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Assistant
Professor
Biology
Director, Black
Belt
Conservation and
Research
Institute
Station 7
Bibb Graves 101B
(205) 652-3415
lstanton@uwa.edu |
Degrees: |
Ph.D.,
Louisiana State
University, 2005
M.S., University
of South
Alabama, 1998
B.S., University
of West Alabama,
1993 |
Employment Date: |
2007 |
Professional
Biography: |
Although a
native
Floridian, Lee
has always felt
at home in
Alabama. He grew
up on a small
rural farm and
attended high
school in
Chipley, Florida
before going to
what was then
called
Livingston
University for
his
undergraduate
study. Majoring
in Biology and
Environmental
Science, he
finished his
B.S. in 1993.
Towards the end
of his
undergraduate
work, he became
interested in
coastal
ecosystems,
specifically
intertidal salt
and brackish
marshes. He
began work
examining
plant-plant
interactions in
salt marsh
communities
along the
Mississippi
Sound while
completing a
Master of
Science degree
at the Dauphin
Island Sea Lab.
From there,
he moved to
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana in
1998 and began
work on his
doctoral degree
at Louisiana
State
University.
Although he
remained
interested in
coastal plant
ecology, he
studied the
spread and
ecology of
exotic wetland
plant species
for his
dissertation
research. While
conducting his
own research,
Dr. Stanton also
assisted with
research on
dredge spoil
material and it
effects in
re-nourishing
deteriorating
salt marshes,
top-down control
of herbivores in
controlling salt
marsh plant
productivity, as
well as managing
experimental
restoration
efforts in some
of Louisiana’s
rapidly
deteriorating
freshwater
floating
marshes. He
completed his
Ph.D. in
Oceanography and
Coastal Sciences
in spring 2005
and accepted a
position at LSU
as a Post
Doctoral
Researcher in
the Coastal
Ecology
Institute. In
the spring of
2005, Dr.
Stanton explored
the Pearl River
Basin in
southeast
Louisiana and
began collecting
baseline data on
several
freshwater
floating marsh
communities in
that area. In
late August that
year, the
eye-wall of
Hurricane
Katrina passed
over his
research sites.
Although that
area sustained
catastrophic
damage, the
real-time data
that were
collected from
those sites gave
an extremely
rare glimpse of
pre-storm
conditions and
immediate
post-storm
effects of those
natural areas.
In May 2006,
Dr. Stanton took
a position as a
plant ecologist
for a private
consulting firm
in Ft Myers,
Florida. There
he managed
large-scale
wetland
restoration
efforts for a
wetland
mitigation bank
on what was once
agriculture
land. In
addition to
managing an
active exotic
plant
eradication
program, he was
able to apply
his expertise in
restoration from
the ground up-
he directed
bulldozers and
excavators to
obtain correct
wetland
elevations and
helped design
replanting plans
of wetland plant
species that
mirrored the
resulting
hydrology.
When he was
offered a
position at his
Alma Mater,
there was
virtually no
hesitation. He
came back to UWA
to serve not
only as an
assistant
professor in the
Department of
Biological and
Environmental
Sciences, but
also to serve as
the Director of
the Black Belt
Conservation
Research
Institute.
In his spare
time, Dr.
Stanton travels
to many
different
places, most of
which with a fly
rod in one hand
and field guide
in the other. He
is an avid fly
fisher, even
constructing his
own fly rods and
tying his flies.
He has fished
across much of
Canada and most
of the western
states, not to
mention taking
advantage of the
many
opportunities
afforded in the
Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, he
enjoys scuba
diving and spear
fishing,
sailing, hiking,
camping
(preferably near
water), natural
history, and
playing acoustic
guitar.
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Classes usually
taught: |
EN 100, BY
450, EN 440, EN
441 |
Additional UWA
Assignments: |
Dr. Stanton
also serves as
the Director of
the Black Belt
Research and
Conservation
Institute, which
is a unit of the
Center for the
Study of the
Black Belt
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Academic /
Research
Interests: |
Dr. Stanton
is fascinated by
invasive species
(plant and
animal) and how
they become
established. He
is also
interested in
the factors that
control their
success, how
quickly they
spread, and how
invaders alter
natural
ecosystem
processes and
function.
Over the past
several decades,
the cumulative
effects of
climate change,
rising sea level
and an
anthropogenic
activity has had
a tremendous
negative impact
in the coastal
zone. This
emphasizes the
need for concise
research that
directly applies
to both new
development and
habitat
restoration
efforts. The
sustainability
of coastal
wetlands can be
enhanced by
conducting
research a
priori and then
applied during
pre-project
planning for new
developments as
well as
enhancing the
success of
restoration
efforts.
His research
interests lie
primarily in the
ecology of these
coastal wetland
environments.
Although most of
his experience
has centered on
wetland plant
species, he has
also worked with
many coastal
vertebrate and
invertebrate
species. Most
recently, he
focused on the
ecology and
restoration of
freshwater
floating marshes
in Louisiana and
their
interaction with
an introduced
herbivore, the
nutria.
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Recent
Publications: |
Pennings,
S.C., L.E.
Stanton and J.S.
Brewer. (2002).
Nutrient effects
on the
composition of
salt marsh plant
communities
along the
southern
Atlantic and
Gulf Coasts of
the United
States.
Estuaries
25(6A):1164-1173.
Silliman, B.,
J. van de
Koppel, M.D.
Bertness, L. E.
Stanton and I.A.
Mendelssohn.
(2005). Drought,
Snails, and
Large-Scale
Die-off of
Southern U.S.
Salt Marshes.
Science
310:1803-1806.
Stanton, L.E.
2005. The
establishment,
expansion and
ecosystem
effects of
Phragmites
australis, an
invasive species
in coastal
Louisiana. Ph.D.
Dissertation.
Louisiana State
University.
182pp.
Stanton, L.E.
1998. The
relative
importance of
competition and
facilitation
between Juncus
roemerianus
Scheele and
Spartina
alterniflora
Loisel. in
coastal Alabama.
M.S. Thesis,
University of
South Alabama.
95pp.
Stanton, L.
E., B. Downer,
I.A.
Mendelssohn, and
L. Handley.
(submitted to
The
International
Journal of
Remote Sensing).
Using remote
sensing to
evaluate the
invasion and
spread of
Phragmites
australis in a
brackish
southwestern
Louisiana marsh.
Stanton, L.
E., and I.A.
Mendelssohn. (in
prep). The
effects of
disturbance and
eutrophication
on the
establishment of
Phragmites
australis.
Stanton, L.
E., and I.A.
Mendelssohn. (in
prep). The
ecosystem
effects of
Phragmites
australis, an
invasive clonal
plant in
southwestern
Louisiana.
Stanton, L.E.
(in prep). The
role of
preemption and
plant-plant
interactions in
the zonation of
a micro-tidal
salt marsh in
the northeastern
Gulf of Mexico.
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Recent
Presentations: |
Stanton, L.
E. 2005. The
establishment,
expansion and
ecosystem
effects of an
invasive species
in coastal
Louisiana.
Invited speaker
for the National
Wetlands
Research Center
Seminar Series.
April 28, 2005.
Lafayette,
Louisiana.
Stanton, L.
E. Fall 2002.
Space Invaders:
The effects of
exotic species
on native
species,
communities, and
landscapes.
Invited lecture
for Conservation
Biology 4015.
Louisiana State
University.
Stanton, L.E.
and I.A.
Mendelssohn.
2002. A Native
Invader:
Phragmites
australis
Expansion in a
Brackish Marsh
in Southwestern
Louisiana.
Presented at the
Phragmites
australis: A
Sheep in Wolf’s
Clothing?
Technical Forum
and Workshop at
Cumberland
County College,
Vineland, New
Jersey, January
6-9, 2002.
Stanton, L.E.
and I.A.
Mendelssohn.
2001. The
effects of
disturbance and
eutrophication
on the
establishment of
Phragmites
australis.
Presented at the
16th Biennial
Conference of
the Estuarine
Research
Federation in
St. Petersburg,
Florida,
November 4 – 8,
2001.
Stanton, L.E.
and I.A.
Mendelssohn.
2000. Phragmites
australis
population
expansion in
Southwestern
Louisiana. 6th
INTECOL meeting.
Quebec City,
Canada August
6-12, 2000.
Stanton, L.E.
and I.A.
Mendelssohn.
1999. Spread of
common reed (Phragmites
australis) in a
southwestern
Louisiana
coastal marsh.
Presented at the
15th Biennial
Conference of
the Estuarine
Research
Federation in
New Orleans,
Louisiana,
September 25 –
30, 1999.
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Other or
Additional
Information: |
Certifications
Dr. Stanton is a
Certified
Ecologist
through the
Ecological
Society of
America
Honors and
Awards
The Joseph
Lipsey, Sr.
Memorial
Scholarship
Award for
Excellence in
Marine Science
and Research.
Louisiana State
University. 2003
Rockefeller
State Wildlife
Scholarship.
1999, 2000 and
2001
University of
South Alabama
Graduate
Fellowship.
1994, 1995,
1996, and 1997
Mississippi-Alabama
Sea Grant
Student Research
Award for
investigation of
the relative
role of
competition and
facilitation in
structuring salt
marsh plant
zonation in the
Northern Gulf of
Mexico. 1996-97
Trustee’s
Scholarship,
University of
West Alabama.
1988.
Honor
Societies
Phi Kappa Phi
Membership in
Professional
Organizations
The Society of
Wetland
Scientists, the
Estuarine
Research
Federation, The
Ecological
Society of
America
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