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Professor Barry Knisley |
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Professor Mike Fenster |
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The Cicindela puritana
(photo by Chris Wirth '13) |
R-MC Professors Mike Fenster (geology) and Barry Knisley (
biology) were featured in a recent segment of “Outdoors Maryland,” which is produced by Maryland Public Television (MPT).
The segment examined issues related to a federally-endangered species of tiger beetle,
Cicindela puritana, which inhabits the bluffs and beaches of the upper Chesapeake Bay. Knisley, Fenster and Christine Ebert ’09 studied the habitat parameters that control the distribution and abundance of the Puritan Tiger Beetle.
The segment, which aired on MPT on March 2 and 6, 2010, is available on the R-MC web site.
“This issue is timely, given the battle between Maryland’s efforts to restore and preserve fresh bluff habitat, and the homeowners that live on the eroding bluff tops who want to armor the bluffs with vegetation and hard structures,” says Knisley. “The unfortunate thing is that most of the homeowners who wanted a house with a great view of the Chesapeake Bay did not consider the natural forces of shoreline and cliff erosion. It is also likely that most were not warned by realtors or others about the presence of a federally listed species that might affect their actions to protect the shoreline. Even if they are able to protect their shoreline and destroy beetle habitat, it will cost them a lot of money.”
For Fenster, the opportunity to determine the geologic habitat on which this endangered species depends added a critical dimension to this study. “We now have a good handle on why these beetles live where they do,” says Fenster. “Christine Ebert did yeoman’s work on this project and was instrumental in its success. She ended this SURF (
Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship) and senior research work by presenting the results of this project to officials from several federal and state agencies.”
Knisley, an entomologist who retired in 2008, joined the faculty at R-MC in 1979. He earned his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He was the Paul H. Wornom Professor of Biological Sciences from 2008 until retirement. Knisley is the leading authority on tiger beetle conservation.
Fenster, a geologist who joined the faculty at R-MC in 1999, earned his B.S. and M.S. at the University of Mississippi and his Ph.D. at Boston University. He currently serves as the director of the college’s environmental studies program.
For information on R-MC’s Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/research.aspx For information on R-MC’s Environmental Studies Department, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/environmental-studies.aspx For information on R-MC’s Biology Department, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/biology.aspx