INTRODUCTION

I am currently a biological field technician with the USGS-Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center working on the Trinity River in California, doing Yellow-legged frog and Western pond turtle surveys! If all goes well despite the drought I will have the opportunity to survey frogs and salamanders in Oregon.

I graduated with a MS in Population and Conservation Biology at Texas State University in December 2014.  My thesis research was advised by Dr. Caitlin R. Gabor and focused on antipredator behavior of  threatened and endangered Eurycea salamanders. I have examined the role of the diel cycle on antipredator behavior, the effect of turbidity on antipredator response, and use of multimodal signaling in antipredator behavior. I have also conducted research examining field and lab stress hormone levels in threatened Eurycea. After getting my Master's I volunteered at the USFWS- San Marcos Aquatic Resource Center where I got the opportunity to train other volunteers in salamander maintenance and collections.

I previously received a BA in Biology from Queens College (City University of New York) with a minor in Education. There I was involved studying the behavior of the Colorado potato beetle as related to resistance evolution and organic farming methods under Dr. Mitchell Baker.