The Urban Coast Institute (UCI) has awarded Monmouth University Associate Professor Veronica Davidov a Faculty Enrichment Grant to continue her ongoing research on biomimicry, the practice of emulating processes and forms in nature to address human challenges.

Biomimicry has long been employed by engineers for purposes ranging from aeronautics innovations inspired by birds to offshore wind turbine blades modeled after humpback whale fins. Davidov, of the Department of History and Anthropology, has for several years explored biomimicry in a cultural context, and how it is increasingly being looked to as a natural resource and a pathway to sustainability.

The next phase of Davidov’s research will focus on the role water and water-based chemistry play in biomimicry. The grant will assist Davidov with conducting structured interviews with experts, software needs, involving student researchers, and attending an immersive workshop organized by the Biomimicry Institute in 2025.

The UCI offers Faculty Enrichment Grants on a competitive basis to Monmouth University faculty to support individual or collaborative projects for the enhancement of existing curriculum, new curriculum development, research and scholarship and team-teaching opportunities. Funding is available through the Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars program for faculty and student researchers of all disciplines whose work furthers the mission and goals of the UCI to serve as a forum for research, education and collaboration to further healthy and productive coastal ecosystems and resilient and economically vibrant coastal communities.

For more information on available grants, contact UCI Associate Director Tom Herrington at therring@monmouth.edu or visit the UCI’s funding opportunities page on the MyMU Portal (Monmouth login credentials required).

Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 12 p.m. | Edison Hall 201

Pizza Lunch Served

Join Monmouth University Provost Faculty Fellows Serbay Zambak, Ph.D., and Michelle Schpakow, Ed.D. on Nov. 26 for a lunchtime talk focused on a project that is helping aspiring educators become more confident and better-prepared for teaching STEM and sustainability topics. The talk, titled “Supporting Elementary Preservice Teachers’ and Students’ STEM Thinking and Identities through Model-Eliciting Problems: A Path from Learning to Serving for Sustainable Communities,” will be held in Edison Hall 201 from 12-1 p.m.

Professors Zambak and Schpakow will present their development of model-eliciting activities and an afterschool STEM program designed to support preservice elementary teachers’ and a group of elementary students’ STEM thinking and STEM identities. Through the support of the Urban Coast Institute (UCI), preservice teachers in the Monmouth University School of Education have the opportunity to work with 4^th– and 5th-grade students from an underserved population through this program, building connections and improving STEM-thinking capacities. Preliminary findings and plans for the future will be shared. Free pizza lunch will be served.

In recognition of the Urban Coast Institute’s 20^th anniversary (2005-25), the UCI is organizing a series of talks highlighting the innovative faculty and student research. Watch the UCI website for announcements on upcoming in-person and virtual talks and other activities related to the anniversary.

The Urban Coast Institute (UCI) has awarded endowed scholarships to five outstanding Monmouth University students for the 2024-25 school year. Four received support for the first time beginning this semester: Sage Phelps (Urban Coast Institute Endowed Scholarship), Rebecca Pimentel (Rita Mangan UCI Endowed Scholarship), Christopher Reigel (Ann and Alfred Ferguson ’13HN Scholarship), and Siena Zisa (MacDonald Family UCI Endowed Scholarship). In addition, the UCI renewed an Ann and Alfred Ferguson ’13HN Scholarship for 2023 recipient Brooke van de Sande, a senior marine and environmental biology and policy student. 

The UCI established endowed scholarships at Monmouth to support undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in coastal, marine, and environmental studies. The scholarships are intended to encourage Monmouth students to become active, global citizens while fostering an understanding of the coastal and marine environment and communities, legal studies, public policy, and research methods.

The Ann and Alfred L. Ferguson ’13HN UCI Endowed Scholarship and MacDonald Family UCI Endowed Scholarship have been available since 2020, the Urban Coast Institute Endowed Scholarship was established by the UCI Advisory Committee in 2021, and the Rita Mangan UCI Endowed Scholarship was made available for the first time in 2023. Click here to learn about other student funding opportunities available through the UCI (Monmouth login credentials required).

Scroll below to meet this year’s new endowed scholarship recipients below. Click here to view profiles of last year’s recipients.

New Recipients

Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute Director Tony MacDonald served on an Oct. 16 expert panel focused on a state-proposed New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats – Resilient Environments and Landscapes (NJ PACT REAL) rule, which aims to modernize environmental land use regulations to more effectively respond to climate change.

MacDonald presented on the first of a two-part miniseries of Technical Assistance Coffee Chat webinars hosted by the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative to inform coastal communities and stakeholders about the goals and potential impacts of NJ PACT REAL. With a theme of “Coastal Protection and Natural Enhancements,” the panel also included presentations by American Littoral Society Executive Director Tim Dillingham and Stafford Township Administrator Matt von der Hayden and was moderated by Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program Coordinator Amanda Archer. Visit the miniseries web page to view the second webinar and speaker slides.

For information about NJ PACT REAL can be found on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection website. The agency is seeking public comment on the proposal through Nov. 7, 2024.

Congressman Frank Pallone has secured $750,000 in federal funding for Monmouth University for a research initiative that will bolster environmental protection efforts while addressing public concerns surrounding offshore wind development along the Jersey Shore.

The project, led by Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute in partnership with Rutgers University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s James J. Howard Laboratory, will focus on cutting-edge environmental monitoring and sustainable energy development. One of its key objectives is to establish best practices for monitoring offshore wind sites to minimize conflicts with marine life and preserve critical habitats. This framework will be essential in advancing New Jersey’s leadership in offshore wind energy, while prioritizing ecological sustainability.

Click here to read a press release with additional details.  

Monmouth University marine and environmental biology and policy students Diederik Boonman and Brooke van de Sande delivered presentations at the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Conservation Symposium, held on campus Oct. 1-3. Boonman detailed his work confirming the existence of a new invasive species of anemone on the Jersey Shore during a student lightning talk session, while van de Sande discussed her research on the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a tool for monitoring humpback whales on the event’s “Innovative Approaches to Monitoring Ecosystem Health” panel.

The event was hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) with support from the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute. Scroll below to view videos and abstracts from the presentations.

First Record of the Sea Anemone Actinia Equina Linnaeus (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) on the Mid-Atlantic Coast of the United States

PRESENTER: Diederik Boonman

ABSTRACT: Members of the genus Actinia are familiar to the rocky shore communities across much of the world. However, to date, no Actinia have been reported from the North American continent. Here, we report Actinia from an approximately 22 kilometer length of the New Jersey shoreline, where it was first discovered in 2021 on human-made rocky groins within an otherwise sandy shore ecosystem. Morphology and DNA barcoding data (mitochondrial CoI and nuclear ITS) indicate that these populations are A. equina. The presence of these populations close to major ports in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia suggests a probable introduction from shipping activities.

Identifying Relationships Between Visual Sightings and eDNA (Environmental DNA) of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Along the Coast of New Jersey

PRESENTER: Brooke van de Sande

ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, there has been an increase in marine mammal visual sightings along the coast of New Jersey. Specifically, juvenile humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are most frequently observed along the New Jersey coastline during the summer months, coinciding with their feeding season. The lack of sufficient research in this area, paired with recent increases in local mortality events, amplifies the need for effective management of cetaceans through continuous monitoring of habitat use and migration patterns. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is an emerging monitoring tool that has successfully detected whales and other marine mammals over large spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we compared detections of humpback whales by eDNA metabarcoding to confirmed visual sightings. To assess how other factors affect eDNA signals, variables such as whale behavior, location, water temperature, and prey presence were recorded for each sample. The development of non-extractive techniques for monitoring whales may improve monitoring capacity and reduce potential observation biases when paired with visual surveys. The information gained from this research will not only allow for a greater understanding of how cetaceans utilize the New Jersey coastline but will also add to ongoing monitoring research that aims for better protection and conservation of these local humpback whales.  

Brooke van de Sande knows the locations of the cetaceans. With a long-lens camera in one hand and a headset mic in the other, the naturalist on the Jersey Shore Whale Watch vessel Jersey Girl calls out “10 o’clock!” to alert passengers to a humpback whale lunging from the sea in the distance. Multitasking, she shares details about the behaviors and feeding habits of humpbacks over the PA, while trying to capture closeup photos of unique markings on the whale’s tail that can ID individual animals like a massive fingerprint.

The images and precise location will be shared with the nonprofit Gotham Whale, which is compiling a catalog of all of the whales spotted along the New York and northern New Jersey coasts. They’ve amassed data on hundreds of individual animals since they started in 2011.

But van de Sande is also determined to learn about the whales she can’t see. The senior marine and environmental biology and policy student at Monmouth University has been conducting research on how effective trace genetic materials floating in the water – called environmental DNA, or “eDNA” – can be for detecting humpbacks in the area.

While interning aboard the Belmar-based vessel in 2023, van de Sande collected a sample of ocean water every time there was a whale spotted within 100 feet. She then filtered out the organic materials from the bottles at a campus lab and tested them for humpback whale DNA. In every case, there was a match.

“Now we know that there is a strong correlation between DNA samples taken in the water and the visual sightings,” van de Sande said. “If we take a sample and see that there were high numbers of humpback whale DNA, then we can assume that there was a whale in the area, even if we didn’t see one. It’s a really non-invasive technique to monitor whales in the area.”

She recently presented her work at the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium at the Duke University Marine Lab in North Carolina, where she garnered the top prize for undergraduate speed talks. Her work has been guided by faculty mentors Endowed Professor Marine Science Jason Adolf and Environmental DNA/Marine Fisheries Senior Scientist Sam Chin, as well as Gotham Whale Director of Marine Mammal Research Danielle Brown. Her work and conference travel were supported with a grant from the Urban Coast Institute’s Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars program.

Her class studies on coastal zone management and policy issues have given her added perspective on the importance of the research. She said waters that the Jersey Girl tours are busy with human activities such as cargo ship traffic and recreational boating, and it all needs to co-exist safely with the whales.

“Ocean urbanization and ocean planning is a big thing right now, especially in New Jersey, with all of the whales that have been showing up here over the past few decades,” she said. “It’s really important that we’re learning about all of the speed restrictions and laws going into place to protect the whales and we’re planning for the future of the ocean in New Jersey and New York.”

Urban Coast Institute (UCI) Director Tony MacDonald and Associate Director Tom Herrington appeared on a special episode of the “America Adapts” podcast dedicated to the New Jersey Coastal & Climate Resilience Conference, held at Monmouth University in the spring. In the two-hour episode, host Doug Parsons interviewed 13 attendees about the conference proceedings, their work in the field, and observations on how climate change is impacting New Jersey communities.

MacDonald appears at the 25:40 mark and Herrington at the 1:03:05 mark. Visit the episode page for the full lineup of speakers and links to listen on your favorite podcast platform.

The three-day event was hosted jointly by the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Amanda Boddy, an expert with a decade of experience conducting ecological restoration and coastal resilience projects on New Jersey and New York waterfronts, has joined the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) as its marine biology technician. In this role, Boddy will contribute to the portfolio of projects that fall under the umbrella of the UCI’s Coastal Community Resilience Initiative (CCRI), including the installation and monitoring of artificial reefs along Naval Weapons Station Earle’s shores and an investigation of how fouling on oyster castles impacts their capability to recruit larvae.

Boddy worked on these projects and other efforts to restore oyster populations in the region’s waters in her previous position as manager of the Coastal Restoration Program for NY/NJ Baykeeper, where she collaborated for several years with UCI Coastal Resilience and Restoration Practitioner Meredith Comi. Through a 2023 agreement, that program’s management was transitioned to Monmouth University, where it has continued to expand. Boddy’s work will be funded through a combination of external grants.

Boddy first got involved with the Naval Weapons Station Earle project as an intern and marine science student at Rutgers University in 2015. Initially, her work focused on studying the types of structures and materials that were most effective for retaining oyster larvae, a line of research she said is an excellent gateway for students to get started in the field. Later, her work transitioned to studying the sedimentation patterns around the oyster castles to determine whether certain arrangements are better than others for accumulating sand.

“We looked at erosion versus accretion, because even if the castles didn’t produce oysters, they were still meant to dampen wave energy and hold sand that had been pulled away from shore by waves,” she said.

Boddy traces her passion for marine science back to her childhood days summering at her grandparents’ home in Manahawkin. There she spent long days on the beach and the bay, earning her boater’s license at age 13.

However, her career nearly went in a much different direction. Boddy recalled that she was initially a psychology major and intended to pursue a master’s in hospital social work, but the classes never resonated with her. An elective introduction to oceanography class she took as a first-year student would change that trajectory.

“I remember thinking, I’m actually really good at this, I like it, and everything makes sense because I know how water and marine life work,” she recalled. “I was tutoring a lot of my friends in that class who found it difficult.”

Today she looks forward to working with Monmouth students and feels her projects present excellent opportunities for experiential learning.

“As someone who started off as an intern, I really like helping interns out, because marine science can be a difficult field to get your start in,” she said.

Urban Coast Institute (UCI) Director Tony MacDonald, who serves as a member of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) Board of Trustees, has been appointed as the chair of the organization’s Educational Outreach (EO) Committee. In this role, MacDonald will work with the EO Committee members and MCF staff to help guide the development of an education and outreach plan to reach Monmouth County residents of all ages, focused on environmental sustainability and quality of life related to MCF’s mission.

The Middletown-based MCF’s core mission is to acquire and preserve open space and farmland and conserve natural habitats throughout Monmouth County in support of outdoor recreation, agriculture, clean water, and wildlife for long-term sustainability. Founded in 1977, the MCF is an independent nonprofit land trust that has preserved more than 9,400 acres of green space in Monmouth County.