The Ohio State University at Lima
ER-16: Faculty Engaged in Sustainability Research

David Hartwig, English
Doug Sutton-Ramspeck, English
Tom Ingersoll, History
Eric Juterbock, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
Jacqueline Augustine, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
John R. Snyder, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Medicine
Ed Valentine, Art
Tariq Rizvi, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science
Joseph Green, Psychology
Mark, Kleffner, Geology

1. David Hartwig, English.
- I am in the very early stages of researching the history of North Manitou Island, Mich. The island is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and is the largest designated "wilderness" area east of the Mississippi. My research focuses on the history of human habitation of the island, especially the conflicts over federal ownership of the island, and its eventual conservation as a wild space. My research is ongoing, I am currently envisioning a "travel-log" style work, falling in the genre of creative non-fiction, that I am hoping to present at next year's conference of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment.

2. Eric Juterbock, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
- My current work in the southern Appalachians is trying to understand the ecological relationships of the diverse community of lungless salamanders that live there. I am working in the upper half of the elevational range, with species adapted to cool moist conditions. A changing climate is clearly hazardous to their well-being (cool and moist becomes warmer and drier), and in the Appalachians, there is not a lot of room to move to higher ground. The poster I presented last summer demonstrated that their daily activities would be directly affected, as being active above ground-level increases water loss, which also happens in conditions of warmer temperatures and lower relative humidity. Remaining underground instead of being active at the surface is only a very short-term solution to water loss, as they need to be at or above the surface to feed (and to mate, for the long term). The results of my work will quite likely be useful in the conservation of this segment of biodiversity in a changing world. Sustainability should aim to preserve intact ecosystems, so there may be a link.

3. John R. Snyder, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Medicine
I offer the following might be logical for inclusion, but let me give you the context. The following activities are aimed at sustaining health (preventing disease) in Allen County under the Activate Allen County initiative, a CDC-funded Small Communities Transformation grant for which Jerry Courtney, President and CEO of the Lima Family YMCA, is the P.I.. Jerry has asked two colleagues from Ohio Northern University and me to do the evaluation activities. While ‘evaluation” doesn’t necessarily mean research, we are working to treat our data gathering following the project’s evidence-based interventions as potential research activities. So, perhaps the following is relevant, and I’ll let you decide:

a) Reducing the prevalence of obesity in Allen County by: increasing physical activity and better nutrition in school age children; removing barriers to physical activity and increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables for adults living in food deserts; encouraging breastfeeding-friendly environments and making hospitals breastfeeding “friendly”.

b) Reducing the prevalence of diabetes by training counselors and screening for diabetes

c) Reducing the prevalence of tobacco use and impact of second-hand smoke by offering smoking cessation options, encouraging multi-unit housing to become smoke free, and making work places and community spaces smoke free.

d) Educating the public about making healthy choices regarding food, physical activity, life-style behaviors and disease prevention through a media campaign.

4. Jacqueline Augustine, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
Projects:
House Wren reproduction in habitats with different levels of human disturbance
Land use of Greater and Lesser Prairie-chickens in an agricultural landscape