It has been a pleasure to be involved in a variety of research.

Masters Thesis – My Masters thesis assesses the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in several National Capital Region National Parks.  The insect assemblages will be compared to the diatom communities to discern any patterns. Additionally, genomic tools will be developed to aid in the biomonitoring process.

Artificial stream tables – Sometimes it is easier to study fish in the laboratory than in the field.  These artificial streams allow for researchers to control the fish’s environment. These tables have been used to monitor fish growth rates as well as determining if fish have the ability to change their diet based on the food researchers provide.

Marshall’s Creek Long-term Monitoring – Macroinvertebrate and fish were collected across six and ten sites (respectively) to monitor stream health while road construction occurred nearby.  This stream is of particular interest because it is the only location where the ironcolor shiner (N. chalybeus) and the bridle shiner (N. bifrenatus) occur in the same stream throughout their ranges.

Unassessed Waters Initiative – Each summer, the PA Fish and Boat Commission sends out field crews, to assess streams for wild brook trout populations. Many of these streams are located in remote areas of Pennsylvania.

Cataloging Fish at the Pennsylvania State University Fish Museum – The PSU Fish Museum holds over 1.25 million fish from across North America.  In addition, many fishes have been collected and cataloged from Lake Malawi and are stored in this museum.