Science Advisors     Declan McCabe, PhD Assistant Professor of Biology - St. Michael's College Declan McCabe is a community ecologist. His primary interest is in the interactions among aquatic organisms, particularly macroinvertebrates. Research projects include the effects of disturbance on river insects, facilitative effects of Caddisfly aggregations and impacts of zebra mussels on soft sediment communities. During the summers he does research in Vermont rivers, on Lake Champlain, and on the St. Michael's campus. Declan teaches hands-on, laboratory and field-based courses including Community Ecology and General Biology. He has recently developed partnerships with three elementary schools where students taking his Biology in Elementary Schools course teach science lessons to grades 1 through 5. He is actively involved in all aspects of the streams project, especially those that concern macroinvertebrates. His student research team has developed site-specific web sites to facilitate macroinvertebrate identification by the high school teams. He attended St. Joseph's University (BS), the University of Pittsburgh (MS), and the University of Vermont (PhD). For more information about Declan's research, go to: http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/dmccabe/         Sallie Sheldon, PhD Professor of Biology - Middlebury College Sallie teaches and does research in aquatic ecology and ecological relationships. Her research focuses on invasive species in oceans, lakes and streams. She has studied the beneficial properties of the aquatic weevil Euhrychiopsis lecontei, which eats Eurasian watermilfoil. She has experimentally colonized several Vermont lakes with this weevil to examine its effectiveness in eliminating milfoil. She also examines how fish use various habitats, such as aquatic plants, and how human disturbance affects the communities of animals in streams. Sallie is interested in the factors that influence community structure as well as mathematical modeling of ecological relationships. She is also actively involved in all aspects of the Streams Project. She holds a BA degree in Biology from SUNY Buffalo (1974), a MA degree in Fisheries from SUNY Buffalo (1977), and PhD in Ecology from the University of Minnesota (1984). For more information about Sallie's research, go to: www.middlebury.edu/academics/ump/majors/bio/hours/sheldon.htm         Robert Genter, PhD Professor of Biology - Johnson State College Dr. Robert Genter is Professor of Biology at Johnson State College, Vermont. He received degrees in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science from The University of Michigan (B.S., 1978), Biology from Bowling Green State University, Ohio (M.S., 1983), and Botany (Phycology) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Ph.D., 1986). Ecotoxicology and the response of microorganism communities to anthropogenic stress (various forms of human impact) is the emphasis of Dr. Genter's research. Special-interest topics range from the abundance of freshwater benthic algae under toxic metal stress to microbial source-tracking of E. coli in freshwater streams. He has authored nine publications on algal ecotoxicology including a book chapter review. Dr. Genter's involvement with academics and professional research has brought him to chair the Department of Environmental and Health Sciences at Johnson State College (2005-08) and to chair the college's Curriculum Committee (2003-08). Recently, he served as Vice President of the Executive Board of the Lake Champlain Research Consortium. Most of all, Dr. Genter is drawn to all aspects of research including hands-on field work. He enjoys sharing the relationship between our outdoor environment and the lab indoors. He has taken students on numerous local and long-distance learning experiences through Yellowstone National Park, the Florida Everglades, and the rocky marine shores of Maine.         Mary Watzin, PhD Professor - University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Mary specializes in Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology. She is very active in many of the research and education initiatives taking place throughout the Lake Champlain basin. Her research spans lakes, rivers, and estuaries and is focused on understanding how human activities, especially polluting the water and altering the landscape, influences the invertebrates, fish, and birds that live in around the water. Although much of her work is now concentrated on Lake Champlain and its surrounding watershed, Mary has also worked in the south Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and in several lakes in Macedonia, Albania, and southeastern Europe. She teaches courses in a variety of areas, including Ecosystem Management, Marine Ecology, Restoration Ecology and Large Lake Ecology. Mary has offered her expertise of Lake Champlain watershed to the Streams Project. She holds a BS degree in Marine Sciences from the University of South Carolina (1978) and a PhD in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984). For more information about Mary's research, go to: http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/?Page=mwatzin/default.html         Eric Smeltzer Environmental Scientist - Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Eric works in the Water Quality Division at the Vermont ANR, primarily on Lake Champlain issues. He attended Bates College (BS in biology, 1976) and the University of Minnesota (MS in ecology and limnology, 1980). Phosphorus management on Lake Champlain has been Eric's major area of focus since the 1980s. His work on Lake Champlain has involved discharge impact studies, development of phosphorus water quality standards, phosphorus budget and lake modeling studies, intergovernmental phosphorus reduction agreements between Vermont, New York, and Quebec, the Lake Champlain Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) document, and Vermont's Clean and Clear Action Plan. Eric works closely with the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and is a member of its Technical Advisory Committee. He is also the Vermont program manager for the Long-Term Water Quality and Biological Monitoring Program for Lake Champlain. For more information, please see: Eric Smeltzer's UVM homepage.