AJ Reisinger

I'm an assistant professor of urban soil and water quality in the Soil and Water Sciences Department at the University of Florida. Broadly speaking, I'm interested in how what we do on the land affects soil and water quality, coupled with the interactions between urban ecosystem functioning.

You can check out my CV here and contact me via:

reisingera@ufl.edu
(352) 294-3108

Follow me on Twitter

Opportunities to join the team

We are always looking for students interested in urban ecosystem ecology to join the lab. 

Specific research projects are flexible, but potential research foci may include:
1. Quantifying the nitrogen budget and specific biogeochemical transformations within residential landscapes.
2. Sources and transformations of nitrogen across an urban stream network.
3. Occurrence of emerging contaminants of concern (e.g., pharmaceuticals, heavy metals) in urban soils and water bodies, and impacts of these contaminants on nutrient cycling.
4. Other ideas surrounding urban soil and water quality - if you have a cool idea, contact me via email or reach out on twitter (@rivergypsyAJ) and we can talk about pursuing it!

If you're interested in potentially joining the lab, email AJ with a brief description of your interests and your CV. 
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Lab members

Audrey Goeckner, Ph.D. Student

​Audrey is a PhD student in the Soil and Water Sciences Department and joined the Reisinger lab Fall 2020. She also received her M.S in the SWSD. Before that she received a B.S in Environmental Science and a B.A in Anthropology from the University of South Florida. Her thesis project focused on carbon cycling processes (burial, GHG emissions) and organic matter quality of urban stormwater ponds. Audrey is interested in the impacts that urbanized land use has on downstream ecosystems. Specifically, she is interested in hydrologic connectivity, transport and transformation of organic matter, and the biogeochemical and microbial processing of those aquatic materials. Audrey was raised in the State of Florida and spends her free time on the water and in the garden.

Casey Harris, Ph.D. Student

Casey joined the lab in Fall 2020 and is studying how climate and land use are projected to affect water quality in surface waters used for drinking water supply. She is interested in using ecology and statistics to plan for and mitigate human impacts on water resources. She received an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia with a thesis on Salmonella in storm runoff on fresh produce farms, a B.S. in Botany from the University of Wisconsin, and has worked as an environmental scientist in Florida

​Adam Siders, Ph.D. Student

Adam is a PhD student and joined the lab in 2019 after receiving his M.S. degree from Northern Arizona University where he studied fluxes of carbon and nitrogen from leaf litter to aquatic invertebrates feeding on the litter. Adam is currently studying the influence of manatee poo and pee on springs biogeochemistry and food webs. He is generally interested in food webs, the role of organisms in ecosystem function, and ecosystem subsidies. When Adam is not doing science, he enjoys floating rivers, fishing, and hiking with his pup. Adam is co-advised by Matt Whiles.

Emily Taylor, Ph.D. Student

Emily is a PhD student in the Soil and Water Sciences Department and joined the lab in 2018. She graduated from UF in 2016 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Agricultural and Natural Resource Law. During her time at UF, Emily interned at an environmental consulting firm specializing in treatment wetland design and ecology and at a local non-profit monitoring and researching the Florida springs. Since graduating, Emily has been working full-time at the nonprofit as an Environmental Scientist. Emily is interested in the human dimensions of water resources with particular interests in the fate of water once it has hit the ground as stormwater or it's flushed down the pipes, and how this water impacts the environment.

E. Fay Belshe, Ph.D., Biological Scientist

​Fay joined the group in 2020 and splits her time between our lab and the Wetland Ecology lab. After receiving her PhD in Botany from UF and her masters in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, she worked for the last seven years in Germany at the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research. Fay's background is in vegetation and soil dynamics with a focus on carbon cycling in coastal vegetated ecosystems. She has worked all over the world, including Alaska, the coast of Spain, and the island of Zanzibar, but she has her roots here in Florida. Outside of work Fay enjoys gardening and spending time with her family.
Wundergrads
We are lucky to have some awesome undergraduate researchers and technicians working in our lab. Undergraduates have worked on research related to urban streams, stormwater ponds, and residential landscapes.

Haley Huth

Haley is majoring in Chemical Engineering.  For her work in the Reisinger lab, she is gathering water samples from urban streams and performing analysis  to categorize the dissolved organic matter.  After graduation, Haley is planing to focus on sustainability efforts, large scale horticulture improvements, and clean energy production.

Conner Morang

Conner is majoring Environmental Science and minoring in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. His work in the Reisinger lab focuses on  nutrient leaching from residential landscapes and the effects of organic matter quality and light availability on decomposition rates. In the future, Conner hopes to pursue an advanced degree in freshwater ecology or fisheries sciences with a research focus on anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems and fisheries.

 Sierra Richardson

Sierra is majoring in Soil and Water Science with an emphasis on understanding and protecting water resources. Her work in the lab focuses on nutrient leaching from residential landscapes, which involves the analysis of soil cores. In the future Sierra plans to help cities and towns improve their water quality for drinking and other usages. She hopes one day to travel the world and work in places most in need; however, at the end of the day helping any need is her ultimate goal.

Jules Velasquez

Jules is an  Environmental Science and Geology Double major and Soil and Water Science minor. Her work in the lab focuses on collecting data on nutrient leaching from residential landscapes within Alachua County. Jules recently discovered that she is interested in groundwater resources and hydrogeology, and is planning to pursuing a graduate degree focused on this topic. She hopes to one day figure out a way to prevent contamination and restore contaminated groundwater sites. Water resources are so limited and groundwater is such a large fraction of our freshwater!  
- Hallie Ferguson: urban streams and freshwater salinization effects on biofilms
- Samantha Howley: stormwater ponds and the effects of aeration devices on water quality 

Former Lab Members

Steve Hohman, M.S. 

Steve graduated with a M.S. from  the department of Soil and Water Sciences Department in 2020 with a thesis titled: "Quantifying the Internal and External Drivers of Stormwater Pond Nutrient Cycling and Water Quality". Steve now works in the Water Division of the US EPA.
- Lindsey Kelly, Former lab manager. Current: Senior Environmental Specialist, Alachua County Environmental Protection Department
- Daniela Daniele, Former technician. Current: Pursuing a master's degree at Florida International University 
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