Research 

Undergraduate Research

Graduate Research

Current Research Projects

Past Research Projects

Equipment Available for Use in Lab

Complete List of Publications

 

Undergraduate Research

Why do research as an undergraduate? The first and foremost reason should be to enhance your skills as a biologist-developing a testable hypothesis, designing the appropriate experiment, carrying out the project, and public presentation of your results.

Interested in working in Dr. Pascarella's Plant Ecology Lab at VSU as an undergraduate? Contact me at jbpascar@valdosta.edu or at (229) 333-5766. At least a one-semester commitment is required with preference for longer time periods; You will be able to gain academic credit (up to 4 elective credit hours) through directed study (BIOL 4950) for your work. A strong academic record at VSU and a recommendation letter, if I have not had you in one of my classes, is requested. I encourage students of underrepresented groups to contact me regarding research opportunities.

Graduate Research

I will accept MS students who are interested in any aspect of ecology and evolution although I prefer that students have an interest in plant demography or plant-animal interactions. I am comfortable working with students who plan on a terminal MS degree as well as those who plan to continue for a PhD. I have no preference for whether students want to focus on applied or basic research. Students should plan on applying for a teaching assistantship. If funding for a research assistantship becomes available, I will post that here.            

Current Research Projects

1) Conservation Biology, Restoration Ecology, and Demography of Jacquemontia reclinata (Convolvulaceae) in South Florida

2) Fire and Vegetation Dynamics at Moody Air Force Base

3) Tropical Forest Successional Dynamics in Puerto Rico

4) Evolutionary ecology of reproductive isolation between two sympatric Gelsemium species (G. rankinii and G. sempervirens) in Lowndes County, Georgia

5) Foraging Ecology of the Blueberry Bee (Habropoda laboriosa) 

6) Demography and hybridization of the federally endangered Baptisia arachnifera.       

7) Biodiversity of native bees in old-growth and secondary pine forests;

 

Past Research

1) Plant-animal interactions and environmental variability with demographic modeling using matrix  models.

2) Community ecology of pollinators and food plants in Everglades National Park, Florida

3) Importance of disturbance events (fire, hurricanes, and human use in agriculture) and non-indigenous plant species invasion on plant diversity and dynamics

4) Plant breeding and mating systems

 

Research Equipment available for use in the Pascarella Plant Ecology Lab:

Computers and Printers; Scanners

Digital Cameras (2)

Ecological and Statistical Software: Microsoft Office, Sigma Plot, SigmaStat, ESRI ArcView GIS, MATLAB 7.0, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, BIOTA, specialized ecological software (Poptools, RAMAS, Hemispherical Canopy Analysis, etc.).

Books and Journals: Science, American Scientist, Ecology, American Journal of Botany, Castanea, Georgia Journal of Science, Biotropica; specialized ecology and statistics books and reprint collection.

Lab equipment: Olympus and Leica Stereo Dissecting Scope with digital camera mount; Olympus Compound Microscope, Balances, Drying Oven, Soil sieves, Soil shaker table, Ph Meter, Freezer and Refrigerator, Sewing machine, slides, 2 insect cabinets, Gas, Vacuum, and Water lines.

Field Equipment: Lightweight Binoculars, Tripods, Monopods, Nikon FM2 Camera, Kestrel 2000 and 3000 field meterological samplers, Lux (light) meter, humidity meter, meter tapes, aluminum tags, GPS Unit, Laser Range Finder, insect nets, Refractometer, Portable field vacuum, clinometers, compass, tree dbh tapes and increment measures, soil sampling probes, tree height measurer, extendible tree trimmer.

Other equipment available for use at VSU: Greenhouses, growth chambers, warm rooms, cold rooms, animal rooms, Electron microscope, flourescent microscope

Field Sites: Lake Louise, Plowden (both owned by VSU); Langdale Park, Tall Timbers, Osceola National Forest, nearby forest reserves.

 

Complete list of Publications

  1. J.B. Pascarella. 2007. Foraging patterns of the southeastern blueberry bee Habropoda laboriosa (Apidae, Hymenoptera): Implications for understanding oligolecty. Journal of Apicultural Research.46(1): 19-27.

  2. J. B. Pascarella, T.M. Aide, and J. K. Zimmerman. 2007. The demography of Miconia prasina (Melastomataceae) during secondary succession in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 39: 54-61.

  3. J.B. Pascarella. 2007. Mechanisms of prezygotic reproductive isolation between two sympatric species, Gelsemium rankinii and Gelsemium sempervirens (Gelsemiaceae), in the southeastern United States. American Journal of Botany 94(3): 468-476.

  4. Carol Horvitz, Shripad Tuljapurkar, and John Pascarella. 2005. Plant-animal interactions in random environments: habitat-stage elasticity, seed predators and hurricanes. Ecology 86: 3312-3322.

  5. J.B. Pascarella, T. M. Aide, and J. K. Zimmerman. 2004. Short-term response of secondary forests to hurricane disturbance in Puerto Rico, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 199: 379-393.

  6. S. Tuljapurkar, C.C. Horvitz, and J.B. Pascarella. 2003. The many growth rates and elasticities of populations in random environments. The American Naturalist 162(4): 489-503.

  7. John B. Pascarella, K.D. Waddington, and P.Neal. 2001. Non-Apoid flower visiting fauna of Everglades National Park, FL, Biodiversity and Conservation 10: 551-566.

  8. John B. Pascarella, T. Mitchell Aide, Mayra I. Serrano, and Jess K. Zimmerman. 2000. Land use history and regeneration of tropical forests in the Cayey Mountains, Puerto Rico,  Ecosystems 3(3): 217-228.

  9. John B. Pascarella. 2000. A new record for the rare and endangered tree Eugenia haematocarpa Alain (Myrtaceae) in the Sierra de Cayey Mountains, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science 36(1-2): 146.

  10. Jess K. Zimmerman, John B. Pascarella, and T. Mitchell Aide. 2000. Barriers to forest invasion in an abandoned pasture in Puerto Rico. Restoration Ecology 8: 350-360.

  11. T. Mitchell Aide, Jess K. Zimmerman, John B. Pascarella, L. Rivera, and H. Marcano. 2000. Forest regeneration in a chronosequence of tropical abandoned pastures: implications for restoration ecology. Restoration Ecology 8:328-338.

  12. John B. Pascarella, K.D. Waddington, and P.Neal. 2000. The bee fauna (Apoidea) of Everglades National Park, Florida and adjacent areas: Distribution, phenology, and biogeography,  Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 72(1):32-45.

  13. John B. Pascarella and Carol C. Horvitz. 1999. Seed and seedling ecology of the invasive non-indigenous shrub Ardisia elliptica (Thunb.) (Mryrsinaceae) in south Florida. Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Ecosystem Restoration and Creation. Editors F. Webb and P. Cannizaro. Hillsborough Community College, FL. 

  14. Carol C. Horvitz, John B. Pascarella, S. McMann, A. Freedman, and R. Hofstetter. 1998. Functional roles of invasive non-indigenous plants in hurricane-affected subtropical hardwood forests. Ecological Applications 8:947-974.

  15. John B. Pascarella. 1998. Hurricane disturbance, plant-animal interactions, and the reproductive success of a tropical shrub. Biotropica 30(3) 416-424.

  16. John B. Pascarella. 1998. Resiliency and response to hurricane disturbance in the tropical shrub Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae). American Journal of Botany 85:1207-1215.

  17. John B. Pascarella and Carol C. Horvitz. 1998. Hurricane disturbance and the population dynamics of a tropical understory shrub: megamatrix elasticity analysis. Ecology 79:547-563.

  18. John B. Pascarella. 1997. Hurricane disturbance and the regeneration of Lysiloma latisiliquum: A tropical tree in south Florida. Forest Ecology and Management 92:97-106.

  19. John B. Pascarella. 1997. Breeding systems of Ardisia Sw. (Myrsinaceae). Brittonia 49(1):45-53.

  20. John B. Pascarella. 1997. Mating system of the neotropical shrub Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae). American Journal of Botany 84(4):456-460.

  21. John B. Pascarella. 1997. Pollination ecology of Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae). Castanea 62 (1):1-7.

  22. John B. Pascarella. 1996. The biology of Periploca sp. (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae): A specialized gall maker on Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae). Florida Entomologist 79:606-610.

  23. John B. Pascarella. 1996. Reproductive ecology of Picramnia pentandra (Picramniaceae) in south Florida. Caribbean Journal of Science 32:99-104.

  24. John B. Pascarella. 1994. Additions to the flora of south Florida: Four new species of naturalized tropical trees. Florida Scientist 57(4):173-176.

  25. John B. Pascarella. 1992. Notes on flowering phenology, nectar robbing, and pollination of Symphonia globulifera (Clusiaceae) in a lowland rain forest in Costa Rica. Brenesia 38:83-86.

  26. John B. Pascarella and Michael S. Gaines. 1991. Feeding preferences of the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) for seeds and plants from an old-field successional community. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Sciences 94 (1-2): 3-11.

 

 

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10/03/07 02:32 PMby John Pascarella