Biological Sciences Department faculty research and scholarly activities reflect the social and cultural relevance of their work. Faculty are continuously engaged in projects funded by private, state and federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research and the National Institutes of Health. Robust faculty research programs provide opportunities for co-authorship with colleagues, domestically and internationally, and with Cal Poly graduate and undergraduate students.
Modified from bio.calpoly.edu
Submissions from 2019
Influence of Soil Water Content and Soil Amendments on Trace Metal Release and Seedling Growth in Serpentine Soil, Viraj Gunarathne, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Udaya Gunarathne, Jayanta Kumar Biswas, Zach A. Raposo, and Meththika Vithanage
Heavy Metal Dissolution Mechanisms from Electrical Industrial Sludge, Viraj Gunarathne, Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha, Meththika Vithanage, Nadeesh Adassooriya, Asitha Cooray, Sudantha Liyanage, Bandunee Athapattu, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Avanthi Deshani Igalavithana, Deyi Hou, Daniel S. Alessi, and Yong Sik Ok
Long-term Phytoremediating Abilities of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Fabaceae), Saqib Ul Kalam, Fauzia Naushin, Fareed Ahmad Khan, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
Tropic Transfer and Bioaccumulation of Lead Along Soil-Plant-Aphid-Ladybird Food Chain, Mohod Irfan Naikoo, Mudasir Ifran Dar, Fareed Ahmad Khan, Fariha Raghib, and N. Rajakaruna
The Effects of Edaphic and Climatic Factors on Secondary Lichen Chemistry: A Case Study Using Saxicolous Lichens, Alexander Paukov, Anzhelika Teptina, Maria Morozova, Ekaterina Kruglova, Sergio E. Favero-Longo, Cora Bishop, and Nishanti Rajakaruna
Heavy Metal-Induced Oxidative Stress on Seed Germination and Seedling Development: A Critical Review, Mihiri Seneviratne, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Muhammad Rizwan, H. M. S. P. Madawala, Yong Sik Ok, and Meththika Vithanage
Submissions from 2018
Intracanopy adjustment of leaf-level thermal tolerance is associated with microclimatic variation across the canopy of a desert tree (Acacia papyrocarpa), Ellen M. Curtis, Charles A. Knight, and Andrea Leigh
Effect of the specific carbohydrate diet on the microbiome of a Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Ulcerative Colitis patient, Alanna Dubrovsky and Christopher Kitts
A Global Forum on Ultramafic Ecosystems: From Ultramafic Ecology to Rehabilitation of Degraded Environments, Guillaume Echevarria, Alan J. M. Baker, Robert S. Boyd, Antony van der Ent, Takafumi Mizuno, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Shota Sakaguchi, and Aida Bani
Diversity and Functional Traits of Lichens in Ultramafic Areas: A Literature Based Worldwide Analysis Integrated by Field Data at the Regional Scale, Sergio E. Favero-Longo, Enrica Matteucci, Paolo Giordani, Alexander G. Paukov, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
Climactic Niche Model for Overwintering Monarch Butterflies in a Topographically Complex Region of California, Ashley Fisher, Kiana Saniee, Charis Van der Heide, Jessica Griffiths, Daniel Meade, and Francis X. Villablanca
Inducing Ni Sensitivity in the Ni Hyperaccumulator Plant Alyssum inflatum Nyárády (Brassicaceae) by Transforming with CAX1, a Vacuolar Membrane Calcium Transporter, Rasoul Ghasemi, Hoorieh Share, Roza Sharif, Robert S. Boyd, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
Sympatric serpentine endemic Monardella (Lamiaceae) Species Maintain Habitat Differences Despite Hybridization, Kathleen M. Kay, Suzie Woolhouse, Brett A. Smith, Nathaniel S. Pope, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
Lessons on Evolution from the Study of Edaphic Specialization, Nishanta Rajakaruna
Senecio Conrathii N.E.Br. (Asteraceae), a New Hyperaccumulator of Nickel from Serpentinite Outcrops of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, Stefan Siebert, Nadine Carol Schutte, Stoffel Pieter Bester, Dennis Mmakgabo Komape, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
Ultramafic Vegetation and Soils in the Circumboreal Region of the Northern Hemisphere, Anzhelika Teptina
Biological Crusts of Serpentine and Non-Serpentine Soils from the Barberton Greenstone Belt of South Africa, Arthurita Venter, Stefan Siebert, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Sandra Barnard, Anatoliy Levanets, Arshad Ismail, Mushal Allam, Bianca Peterson, and Tomasz Sanko
Submissions from 2017
Role of Woody Biochar and Fungal-Bacterial Co-Inoculation on Enzyme Activity and Metal Immobilization in Serpentine Soil, Tharanga Bandara, Indika Herath, Prasanna Kumarathilaka, Mihiri Seneviratne, Gamini Seneviratne, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Meththika Vithanage, and Yong Sik Ok
Drivers of redistribution of fishing and non-fishing effort after the implementation of a marine protected area network, Reniel B. Cabral, Steven D. Gaines, Brett A. Johnson, Tom W. Bell, and Crow White
Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia, M.L. Galey, A. van der Ent, M.C.M. Iqbal, and N. Rajakaruna
Heavy Metals in Seaweeds from a Polluted Estuary in Coastal Maine, Ian D. Medeiros, Arthur C. Mathieson, and Nishanta Rajakaruna
The Alpine Vascular Plants of Baxter State Park, Maine, USA, Abigail J. Urban, Glen H. Mittelhauser, Matthew Dickinson, and N. Rajakaruna
Submissions from 2016
A comparative study of the flora and soils of Great Duck and Little Duck Islands, Maine, USA, Luka Negoita, Matthew Dickinson, Glen H. Mittlehauser, and N. Rajakaruna
Plant Growth Promotion by Bradyrhizobium japonicum Under Heavy Metal Stress, M. Seneviratne, S. Gunaratne, T. Bandara, L. Weerasundara, Nishanta Rajakaruna, G. Seneviratne, and M. Vithanage
Limestone flora of the Simonton Corner Quarry Preserve, Rockport, Maine, USA, Margaret Stern, Ian D. Medeiros, Luka Negoita, and N. Rajakaruna