Brianna Cerione

Citizen of the United States

(609) 501-9471
bc569@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
____________________________________________________________________________

EDUCATION
B.S. Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources Expected Graduation May 2019
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
New Brunswick, NJ
Current GPA: 2.922

A.S. Environmental Science December 2016

CUMBERLAND COUNTY COLLEGE
Vineland, NJ
GPA: 3.227

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
EDWIN B. FORSYTHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
800 Great Creek Road
Oceanville, NJ 08205

June 2018 - September 2018

Salary: $540/week
Hours per week: 40
DIRECTORATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM INTERN
Student Conservation Association – US Fish and Wildlife Service
Supervisor: Keena Graham
Biology:
-Assisted in reading Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) throughout the 36,000+ acres of
refuge wetlands to monitor marsh resiliency and sediment elevation change relative to
local sea level rise
-Assisted in the refuge’s annual Salt Marsh Inventory (SMI) nekton sampling of primarily
Fundulus heteroclitus, which entailed setting ditch nets throughout dozens of tidal
creeks/ditches and throw traps throughout numerous tidal pools around Barnegat Bay
-Surveyed 14 transects on Holgate Beach in Long Beach Island for the endangered
Amaranthus pumilus beach plant. Recorded mortality of previously marked plants and
marked/recorded the location of newly discovered plants
-Experienced collecting data using handheld Garmin GPS and Trimble GeoXH 6000
series, and uploading data into ArcPro for analysis and map creation
Visitor Services:

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 -Developed partnerships with community organizations and local businesses
-Organized and scheduled community events and outreaches, such as creating and
conducting a public trivia night in Forsythe’s Visitors Center
-Photographed species on the refuge and created a scavenger hunt ID guide for the
refuge visitors center and website
-Created educational activities about habitats and species found at the refuge, geared for
children of all ages
-Educated the public about the Refuge’s history, importance and conservation procedures.
-Designed an educational powerpoint about the refuge and presented it to local
communities
-Served as a refuge representative at the Holgate Beach unit to raise public awareness of
the beach closure due to the federally protected beach nesting bird program and to
prevent or notify of any trespassing

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY CHRYSLER HERBARIUM

32 Bishop Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
September 2017 - April 2018
Total hours: 135
HERBARIUM INTERN
Supervisor: Dr. Lena Stuwe
-Curated, repaired and filed plant specimens
-Digitization and databasing of herbarium specimens using Symbiota database and
lightbox photography
-Transcribed data from digitized specimens, checking accurate botanical nomenclature
following APG system
-Gave demonstrations and presentations to the public about the Herbarium

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY AQUACULTURE INNOVATION CENTER

3920 Bayshore Road
North Cape May, NJ 08204
May 2017 - August 2017
Salary: $11.5/hour
Hours per week: 40
SEASONAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN
-Performed both natural and strip spawns of ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) and a
special strain of broodstock Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) developed at Rutgers
University to be fast-growing and disease resistant
-Maintained juvenile oysters in filtered seawater in “downweller” tanks and moved them to
“upwellers” in raw seawater once they were large enough in size
-Regularly sorted by size, counted and re-distributed oysters in the upweller nursery to
optimize growth and survival

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 -Tested the feasibility of large-scale aquaculture of horseshoe crab eggs harvested from
natural nests on Delaware Bay beaches, by raising >250,000k eggs in a predator-free
controlled hatchery, until they were released into the Delaware Bay at 3 months of age
-Assisted with the culture of microalgae and brine shrimp used as a food source for the
shellfish and horseshoe crabs
-Determine microalgae cell counts using Coulter counter
-Daily use of YSI probe to monitor salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen levels of
seawater in aquaculture tanks
-Assisted a Rutgers PhD candidate over a five-week period with research on the impacts
of eelgrass shoot density on Bay Scallop (Aequipecten irradians) growth and survivorship,
using annular flumes
-Assisted a Rutgers PhD candidate throughout the summer in conducting a variety of
nursery and grow-out phase experiments on the growth, condition and survival of Atlantic
surf clams (Spisula solidissima) to find optimal aquaculture techniques
-Monitored two 100-hp raw seawater pumps and a UV water sterilization system on a daily
basis
-Performed bi-weekly flushing of raw seawater pipes throughout the entire facility and
cleaned tanks of various sizes on a daily basis with diluted bleach water and a pressure
washer

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY HASKIN SHELLFISH RESEARCH LABORATORY

6959 Miller Avenue
Port Norris, NJ 08349
May 2016 - October 2016
Salary: $11
Hours per week: 35-40 full time
SEASONAL RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
Supervisor: David Bushek (856) 785 - 0074 x4327
-Provided hands-on learning activities for partner school students, teaching important
scientific concepts and highlighting the local significance of the oysters in the Delaware
Bay through Project PORTS (Promoting Oyster Restoration Through Schools)
-Surveyed Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) egg density within 130 hundred-
meter transects, along the coast of the Delaware Bay in Cape May, NJ in both the
beginning and end of May, which is their spawning season
-Assisted with The Nature Conservancy’s “Living Shorelines” project, which involved
marsh/coastal habitat restoration by constructing oyster reef breakwater structures
-Assisted with biweekly monitoring of “oyster castle” reefs along the Delaware Bay using a
seining technique to collect, measure and taxonomically identifying fish and crustacean
species
-Analyzed Atlantic deep-sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) for the presence of the
parasitic nematode, Sulcascaris sulcata and analyzed Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea
virginica) for the presence of dermo disease, Perkinsus marinus
-Grew P. marinus cultures and performing weekly cell counts using a hemocytometer

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 -Processed over 100 oyster bushels, identified and recorded all new oyster growth and the
substrate they grew on, adult oysters and other variables as part of the Delaware Bay New
Jersey Oyster Stock Assessment
-Caught, tagged, measured, collected tissue samples and released black sea bass
(Centropristis striata) off the coast of Atlantic City, NJ in part of a study to better assess
their population
-Volunteered with reTURN the Favor to rescue hundreds of overturned or impinged
horseshoe crabs stranded on New Jersey beaches of the Delaware Bay on nights of new
and full moons throughout their spawning season of May and June
-Assisted in maintenance of HSRL’s laboratories and offices

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

INSIGHT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS
Buena Regional School District, NJ
Vineland Public School District, NJ
March 2016- present
Hours per week: Intermittent
SUBSTITUTE PARAPROFESSIONAL
-Managed class sizes ranging from 5-30 students
-Followed and taught assigned lesson plans given by the permanent teacher for students
in grades K-12 and at multiple school districts, most of which were areas of low income
-Recognized and addressed behavioral issues with students and fellow staff
-Worked closely with students who had special needs and behavioral issues, including
children who are deaf, nonverbal and severely handicapped

BEST BUY MOBILE CUMBERLAND MALL

3849 S. Delsea Drive
Vineland, NJ 08360
October 2015 - March 2018
Hours per week: Part time
SALES ASSOCIATE
-Answered questions and explained the benefits and features of hundreds of products
such as cell phones, cameras, speakers and tablets, along with their accessories and
service features
-Greeted customers, advertised weekly promotions, answered phone calls, processed
returns and sales up to $5,000, stocked shelves and maintained weekly store inventory
-Communicated with a large number of spanish speaking customers
-Continuously attended trainings for fraud and theft prevention to reduce store shrinkage
-Developed long term and trusting relationships with customers while handling confidential
information such as their SSN, driver's license and account passwords

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DICKS SPORTING GOODS CUMBERLAND MALL
3849 S. Delsea Drive
Vineland, NJ 08360
January 2014 - March 2016
Hours per week: 10-30 hrs./week
CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPERVISOR
-Issued and sold hundreds of NJ licenses, stamps and permits for hunting and fishing
-Clear understanding of New Jersey hunting seasons, lotteries, zones, restrictions and
requirements
-Handling of customers’ private information such as Social Security Number and address
-Handled all situations involving firearms passing through the front end and ensured
compliance with firearms safety policy and procedure
-Supervised multiple sales associates at a time, while fulfilling duties such as answering
phone calls, completing returns, processing both instore and online transactions,
explaining and issuing product warranties, coordinating weekly signage changes,
unloading and processing freight, stocking product, providing weekly inventory records,
packaging and shipping online orders and monitoring sales to reach goals all while
providing passionate customer service during customer engagement
-Controlled shrinkage by complying with all Loss Prevention procedures and programs
-Promoted company programs such as warranty sales, loyalty program Scorecard
signups, credit card applications and seasonal promotions
-Handling of up to $5,000 at a time without supervision

COURSEWORK THAT APPLIES TO POSITION

Will provide complete transcript upon request.
Field Techniques:
-Experience orienteering through Stokes State Forest using an Suunto MC2 compass
-Measured DBH and height of trees using DBH tape and various clinometers in fixed-area
plots
-Estimated trees per acre, basal area per acre, biomass per acre, from fixed-area plot
sampling and point sampling
-Captured, measured and observed Eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) using a
small silk string noose. Compared growth, sexual size dimorphism, location and behavior
of populations in New Jersey Pinelands to make inferences of prefered micro habitats
-Sampled five 30m transects along a marsh/woodlands border to characterize the change
in the vegetation community composition across the uplands and extending into the marsh
-Examined the concurrent change in vegetation and associated faunal community
structure with location on the salt marsh surface and proximity to a tidal channel by
observing number of mud crab burrows and ribbed mussels, and average plant height of
multiple 25m plots
-Examined bird use (abundance, diversity and behavior) of 3 salt marsh management
types; parallel grid ditched, open marsh water management (OMWM) and unaltered
marsh, during different tidal cycles (low and high tides) by physical appearance and
call/song identification

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 -Examined fish/crustacean use of subtidal ponds and a subtidal/intertidal creek to see the
difference of organisms found there, using seining net method
-Set out a plankton net in a tidal creek, with a flow meter to gather water data, to collect
ichthyoplankton, which were brought back to the lab to study as part of a fluke population
monitoring project at Rutgers Marine Field Station in Tuckerton, NJ
-Learned about shorebird ecology on migratory stopovers, shorebird cannon netting,
tagging techniques and data collection on migrating shorebirds
-Observed a controlled burn at Rutgers Pinelands Field Station

Fundamentals of Evolution & Lab:

-Hands on performance and knowledge of the methods of PCR and DNA sequencing, and
the use of DNA barcoding to identify species
-Understanding of phylogenetic reconstruction based on molecular data using freely
available software and the Genbank and BLAST websites
-Independent research project on the evolution of insect metamorphosis

Principles of Natural Resource Management:

-Conducted independent research on salamander habitat in riparian zones along Buell
Brook in Rutgers’ Ecological Preserve
-Used Arc Collector App to plot the location of trees, indicated the species, DBH and
status of each, in 10 labeled plots of Rutgers Ecological Preserve
-Knowledge of the Long-term Forest Monitoring Protocol of the Northeast Temperate
Network

Wetland Ecology:
-Knowledge of wetland ecology and ecosystem processes, including hydrology,
biogeochemistry, and species interactions
-Performed methods used to delineate wetlands including plant identification, vegetation
classification, hydrology, and hydric soil classification
-Successfully performed wetland delineation based on the Federal Interagency Wetland
Delineation Manual
-Identification of the key wetland plants found in both southern and northern New Jersey
and understanding of their indicator status
-Knowledge of the management techniques, restoration, mitigation, and regulation of
wetlands in New Jersey as well at the regional and national levels
-Dug soil pits with an auger at various wetland sites and used a hydric soil chart and
Munsell soil color book to determine hue, value, chroma and soil texture

Environmental Science:
-Performed a biotic index study by submerging 5 large, mesh bags full of leaves in various
areas of the lake and stream at Parvin State Park for three weeks to collect and identify
benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality.

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CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT & VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
● CCC 2nd Nature Club- Vice President
● Rutgers Habitat for Humanity- Member/Volunteer
● Rutgers Students for Environmental Awareness- Member
● Sierra Club Raritan Valley Chapter - Member/Volunteer
● The Wildlife Society: Rutgers Student Chapter - Member
● The Nature Conservancy Volunteer:
-Collected, measured and identified specimens of 5 different species of Dragonfly larvae
from various river banks throughout the Maurice River Watershed in Millville, New
Jersey for mercury analysis. This was part of a nationwide study to understand the
distribution of mercury in the environment and the damage it is causing.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAININGS

● MD Class C New Jersey driver’s license
● CPR & First Aid Certification
● Defensive Driving Certification

SKILLS AND INTERESTS

● Proficient in Microsoft office
● Inventory and Data Management
● Photography
● Picture and video editing
● Proficient in using different social media platforms

SCHOLARSHIPS
● New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) for ranking in
the top 15% of Buena Regional High School 2014 graduating class.
● New Jersey Water Environment Association: William H. Higgins Award 2017 for
academic and professional qualifications and activities.
● New Jersey Division of the Society of American Foresters (NJDSAF) 2017 Scholarship
and Student Membership Award
● Murray and Helen Buell Scholarship Fund

REFERENCES
David Bushek
Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Lab
Port Norris, NJ
Lab Director and Rutgers Professor
(856) 785-0074 x4327
bushek@hsrl.rutgers.edu

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Keena Graham
Edwin B. Forsythe NWR
Oceanville, NJ
Visitor Services Supervisor
(609) 652 - 1665 x7104
keena_graham@fws.gov

Megan King
Rutgers Chrysler Herbarium
New Brunswick, NJ
Collections Manager
(201) 446 - 9815
mrk145@scarletmail.rutgers.edu

Richard Lathrop
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
Professor of Environmental Modeling
(848) 932-1580
lathrop@crssa.rutgers.edu