[MAIPC] board member intro

[Marc Imlay]

Hi Heather. In America about 80% of the snails live in soils rich with Calcium, like limestone, to support their calcium carbonate shells. 

 

Marc Imlay, PhD, Chair, MAIPC Biological control working Group 

MD Chapter Sierra Club Natural Places Chair. 

Conservation biologist, Park Ranger Office, Non-native Invasive Plant Control coordinator. 
(301) 442-5657 cell   <mailto:ialm at erols.com> ialm at erols.com
Natural and Historical Resources Division

 

 

From: MAIPC [mailto:maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org] On Behalf Of Heather Kostick
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 2:21 PM
To: maipc at lists.maipc.org
Subject: [MAIPC] board member intro

 

Hello! As Norris (MAIPC President) mentioned last week, MAIPC board members are introducing themselves. So, Hello! I'm Heather Kostick, and I'm the current MAIPC Treasurer. I also served as MAIPC Secretary from 2015-2017.  

 

I first became aware of invasive species as an undergraduate at Juniata College - I may or may not have been a student of Norris's. Then once I graduated, I interacted with them during field work for various universities (I was mostly chasing birds, so I wasn't actively managing them). While going for my masters, invasive plants managed to work their way into my thesis. Bioblitzes (bioblitzes are 24-hour intensive surveys of fauna and/or flora) were the main method of collecting data for my thesis. My field site (Rushton Woods Preserve, Willistown, PA) had a healthy mix of natives and non-natives, and for my thesis (among other things) I classified the plants by their native or non-native status for land management use. I've also worked with Doug Tallamy on his newer Cool Beans Research initiative which aims to raise funding for studying the native plant diversity of coffee farms in South America. Many coffee farms use non-natives between coffee plants to maximize profits, but initial research shows that this is not great for the native wildlife and ecosystems. 

Currently, I'm at Drexel University as a PhD student working with terrestrial snails of Jamaica - specifically interested in their ecology and evolutionary patterns. Not a lot is known or documented about these snails, including their diets. A lot of native plants in Jamaica have become overwhelm by non-natives due to development, mining, and agriculture, and I hope to be able to document what resources the snails are using and if native plants make a difference in their ability to survive or not. So my interests have turned tropical, but I like to participate in MAIPC in order to keep up to date on what's going on in the Mid-Atlantic region, and help where I can. My latest project, other than working on my doctoral research and prepping for field season this summer, is launching a research-based science education podcast called Coast to Coast Science with my friend who is also a PhD Student at Oregon State University. She's working on the sociological issues connected with the logging industry in Oregon, but previous worked on the emerald ash borer issues in Maine. We plan to talk about invasive non-native species, and native plants at some point.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and contribute to the listserve. Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Heather



Heather Kostick

MAIPC Treasurer 



  



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