Harvard Forest Master's Student receives Honorable Mention for Outstanding Thesis in the Biological Sciences

Brooks Mathewson, Masters' student in forestry, has been awarded the Dean's Prize for Outstanding Thesis in the Biological Sciences, receiving an Honorable Mention for his research at the Harvard University Extension School Masters of Liberal Arts Program. Brooks' thesis advisors were Harvard Forest ecologists Betsy Colburn and David Foster, and Harvard Extension lecturers Amanda Benson and James Morris. The thesis was entitled "Eastern redback salamander (Plethodon cinereus) and juvenile eastern red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) abundance in eastern hemlock and hardwood stands." For his ongoing Masters of Forestry Science, Brooks is expanding the geographic scope of the study to compare the abundance of eastern redbacks in hemlock and mixed deciduous forests throughout the Upper Worcester Plateau ecoregion.