University of Dayton junior presents research on honeysuckle impact at symposium

2018 Mar 27

University of Dayton junior Jenea Adams, a biology major from Cleveland, will show off her research accomplishments during the campus' Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium.

Adams is an environmental biology research assistant and undergraduate project leader in the lab of Ryan McEwan, associate professor of ecology and director of the environmental biology program.

The project she is working on explores how the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle impacts aquatic macroinvertebrates - tiny, water-dwelling organisms.

The project began four years ago with lab members exploring different parks and reserves in Dayton, locating streams and rating the amount of Amur honeysuckle. The team then went back to the streams to collect the aquatic macroinvertebrates and brought them back to the lab for analysis.

Presenting her research will be significant to Adams, who chose to attend the University of Dayton because of the opportunities presented by the Stander Symposium. The event recognizes student learning through faculty mentored undergraduate and graduate research, scholarship and artistic accomplishments representing all academic units at the university.

"Seeing students interested in Stander before they even attend the University says a lot, it shows they're looking forward to their future career," said McEwan said. "The idea that we have this campuswide day of alternative learning is an awesome aspect to use for recruiting. This program is important to us, it's going to be even more important through time."