California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI-ENVS); Lisa Haber, VCU-BIOL; Matthew Weil*, Ithaca College; Sebastian Reed*, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA-EGMN); Christopher Gough, VCU-BIOL.

Bugs in the Flux: Characterizing the cascading effects of forest disturbance & composition on arthropod communities & heterotrophic respiration. Erin-Darby McClain*, VCU-BIOL; Justine Crochetiere*, Jean-Phillipe Lessard, Concordia University (CU- BIOL); Chris Gough, VCU-BIOL.

Wolf Spider Abundance and Diversity within Leaf Litter and Lawn Substrates. Sage Lockett*, Dan Albrecht- Mallinger, VCU-CES.

 Assessment of Drivers of Water Clarity in Virginia Reservoirs. Jackson Barnett*, Paul Bukaveckas, VCU-CES.

Survival of wastewater-associated, antibiotic resistant bacteria within in situ mesocosms. Mary Coughter*, VCU-ILS; Rima Franklin, VCU-BIOL and VCU Life Science (VCU-LS).

A novel PSLR approach for remote sensing quantification of cyanobacterial biomass. Ronaldo Lopez*, VCU- ILS; Paul Zimba, VCU-RRC.

The Reptile Database: taxonomy and conservation. Spoorti Kalashetti*, Peter Uetz, VCU- BNFO; Elyse O'Rahilly*, Sanie Fragata* ; Joshua Grove*, and Nathaniel Grove*,  VCU-CS; Eli Conger*, Aakash Parmar*, VCU-BNFO; Daniel Durback Temple University (TU); Izzy Bedichek*, Northwestern University.

Examining Breeding Behavior and Nest Phenology in the American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius). Kaylynn Breland*, VCU-CES; Patti Reum and John Sphar, Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO); and Dan Albrecht-Mallinger, VCU-CES.

Urban Green Infrastructure Modeling: Defining and building a geospatial urban green infrastructure model. Jennifer Ciminelli, VCU Massey Cancer Center, Catchment Area Data Analytics (VCU MCCC-CADA); Emily Sharp, Alaa Hamid, VCU-CES.

Urban Green Infrastructure Modeling: Defining and building a geospatial urban green infrastructure model. Emily Sharp, Alaa Hamid, VCU-CES; Jennifer Ciminelli, VCU-MCCC-CADA.

Plumage Polymorphism in the Sexually Dimorphic American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) in Highland County, VA. Mary Carson* VCU-CES and VCU-BIOL; Kay Breland*, VCU-CES; Patti Reum and John Spahr, VSO; Dan Albrecht-Mallinger, VCU-CES.

Ecosystem Services of Trees at Maymont Park. Emily Sharp*, Becca Hoover*, Logan Andrews*, VCU-CES; Paaru Raj*, VCU-BIOL; Catherine Viverette, VCU-RRC; Jennifer Ciminelli, VCU-MCCC-CADA; Sean Proietti, Maymont Foundation.

Evaluation of the Disproportionate Impacts of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina. Ashley Thompson*, Carly Muir, VCU-CES.

Hemlock woolly adelgid infestation influences forest structural complexity and its relationship with primary production. Brandon Alveshere*, VCU-BIOL; Tahrir Siddiqui*, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Jan van Aardt, RIT; Keith Krause, Battelle, NEON; Christopher Gough, VCU-BIOL.

Exploring the Benefits of Maymont's Dooley Trees. Nicholas Hanna*, VCU-CES; Sean Proietti, Maymont Foundation; Catherine Viverette, VCU-RRC; and Jennifer Ciminelli, VCU-MCCC-CADA.

Material Design for a Shoreline Erosion Structure. Gui Pereira*, Mia McGovern*, Nick Lopez-Riveira*, VCU Chemical and Life Science Engineering (VCU-CLSE).

Bioremediation in the Chesapeake Bay: Ocean Acidification Mitigation in an Interactive Multi-Trophic Ecosystem. Cree Taylor*, Mary Boyes, VCU HON.

Water, Weather, and Wetlands: Extreme Precipitation, Hydrochemistry, and their effect on Carbon Fluxes. Sara Spence*, VCU-CES; Mindy Priddy, VCU-ILS; Lisa Haber and Christopher Gough, VCU-BIOL.

Macroinvertebrates & Land Use, to the Buffalo and Back: Results Emerge from a Collaborative Field Expedition. Shoshanah Ardush*, JP Ayala*, Judah Carr*, Kira Sweetman*, Quinten Sierra*, James Vonesh VCU-CES; Annie Humphrey, Kara Kimes, Elise Chapman, University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC); AJ Fields, Rachael Croley, Ava Money, Riley McCafferty, Lizz Warring, Northeastern State University.

Substrate preference and foraging behavior of two declining warblers in Appalachian shrublands. Sam Fishman*and Lesley P. Bulluck, VCU-CES.

The Implementation and Significance of Hydroponic Systems on Urban Campuses. Anna Jones*, John Jones, VCU-CES.

Adventure Ready: Why Wilderness Travel Skills are Essential. Becca Hoover*, VCU-CES; Joey Parent, VCU-CES and VCU-OAP.

Incubation Length and Behavior in Prothonotary Warblers. J. K. Peterson*, VCU-ILS; Daniel Albrecht-Mallinger, VCU-ENVS; Catherine Viverette, VCU-RRC; and Lesley P. Bulluck, VCU-CES

Restoration Monitoring and Delineation of Kimages Creek Wetland. Eric Bouma*, Theresa Lucas*; Dylan Stephens*; VCU College of Health Sciences (VCU-CHP); and Ed Crawford, VCU-RRC.

Exploring connections between bats and emergent insects in the riparian zone of the James River, VA. Tamara Eddy*, VCU-BIOL; Footprints on the James class* of 2024, VCU-CES and VCU-BIOL; Alexandra Wallit, James Vonesh, VCU-CES.

Environmental Influences on Baboon Group Dynamics: A Study from Gorongosa National Park. Harper Cleaton*, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger, VCU-CES; Marie Vergamini, VCU School of World Studies (VCU-WS).

Using open source data to look at the relationship between fish diversity & pollutant discharge data in the Upper/Middle James River Watershed. Ethan Burroughs*, VCU-CES.

*denotes student