Sarah J. Chamberlain

302 Walker Building
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Telehone: 814.863.2567
FAX: 814.863.7943
E-mail: sjm20@psu.edu

education:

San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA - M.S. Ecology and Systematics
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC - B.S. Biology

professional activities:

Ms. Chamberlain conducts collaborative research on plants for Riparia and is the Curator of the Penn State Herbarium (PAC). Her research primarily focuses on the development and validation of bioassessment tools for wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic region. She teaches workshops on plant identification and frequently lectures on plant-related topics. She has developed a number of materials to aid in plant identification, particularly related to grasses, sedges, and rushes. Ms. Chamberlain maintains Riparia's reference collection of more than 200 wetland sites in Pennsylvania. Current research projects include:

Regional Floristic Quality Assessment for the Mid-Atlantic states;
Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Work Group; and
Wetland plants of the Mid-Atlantic.

professional employment:

1999–present: Senior Research Assistant/Research Assistant, Riparia (formerly the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center), Penn State University
1996–1999: Restoration Specialist, ENTRIX, Inc., Wilmington DE
1995–1996: Wetland Ecologist, Wetlands Research Associates, Newark, DE
1992–1995: Graduate Assistant, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA
1990–1992: Wetland Specialist, BioSystems Analysis, Inc., Tiburon, CA
1987–1990: Environmental Scientist, Louis Berger & Associates, East Orange, NJ and Washington, DC

professional organizations

Pennsylvania Native Plant Society Board Member
Mid-Atlantic Wetland Workgroup, Project Manager

selected publications:

Chamberlain, S. J. (In Press). Field Guide to Grasses of the Mid-Atlantic Region. Penn State Press, University Park, PA. 110pp.

Chamberlain, S. J. and R. P. Brooks. 2016. Testing a rapid Floristic Quality Index on headwater wetlands in central Pennsylvania, USA. Ecological Indicators 60:1142-1149.

DeBerry, D. A., S. J. Chamberlain, and J. W. Matthews. 2015. Trends in Floristic Quality Assessment for Wetland Evaluation. Wetland Science and Practice. June 2015:12-22.

Chamberlain, S. J. and H. M. Ingram. 2012. Developing coefficients of conservatism to advance floristic quality assessment in the Mid-Atlantic region. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 139:416–427.

Miller, S. J., D. H. Wardrop, and M. M. Harlan. 2009. Riparian plant communities as predictors of in-stream condition: a case study in the Upper Penns Creek watershed, Pennsylvania. Bartonia 64: 19-35.

Miller, S. J., D. H. Wardrop, W. M. Mahaney, and R. P. Brooks. 2006. A plant-based index of biological integrity (IBI) for headwater wetlands in central Pennsylvania. Ecological Indicators 6(2): 290-312.

Miller, S. J. and D. H. Wardrop. 2006. Adapting the floristic quality assessment index to indicate anthropogenic disturbance in central Pennsylvania wetlands. Ecological Indicators 6(2): 313-326.

Chamberlain, S. J. Comparison of methods to control Spartina alterniflora in San Francisco Bay. Master's Thesis. San Francisco State University; 1995.