The Team

Dr. Shelby Rinehart

I am an assistant professor in the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Natural Resources Science (NRS). I have a background in community and ecosystem ecology, with an emphasis on trophic and non-trophic species interactions. I started my career in Dr. Carol Thornber’s Marine Community Ecology Lab, where I tested the population and community dynamics of macroalgal blooms. I completed my PhD in Dr. Jeremy Long’s Chemical Ecology Lab looking at the role of predator-prey interactions in salt marshes. My postdoctoral training was in Dr. Dror Hawlena’s Risk Management Ecology Lab and Dr. Julia Cherry’s Wetland Ecology Lab. In both groups, I focused on evaluating how the trophic and non-trophic effects of animals influence ecosystem functions in coastal wetlands and arid drylands. The Bio-Funk lab continues to evaluate the complex feedbacks between animals and their environments, with the goal of advancing ecological theory and environmental restoration and management. Click here for my CV.

Postdocs & Research Associates

  • Dr. Jamie Bucholz

    Postdoctoral Researcher

  • John Moran

    Research Associate

Graduate Students

  • Erika Hansen

    Ph.D. Candidate (EEES)

    Drexel University

  • Jecy Klinkam

    M.Sc. Candidate (EEES)

    Drexel University

  • Maja Nielsen

    M.Sc. Candidate (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Maddy Stoltz

    M.Sc. Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

    (co-advised by Dr. Kathleen Carroll)

  • Mallory Malz

    M.Sc. Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Peter Manos

    M.Sc. Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Sara Miller

    M.S. Student (MESM)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Ethan Yoos

    M.Sc. Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

    (Co-advised by Dr. Pat Sorensen)

Undergraduate Researchers:

Hilary Holmgren, University of Rhode Island (2026-pres.)

John Moran, University of Rhode Island (2025-2026)

Kira Quitel, Drexel University (2023-2026)

Jack Fox, University of Rhode Island (2025-2026)

Rachel Jean-Charles, Drexel University (2023-2026)

Aiden Rodriguez, Drexel University (2023-2025)

Abbey Wiggins, University of Alabama (2022-2025)

Morgan Sharbaugh, University of Alabama (2021- 2025)

Jackson Quitel, Drexel University (2024- 2025)

Dylan Paley, Drexel University (2023- 2025)

Mariam Stewart, Drexel University (2024)

Lab Alumni

  • Amanda Pasierbowicz

    M.Sc. in Biology (2025); University of Alabama

    Thesis: “Bottom-up and top-down interactions regulate the carbon uptake capacity of benthic saltmarsh biofilms through shifts in community composition and snail compensatory feeding”

    Current Position: Research Assistant II at The University of Louisville

  • Aviva Lerman

    M.Sc. in Ecology, Evolution, and Earth Science (2026); Drexel University

    Thesis: “Co-regulation of carbon dynamics by shorebird and burrowing crab zoogeochemical effects in a tidal flat”

    Current Position: Environmental Scientist at Weston Solutions, Inc.

Collaborators and Lab Friends

  • Dr. Lance Butler

    Senior Scientist

    Philadelphia Water Department

  • Dr. Kathleen Carroll

    Assistant Professor

    University of Rhode Island

  • Dr. Julia Cherry

    Professor

    University of Alabama

  • Dr. Jacob Dybiec

    University of Alabama

  • Dr. Michelle Gannon

    Assistant Teaching Professor

    Drexel University

  • Ben Gasper

    Restoration Ecologist

    Narragansett Bay Save the Bay

  • Dr. Dror Hawlena

    Associate Professor

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  • Nicholas Hayman

    Environmental Scientist

    Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific

  • Dr. Ezra Jay Kottler

    Assistant Professor

    College of the Pacific

  • Dr. Danielle Kreeger

    Research Professor

    Drexel University

  • Tom Kutcher

    Wetland Scientist

    Rhode Island Natural History Survey

  • Dr. James Peabody

  • Dr. Erin Peck

    Assistant Professor

    URI Graduate School of Oceanography

  • Dr. Evan Preisser

    Professor

    University of Rhode Island

  • Dr. Kenny Raposa

    Research Coordinator

    Narragansett Bay NERR

  • Dr. Joe Smith

    Wildlife Biologist

    USFW Edwin Forsythe Refuge

  • Dr. Pat Sorensen

    Assistant Professor

    University of Rhode Island

  • Dr. Viraj Torsekar

    Assistant Professor

    GITAM University

  • Dr. David Velinsky

    Professor

    Drexel University

  • Dr. Janet Walker

    Dr. Janet Walker

    Senior Ecologist

    Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)