Dr. Christine May Receives External Funding to Study Acid Rain and the Effects on Fish Species in the Shenandoah National Park

Dr. Christine May, Assistant Professor in the Biology Department, has been awarded $12,315 from the Shenandoah National Park Trust as well as $4,900 from 4-VA for her project entitled, "Revealing the Current Relation between Stream Acidification and Fish Species Richness: What is the Trend after Almost Two Decades of Recovery?" Dr. May will be working with a team of students to study changes in acid neutralizing capacity of streams in the Shenandoah National Park, and assess any correlation with fish species richness. 

According to Dr. May's proposal, "Acid rain is one of the leading and persistent causes of environmental decline in the eastern United States. Shenandoah National Park, in collaboration with the Shenandoah Watershed Study (SWAS), has been at the forefront of research on this topic. We propose an investigation of recovery trends of stream acidification within Shenandoah National Park on contemporary fish community composition." 

Best of luck to Dr. May and her students as they proceed with their research! 

Photo credit of all photos: 4-VA Program

Published May 31, 2016