Professor Megan Rothenberger is the conservation biologist we have on campus here at Lafayette College. After reading the articles we were assigned for the “Environmental Impacts of Plant Cultivation” section, I immidiately thought of Professor Rothenberger’s primary research focus and how it relates directly to some of what we will be discussing in class. Professor Rothenberger studies the fluctuations of algal blooms within the Raritan Bay. To write this scientific study, Professor Rothenberger and her team have been monitoring water quality and comparing the abundances of different species of microorganisms. The paper is very interesting to read as it shows how some of the same problems that have happened in Ohio and other various areas around the country could ultimately occur in New York–affecting hundreds of thousands of New York City inhabitants. Professor Rothenberger also explains how these fluctuations in microorganisms affect ecosystems as a whole. The article is very scientific, so reading the experimental methods may be a bit confusing; however, if you read the abstract, introduction, and conclusion sections, you will undoubtedly understand Professor Rothenberger’s work and its modern-day significance!

Rothenberger et al. JPR September 2014