Past Research
As an undergraduate biology student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, I was able to volunteer at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. There, I helped track Whooping Cranes, spot other waterfowl, build and maintain Wood Duck boxes, and check water levels throughout the Refuge.
After graduating from UAH, I volunteered one day per week for a graduate student from Auburn University. Her research was focused on black bears in Alabama and I helped at her study near Fort Payne. There, I gained experience with non-invasive sampling - collecting hair from snares (pictured) and camera trapping.
After I moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, I enrolled at University of Alaska Fairbanks as an undergraduate student in wildlife biology and conservation. I gained an internship within the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) for the Arctic Marine Mammal Program. Largely lab-based, I was able to learn techniques in data management (learning Microsoft Access for the first time), ice seal diet studies, tooth extraction, and female reproductive measurements. While most of the job involved sieving through ice seal stomach contents, I was also able to go to the village of Point Hope and collect tissue samples first-hand.
I was hired for a summer internship position with ADF&G in Kodiak, Alaska to work on the Afognak Roosevelt Elk Project. This opportunity allowed me to explore more of the state that I had made my home as well as see more of the animals that live in it. It also taught me field techniques in both vegetative sampling as well as GPS/VHF collaring large animals. Having just started the project, the team trekked across the eastern part of Afognak Island to establish vegetation and pellet collection transects. When not in the field, I also extensively learned the ins and outs of ArcGIS and home range estimation.
While an undergraduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, I had the opportunity to start my first independent research project. What started as a simple class project turned into my first research poster and presentation. My partner, Jessica, and I floated down the Chena River in October to count ducks and collect water and soil samples.
Our research question centered around how the non-migratory Mallard population was affecting the river ecosystem. We didn't find a difference in water chemistry at the surface level,the soil samples we collected from the middle of the river showed significant differences along the river. However, we took the soil samples into the lab and grew coliform, focusing on how many bacteria grew from each sampling site. We found significant differences in coliform between each site, with greater concentrations of gram-negative lactose-fermenting bacteria where ducks congregated and downstream.
I was able to continue this project into the following semester, but focused more on study design. While my results varied somewhat because my sampling design was greatly improved from scraping a bucket down the center of the river by rope, the ducks on the Chena seem to still have an effect on the benthic layer of the river.
This project was my first opportunity to develop and implement a research question on my own from study design to final product. Though limited, this undergraduate project confirmed my interests in research.