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

  • Dana Frankenstein

    Research Associate

Graduate Students

  • Erika Hansen

    PhD Student (EEES)

    Drexel University

  • Jecy Klinkam

    PhD Student (EEES)

    Drexel University

  • Aviva Lerman

    MS Candidate (EEES)

    Drexel University

  • Maja Nielsen

    MS Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Maddy Stoltz

    MS Student (MESM)

    University of Rhode Island

  • Ethan Yoos

    MS Student (BES)

    University of Rhode Island

Undergraduate Researchers

  • Kira Quitel

    B.Sc. in Environmental Science

    Drexel University

  • John Moran

    B.Sc. in Marine Biology

    University of Rhode Island

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”

Undergraduate Researchers:

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)

Collaborators and Lab Friends

  • Lance Butler

    Senior Scientist

    Philadelphia Water Department

  • Dr. Kathleen Carroll

    Assistant Professor

    University of Rhode Island

  • Dr. Julia Cherry

    Professor & Chair

    University of Alabama

  • Dr. Jacob Dybiec

    University of Alabama

  • Dr. Michelle Gannon

    Assistant Teaching Professor

    Drexel University

  • 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

  • Dr. Behzad Mortazavi

    Dean

    Syracuse University

  • James Peabody

    PhD Student

    Texas Tech University

  • Jake Pettigrew & Sierra Ortiz

    Coastal Resource Management Specialist

    Mississippi Division of Marine Resources

  • Dr. Joe Smith

    Wildlife Biologist

    USFW Edwin Forsythe Refuge

  • Dr. Viraj Torsekar

    Assistant Professor

    GITAM University

  • Dr. David Velinsky

    Professor

    Drexel University

  • Dr. Janet Walker

    Dr. Janet Walker

    Ecologist

    Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)