Michael A. Reiter, Ph.D.
Director, B. J. Moore Center for Integrated Environmental Science

Graduate Chair, Department of Integrated Environmental Science

Environmental Science, Resource Management, and Ecology

Bethune-Cookman University
Daytona Beach, FL  32114-3099
USA

reiterm@cookman.edu
Voice: (386) 481-2695   Fax: (386) 481-2659

The Department of Integrated Environmental Science!

The Interdisciplinary Environmental AssociationThe Interdisciplinary Environmental Association!

Ecology and Envi. Sci. Links

For fun:
Some images from Italy and Norway!

The 2012 Interdisciplinary Field Course,
 The Early English Landscape!

"We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements...profoundly depend
upon science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one
understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster."

Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

Degrees

 

Courses Over the Years:

  • Undergraduate
    • Aquatic and General Ecology
    • Civilization and Environment (honors colloquium)
    • Environmental and Wildlife Law
    • Environmental Education Workshop
    • General Biology (honors, majors, non-majors)
    • Principles of Envi. Science (Gateway Course)
    • Limnology
    • Microbiology
    • Microclimatology
    • University Seminars
    • Wildlife Management 
  • “Slash” Courses
    • Ecosystems (Undergraduate Capstone Course)
    • Environmental Policy and Risk Management
    • Marine Biology
    • Wetlands Biology
  • Graduate
    • Environmental Modeling
    • Graduate Seminar
    • Habitat Management and Restoration-Theory
    • Organization of Natural Systems
    • Population Biology

Find the fine, fascinating flat flounder in the following featured fish photo!

flounder.jpg (27402 bytes)

Give up? Click here.

 

Interests

My teaching interests include environmental science, ecology, plant biology, microbiology, and most things aquatic. I am also involved in service learning programs and resource management issues. In support of these interests I organized the Trap Pond Program and the DNERR relationship in Delaware, the Brown County Program in Indiana, and the Blue Spring Program and GTMNERR relationship in Florida to provide field research opportunities in environmental science and ecology for students while generating useful data for management decisions within the park and reserve systems. My courses utilize multiple teaching formats, open-ended experiments, project-based learning, and variable exam styles to help develop well-prepared students as well as flexible thinkers. I like to offer service-based programs and courses "on-site" at nearby parks or similar areas when possible, and I have a particular interest in teaching people about the connections between ecology, environment, technology, and human culture. I have won university and national awards for my teaching, and consider my teaching and curriculum development to be an important part of my contribution as a faculty member.

I am very active in interdisciplinary and supradisciplinary (ID/SD) environmental efforts, including the development of ID/SD courses, integrated ID/SD conceptual modeling for management purposes, the design of ID/SD programs and majors, and the development and delivery of workshops on ID/SD teaching. Some of my work is international, and I am always willing to discuss opportunities for international contacts and cooperation both for my students and for myself (I try to offer at least one ID/SD team-taught field course outside the United States every other year, and I am listed on the Fulbright Senior Specialist roster in environmental science and environmental education). My personal opinion is that the questions we encounter in "large-scale" scientific disciplines such as environmental science do not lend themselves well to answers from a single academic perspective. This is the primary reason for my strong interest and participation in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Association, which provides a rare and exciting opportunity for the exchange of information on environmental topics among as many different disciplines and perspectives as possible. I highly recommend that you check into it!

I have also performed a wide range of ecological and ID/SD research, and have been invited to speak on environmental topics both in the United States and on four continents. I am the author of manuscripts in several different fields of scientific study ranging from the development of communities of microorganisms in streams to the long-range transport and deposition of air pollutants to the use of conceptual models for addressing resource management issues in coastal watersheds. I have received research grants from the USDA, NOAA, Sigma Xi, and The Nature Conservancy, and maintain memberships with several professional organizations including the IEA, the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. My primary academic focus involves the scientific and interdisciplinary study of ecological and environmental problems: the significance of environmental topics, the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to environmental issues, and the value of having skills in more than one field of study. My goals are to highlight the importance of making broadly-based, scientifically-informed decisions concerning our present and future environmental concerns, and to do my part to ensure that such scientifically-informed individuals exist in the near future.

 

 

A Selection of Publications

·         Reiter, M. A., G. C. Matlock, J. H. Gentile, M. A. Harwell, R. Kelty, J. Barko, S. Baker, and G. Scott. In Press. An Integrated Framework for Informing Ecosystem Management Decisions. Journal of Environmental Assessment, Policy, and Management.

·         Reiter, M. A., W. J. Focht, P. A. Barresi, S. Gill, R. C. Smardon, S. Baker, K. Reiter, E. Fitch, T. Rolfe, and S. Bumpous. 2012. Making education for sustainability work on campus: The proposals of the Roundtable on Environmental Systems and Sustainability. In: W. Leal ed., 2012. Sustainable Development at Universities: New Horizons. Peter Lang Scientific Publishers, Frankfurt Germany.

·         Reljin, N, D. Pokrajac and M. Reiter. 2011. Adaptive Filters for Processing Water Level Data. In: L. Garcia, ed., Adaptive Filtering Applications, InTech Publishers, Croatia. ISBN: 978-953-307-306-4. Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/adaptive-filters-for-processing-water-level-data.

·         Reiter, M. A., M. Saintil, Z. Yang, and D. Pokrajac. 2009. Derivation of a GIS-based watershed-scale conceptual model for the St. Jones River Delaware from habitat-scale conceptual models. J. Environ. Manag. 90:3253-3265.

·         Reiter, M. A., P. C. Coggins, and M. E. Howse. 2009. Designing an integrated interdisciplinary Environmental Science curriculum using an IRMA chart: An example from Bethune-Cookman University. In: Filho, W. L. ed., Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability Vol. 31: Sustainability at Universities: Opportunities, Challenges and Trends. Peter Lang Scientific Publishers. Ch. 12, pp 153-162.

·         Reiter, M. A. G. R. Parsons, R. W. Scarborough, C. Fan, and S. M. Thur. 2006. An interdisciplinary conceptual metamodel for the St. Jones River watershed, Delaware: Development, results, and implications. J. Environ. Monit. Restor. 2:38-50.

·         Reiter, M. A. 2004. A simple fuzzy logic approach to analyze integrated interdisciplinary “four-component” conceptual resource management models. Interdisc. Environ. Rev. 6(2):1-13.

·         Reiter, M. A. 2001. Colonization time and substratum relief as factors in the uptake of algae from the water column. J. Freshwater Ecol. 16(1):57-65.

·         Reiter, M. A., J. P. Eagleman, and J. Luckenbaugh. 2000. The design and value of service learning partnerships in state parks. George Wright Forum 17(3):47-54.

·         Reiter, M. A. and J. P. Eagleman. 1999. The development of a resource management strategy: Deer, plants, and data at Brown County State Park, Indiana. Interdisc. Environ. Rev. 1(1):129-140.

·         Reiter, M. A. 1997. A simple fluorescent labeling technique for the marking of algae in mixed assemblages. J. Freshw. Ecol. 12(1):163-165.

·         Reiter, K. D. and M. A. Reiter. 1996. Constructing an interdisciplinary course in environmental history. Proc. Interdisc. Conf. Environ. 2:259-267.

·         Reiter, M. A., P. C. Coggins, and K. D. Reiter. 1995. Incorporating Multidisciplinary Environmental Topics into the Curriculum: A Possible Model. Proc. Interdisc. Conf. Environ., 1:256-264.

·         Reiter, M. A. 1993. Course-long projects for nonscience majors. Bul. Ecol. Soc. Amer. 74(1):67-68.

·         Reiter, M. A. 1991. Preliminary experiments concerning the potential for hydrodynamic isolation in benthic algal assemblages. J. Freshwater Ecol. 6(1):103-106.

·         Reiter,. A. 1989. Development of benthic algal assemblages subjected to differing near-substrate hydrodynamic regimes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46(8):1375-1382.

·         Reiter, M. A. 1989. The effect of a developing algal assemblage on the hydrodynamics near substrates of different sizes. Archiv. Hydrobiol. 115(2):221-244.

·         Gilliam, F. S., J. T. Sigmon, M. A. Reiter, and D. O. Krovetz. 1989. Elevational and spatial variation in daytime ozone concentrations in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains: Implications for forest exposure. Can. J. For. Res. 19(4):422-426.

·         Krovetz, D. O., J. T. Sigmon, M. A. Reiter, and L. H. Lessard. 1989. An automated system for air sampling with annular denuder systems at a remote site. Environ. Pollut. 58:97-107.

·         Reiter, M. A. 1986. Interactions between the hydrodynamics of flowing water and the development of a benthic algal community. J. Freshwater Ecol. 3(4):511-517.

·         Reiter, M. A. and R. E. Carlson. 1986. Current velocity in streams and the composition of benthic algal mats. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 43(6):1156-1162.

Some Recent Grants, Awards, Honors, and Accomplishments

  • Selected to present at the World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U-2012), a parallel session to the Rio+20 Conference, Rio de Janiero, Brazil, June 2012.
  • Bethune-Cookman University, 2011. Winner of the BCU Excellence in Research Award.
  • 2008-2011. Developed the Department of Integrated Environmental Science at Bethune-Cookman University, including a BS major and a minor, an MS, departmental structure and organization, assistance with SACS approval reports, faculty recruiting and hiring, and planning for the B. J. Moore Center for Integrated Environmental Science. SACS approval for B.S. 2009, M.S. 2011.
  • NOAA 2008-2011, $382,781. Project: “Environmental Cooperative Science Center”. Co-PI and Integrated Assessment Thematic Area Leader (consortium of nine universities lead by FAMU). Continuation of EPP Cooperative Science Center Consortium Grant #NA06OAR4810164.
  • President of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Association (IEA), 2005-2007; Chair of the IEA Advisory Board and Editor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2007-2009; IEA Counselor 2009-present.
  • Board of Trustees of Delaware State University, 2006. Citation of Honor.
  • National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (Academic Programs Section) 2005. National Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences.
  • Association of Research Directors, Inc, 2005. Nominated for the Morrison-Evans Outstanding Scientist Award.
  • NOAA, 2006-2011. EPP Cooperative Science Center Consortium Grant #NA06OAR4810164, $12,500,000. Project: “Environmental Cooperative Science Center.” Co-PI, consortium of nine universities administered by FAMU.
  • USDA, 2004-2006. CSREES Evans-Allen Program DELX-0019-03-3, $319,564. Project: “A Black-Box Nutrient Loading Model for Trap Pond, Delaware: Environmental Monitoring, State Service, and Student Training.” Co-PD, with C. Fan.
  • Winner of the Delaware State University Excellence in Teaching award, 2004.
  • Appointed to the Executive Board of the Mid-Atlantic Region Ecological Observatory (MAREO), a potential node of NSF’s National Ecological Observatory Network, 2004.
  • Winner of the Delaware State University Excellence in Research and Creative Activity award, 2003.
  • Passed review and approved for five-year candidacy as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in environmental science (designated specializations: ecology/environmental science, interdisciplinary environmental education, resource management, service learning),  J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. 2001-2006.

 

Find that first flounder? Fine; find the following fellow, friend!



Give up? Click here.

 

http://www4.cookman.edu/faculty/reiter/index.html
Please contact me before using images from my web site. Thanks!
Rev. 11/14/12