My thesis project uses morphological and genomic data to examine the potential for rapid adaptation of non-native stocked salmonid species in the oligotrophic alpine lakes of the Wind River Range, WY. Previous research has demonstrated decreased zooplankton size in correlation with fish presence, and my project seeks to document the eco-evolutionary feedback of decreased prey size on the rapid evolution of predator feeding morphology to continue to exploit smaller zooplankton as prey. I hypothesize (1) an increase in gill raker number or (2) a decrease in gill raker spacing in historically stocked lakes and will use a combination of field work, genomic, morphological, and modeling techniques to examine this.

I will examine population  genomic structure and hybridization in several lakes using high throughput, low-coverage, genotyping-by-sequencing data and genomic clustering methods to identify potential ancestral origins of historic populations and to identify genetic diversity between and within populations and the extent of inbreeding in small historic populations.

I am investigating the potential occurrence of intraspecific diet niche partitioning in a population of stocked trout in a resource-poor, oligotrophic alpine lake in the Wind River Range. Using a combination of stable isotope (C and N) analysis and stomach content analysis, I hope to demonstrate a preferential long-term selection of either zooplankton or aquatic insects in a population where competitive interactions are likely high.

This NSF funded research for my undergraduate major honors project examined the impact of the California drought conditions and the interacting effect of differing life-history strategies on innate immune response in two species of garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis and T. elegans). Plasma samples were collected from wild snakes during the 2017 and 2018 field seasons and were used to performed immune function assays. Results were published in Ecology & Evolution.

In collaboration other fisheries students at the University of Wyoming, I used temperature logger and Cutthroat presence/absence data from the Wyoming Game and Fish department to investigate the predictive influence of various temperature metrics on Colorado Cutthroat Trout presence and absence in the Upper Green River drainage.  This work will provide fisheries managers with useful data on the availability of suitable habitat for the stocking and management of CRC populations. Our results also examined the relationship between ice cover index and CRC presence, potentially informing our understanding of the relationship between winter ice quality and CRC winter survivability. These results will provide insights into the impact that global climate change and climate warming may have on CRC populations by identifying the ideal stream temperature regimes for CRC populations and also identifying stream temperatures that are potentially unsuitable for CRC survival and growth. These results were submitted in a report to the WGFD and will be presented in a 15 minute talk at the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting in November, 2021. 

Examined the presence of a dive response in semi-aquatic garter snakes by recording

pronounced bradycardia after head submergence using a field portable ultrasound. Summarized findings in a paper published Summer 2019.