Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning (EL) is part of all SEBS majors. Carlie fulfilled five semesters of Honors Tutorial (11:554, Interdisciplinary Studies) in Dr. Sukhdeo's Parasite Ecology lab. Carlie earned the required EL credits through her participation in the SEBS General Honors Program, in which she was actively involved throughout all four years of her undergraduate studies.

Carlie Johanning

I am a current senior within the Department of Ecology, Evolution & Natural Resources. Since coming to Rutgers, I have gained invaluable experience within the Department, from parasitology, forestry to lizards and water, this major has provided me with endless opportunities.

The first lab that I joined was Dr. Suzanne Sukhdeo’s lab in Spring 2024 after completing three classes with her and having her as an advisor. This research focuses on the gastrointestinal parasite load in European starlings from two New Jersey airports. This involves dissection of the birds, isolating the gastrointestinal tract, parasite identification, and microscopy. I am currently in the process of analyzing all the data from 2023-2025 from over 700 birds. As a part of the lab, this past year, I presented posters with fellow undergraduate, Andie Zou, at both New Jersey (October 2025) and Virginia (March 2026) Chapters of The Wildlife Society. I have been in this role since joining the lab and am hoping to write a paper on the data findings.

I also had the opportunity to be a part of Dr. Henry John-Alder’s research at Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, where I assisted with the thermal and structural landscape characterization of Eastern fence lizard’s microhabitat, along with allometric analysis and chigger mite parasitism. Using a survey antenna and Field Maps, I mapped the location of iButtons (temperature/humidity) and HOBOs (light) sensors at the study site to serve as a reference for sun and shade patterns throughout each day and each season. This can be used as a proxy for where lizards are most likely to be located, based on their home range data. Additionally, I looked at chigger mite parasitism in relation to the sex and allometry of the lizards. From this experience, I got the opportunity to be the Course Assistant in the Field Techniques course this past summer.

The last lab I was a part of was Dr. Jason Grabosky’s, where I assisted with an FVS project simulating how prescribed management will impact future regeneration. This included using data from the Rutgers Ecological Preserve, Stokes, and Wharton State Forests. From this project, I along with two other ecology students, presented at the New Jersey Shade Tree Conference (October 2025).

Outside of Rutgers, I had the opportunity to work as a forestry technician in the New Jersey Pinelands with Stockton University’s prescribed burning research forest under Dr. Matthew Olson. I collaborated with another technician to inventory the forest during the summer of 2024. In this role, I characterized understory vegetation in plots that were burned yearly to fifteen-year intervals; data collection included vegetation identification, total cover, and height classification by species, and evaluation of ground cover in over 140 plots across 21 stands.

On the government side, I have been interning at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) since September 2024, where I work with the Bureau of Water Allocation and Well Permitting. This has provided me with experience outside of the world of academia and with the state government. At the NJDEP, I have reviewed water use registrations and permit-by-rule: confirming compliance of water usage, aerial assessment of land use changes, well coordinate accuracy, data management, and correspondence with programs out of compliance.