Alldred Lab of Aquatic Biogeochemistry

Mary Alldred

Mary Alldred

Associate Professor of Environmental Science

SUNY Plattsburgh

Mary Alldred is an aquatic biogeochemist and data scientist who specializes in restoring ecological function to wetland ecosystems. Her recent projects have focused on nitrogen removal in restored urban salt marshes, determining the influence of mutualistic species interactions on coastal marsh resilience, and developing place-based inquiry lessons for K12 education in environmental chemistry. She teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses at SUNY Plattsburgh including Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Biogeochemical Cycling, Environmental Data Analysis, and Wetland Ecology and Management.

Interests

  • Nitrogen cycling
  • Wetland ecology
  • Urban ecosystems
  • Coastal management
  • Ecological restoration
  • Data analysis and visualization

Education

  • Postdoc in Natural Sciences, 2015-2017

    Baruch College CUNY

  • PhD in Ecology and Evolution, 2015

    Stony Brook University

  • BS in Biology, 2008

    University of Notre Dame

Professional Wetland Scientist

Learn More

People

Graduate Students

Avatar

Haylee Crowle

MS Natural Resources & Ecology

Undergraduate Students

Avatar

Erica VanValkenburg

BA Environmental Science

Avatar

Leif Goldie

BA Environmental Science

Alumni

Avatar

Alexandria Elliott

Cleanroom Lab Analyst

Avatar

Brandon Lenberger

Public Health Specialist

Avatar

Chase Wojtowecz

Environmental Health and Safety Specialist

Avatar

Jesse Pruden

Prescribed Fire Crew Member

Avatar

Juliana Flint

PhD Student

Avatar

Kierstyn Higgins

PhD Candidate, Freshwater Ecology

Avatar

Makayla Tompkins

US Coast Guard Approved Merchant Mariner

Avatar

Mark Heyer

MS Student, Hydrogeology

Avatar

Michala Hendrick

Youth Programming Director

Avatar

Owen Allen

BS Environmental Science

Avatar

Riley Stone

BS Ecology

Avatar

Robert Kruse

PhD Student, Ecology and Evolution

Avatar

Sara Lester

Forestry Technician

Avatar

Sarahana Shrestha

PhD Candidate, Environmental Science and Management

Avatar

Stephanie Gray

Horticulture Agent

Avatar

Troy Tetreault

Eli K. Price Plant Science Fellow

Graduate Alumni

Avatar

Emily Reinhardt

Public Health Fellow

Avatar

Kayleen Snyder

Environmental Program Specialist

Avatar

Lily Delmarsh

Hydrologic Technician, USGS

Avatar

Lucas Kemmerling

Wetland/Riparian Ecologist

Avatar

Lydia Harvey

MS Natural Resources & Ecology

Avatar

Shannon Cooper

MS Natural Resources & Ecology

Avatar

Thomas Whaley

Plant Protection Technician, USDA

Projects

Salty Water

Developing place-based inquiry lessons for K12 education around the problem of managing road-salt contamination

Educational Displays at the LaPierre Lane Riverway

Collaborative project with the Town of Plattsburgh to develop eduational displays for the LaPierre Lane Riverway, a spur of the Saranac River Trail

Undergraduate Research Projects

A variety of undergraduate-led research projects from the lab. Recent projects include a solar-power internship, quantifying ecosystem services in restored wetlands, leveraging data to answer management challenges, and science outreach and communication.

Urban Marsh Restoration

Investigating development of ecosystem services following urban marsh restoration in New York City

Zoom a Microbe

Let’s face it, microbes can be hard to relate to. That’s why I created the Zoom a Microbe video series, where we dive below the surface and get to know them.

Mutualistic Species Interactions

Determining the influence of positive species interactions between marsh grasses and ribbed mussels on nitrogen cycling and marsh stability in restored urban marshes

Ecosystem Dynamics of the Altona Flat Rock

Collaborative project to understand short-term and long-term dynamics in the fire-dependent ecosystems of the Altona Flat Rock sandstone pavement pine barren

Using Organismal Traits to Predict Ecosystem Processes

A number of studies that use plant traits to predict the effects of plants on denitrification in wetland sediments

Recent Publications

“We Have Some Growing Pains”: Developing A New Regional Recreation Conflict Model Through Examination of the Growth of Mountain Biking

Mountain biking (MTB) is growing in popularity nationwide. This trend is mirrored in the Northern Forest and intensified during …
Emily Reinhardt, Kimberly J. Coleman, Elizabeth E. Perry, Mary Alldred, Jessica E. Leahy
PDF DOI
“We Have Some Growing Pains”: Developing A New Regional Recreation Conflict Model Through Examination of the Growth of Mountain Biking

Chasing Informed Decisions: A Research Note on the Potential for Strava to Support Rural Recreation Planning

With user-generated data from social media platforms becoming more widely available to researchers, the utility of these datasets …
Emily Reinhardt, Kimberly J. Coleman, Mark Baran, Elizabeth E. Perry, Mary Alldred
PDF DOI

Putting a lake together: Integrating synthetic data and field observations to build a better food web

Food webs provide context to understand how ecological communities will respond to environmental change, but revealing their structure …
Jonathan J. Borrelli, Matthew S. Schuler, William D. Hintz, Mary Alldred, Brian Mattes, Candace Schermerhorn, Erika Yates, Lawrence W. Eichler, Mark A. Lucius, Rick A. Relyea
PDF DOI

A meta-analysis reveals knowledge gaps in our understanding of the *Spartina*-*Geukensia* mutualism

The relationship between Atlantic ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) and smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) represents a textbook …
Thomas Whaley, Mary Alldred
PDF Code Dataset DOI
A meta-analysis reveals knowledge gaps in our understanding of the *Spartina*-*Geukensia* mutualism

Loss of salt marsh plants impacts ribbed mussel (*Geukensia demissa*) size, density, and influence on sediment nitrogen cycling

The mutualism between Spartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) and Geukensia demissa (Ribbed Mussels) can increase ecosystem services, …
Ahmed T. Abbas, Anais Cardenas, Darius LaFond, Brandon Guasaquillo, Leila Belgaid, Priscilla Lee, Mary Alldred, Chester B. Zarnoch
PDF DOI
Loss of salt marsh plants impacts ribbed mussel (*Geukensia demissa*) size, density, and influence on sediment nitrogen cycling
See all publications

Courses

CFS 1889 Cardinal Foundation Seminar

ENV 340 Environmental Science Seminar

ENV 422 Environmental Data Analysis

ENV 462 Ecosystem Ecology

ENV 304 Ecology

ENV 413 Biogeochemical Cycling

ENV 439 Wetland Ecology and Management

Contact