Richard Stewart
Professor
Office Location: FSC 253
Phone Number: (717) 477-1095
Email: rlstew@ship.edu
Education
B.S.ed Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
M.S. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
Ph.D. Entomology The Ohio State University
Profile
My activity at Shippensburg resides in three main fields, teaching, scholarship, and service. I enjoy teaching most and get to teach a general education environmental biology course, in addition to several majors and an occasional graduate course. I recognize that multiple instructional methods should be used to help the students learn and strive to create meaningful experiential lessons that augment the more teacher-centered times in class. Student engagement is a consistent goal for each of my classes.
Conducting research with students is the bulk of my scholarship. I consider myself a teacher-scholar since almost all of the research questions I ask are in collaboration with students. Collaboration with other faculty is also highly synergistic and while I have collaborated with several faculty in and outside of the biology department, I routinely collaborate with Dr. Lehman and Dr. Fedrow. This greatly enhances our abilities since they approach each hypothesis from a different angle than me. I think it is exceptional for students when they work with collaborating faculty to observe and participate in such thinking and dialog.
Serving the department, university, system, and my discipline is very important. Towards that end, I have been the president of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists (CPUB) and currently am one of the representatives to this organization for our department, serve (or have served) on a variety of university and department groups to better the educational experience of our students.
Research Interests
Coyote biology in Pennsylvania
Parasites of mammals
Biology of select mammal species
Tick ecology and disease transmission
Aquatic entomology
Environmental Education
Courses Taught
BIO 145 Environmental Biology
BIO 150 Human Biology
BIO 208 Field Biology
BIO 210 Field Zoology
BIO 237 Anatomy and Physiology I
BIO 317 Parasitology
BIO 406 Mammalogy
BIO 428 Entomology
BIO 514 Aquatic Entomology
BIO 545 Selected Topics - Wildlife Disease
EDU 410 Environmental Education Practicum
EDU 495 Student Teaching and Professional Experience
Selected Presentations
Stewart, R.L., C. Knutelsky, A. Serro, B. Coder, C. Kindlin, M. Miller, S. Pelesky, M. Lehman, and A. Fedrow. 2020. Prevalence and Seasonality of the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum, at Letterkenny Army Depot, Southcentral PA. Pennsylvania Vector Control Association Virtual Conference, Oct. 8, 2020.
Stewart, R.L., M.L. Lehman, and A.L. Fedrow. 2019. Tick-borne Diseases, Ecology, Management in Prescribed Burn Areas at LEAD and SGL 169. Governor's Advisory Council meeting at Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, PA. Sept. 16, 2019.
Stewart, R.L., M.B. Lehman, and A.L. Fedrow. “Tick Talk” New Risks of Acquiring a Tick-Borne Pathogen in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Franklin County Government Wellness Program, Franklin Bovernment Office, Chambersburg, PA June 3, 2019.
Selected Publications
Alison Luce-Fedrow, Marcie L. Lehman, Daryl J. Kelly , Kristin Mullins, Alice N. Maina, Richard L. Stewart, Hong Ge, Heidi St. John, Ju Jiang and Allen L. Richards. 2018. A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2018, 3, 8; doi:10.3390/tropicalmed3010008, www.mdpi.com/journal/tropicalmed ( 30 pages). Won the John M Goldsmid Award (3rd place) for best article https://www.mdpi.com/journal/tropicalmed/awards/1211
Dustin R. Shull, Richard L. Stewart Jr., Todd Hurd, and Theo Light. 2016. A Case for Unique Habitat Selection by Sigara mathesoni (Heteroptera: Corixidae) in South Central Pennsylvania. Northeast Naturalist 23:174-183 https://www.eaglehill.us/NENAonline/articles/NENA-23-1/22-Light.shtml
Dubey, J. P., K. Van Why, S. K. Verma, S. Choudhary , O. C. H. Kwok , A. Khan, M. S. Behinke, L. D. Sibley , L. R. Ferreira, S. Oliveira, M. Weaver, R. Stewart, and C. Su. 2014. Genotyping Toxoplasma gondii from wildlife in Pennsylvania and identification of natural recombinants virulent to mice. Veterinary Parasitology 200: 74-84. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030440171300592X
MS Student Research Projects
Lynne Brewer. Prevalence of Human and Deer Anaplasma phagocytophilum at Letterkenny Army Depot.
Alissa Serro. Establishment of Amblyomma maculatum in south-central Pennsylvania.
Undergraduate Student Research Projects
Stewart, N.L., S.L. Cinkutis, J. Rosenberger, A.L. Fedrow, R.L. Stewart and M.L. Lehman. 2019. Potential effects of burning on the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes scapularis collected from southcentral Pennsylvania. Presented at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists annual meeting at Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA, April 13th.
Knutelsky, C.M., B.L. Coder, E. Coover, K.R. Van Why, and R.L. Stewart. 2018. Comparison of the Ecotoparasite Communities of Three Sympatric Top Carnivores from Pennsylvania. Presented at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists annual meeting at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Mansfield, PA, April 7th.
Rosenberger, J., N. Stewart, R. Stewart, M. Lehman, and A.L. Fedrow. 2018. Effect of burning on Ixodes scapularis and Peromyscus leucopus abundance in a mixed mesophytic lowland forest in southcentral Pennsylvania. Presented at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists annual meeting at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Mansfield, PA, April 7th.
Schutt, K., K. Long , R. Stewart, and K. Van Why. 2018. Prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis in the North American Raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Various Pennsylvania Counties. Presented at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists annual meeting at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Mansfield, PA, April 7th.
Funded Projects
Correlation between Berberis thunbergii and Ixodes scapularis population on South Mountain. 2020. $934.
Evaluating and Standardizing the Use of an Alternative Collection Method for Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera). 2020. $585.
Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum at Letterkenny Army Depot. 2020. $1,960.
An Investigation into the Dietary Preferences of Narceus americanus Regarding Various Fruits, Vegetables, Vegetation, Pet Foods, and Scat. 2020. $656.
Population Monitoring and Molecular Analysis for Potential Pathogen of Amblyomma maculatum Collected in Southcentral Pennsylvania. 2020. $1,890.
Surveillance of ectoparasites and rickettsial agents in small mammal populations collected in Pennsylvania. 2020. $1,986.
Temperature and relative humidity effects on Ixodes scapularis populations: evaluating potential risk. 2020. $315.
Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of a novel Rickettsia species identified in Pennsylvania tick and flea populations. 2020. $1,929.
Student grants through the Shippensburg Research Advisory Committee
2011
Winter ectoparasites of coyotes (Canis latrans) from Pennsylvania. Marissa Nagle, Karen Mohney, UGR2011/12-98, Awarded: $325
Evaluation of deer health at Letterkenny Army Depot through organ analysis. UGR2011/12-80, Benjamin Carlucci, Awarded: $520
Prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis in Shippensburg and surrounding areas. UGR2011/12-75, Susana Rios, Awarded: $360
Evaluating a track capture technique for use in assessing small mammal abundance and diversity., UGR2011/12-62, Benjamin O'Brien, Awarded: $550
Presence of Strongyloides robustus in Sciurids in south central Pennsylvania. UGR2011/12-18, Jessica Espenshade, Awarded: $440
2010
Habitat and density for the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) in an agricultural setting in south-central Pennsylvania.UG 2540-69, Brett Loski, Awarded: $398
Distribution and ecology of Sigara mathesoni (Hungerford 1948) (Heteroptera: Corixidae), D. Shull, Awarded: $876.75
Remote spatial analysis and population dynamics of bobcats (Lynx rufus).2492-10, J. Wisgo and R. Stewart, Awarded: $500