Lake Erie Center
: Graduate Students

My research interests in aquatic ecology cover a wide spectrum; however my primary interests lie in Great Lakes ecology, hypoxia, invasive species, and water quality.  I am currently a doctoral student working with Dr. Tom Bridgeman.  My dissertation research is examining how Lake Erie hypoxia (a.k.a. the “dead zone”) affects benthic foraging fish.  Specifically, I am examining physiological and behavioral responses of yellow perch and Hexagenia mayflies to hypoxia. 

For my master's also done here at the DES-LEC, I examined the effects of wetlands on the downstream dispersal of zebra mussels. I received my BS in Biology at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. While there, I completed two phosphorus budgets on nearby natural lakes for the EPA and a local watershed organization. In addition, I completed a senior thesis, looking at veliger (zebra mussel larva) mortality and settlement patterns in a glacial lake.

My research interests are eco-physiology and ecology of the Great Lakes. My thesis research at the Lake Erie Center involves the ecology and physiology Microcystis blooms of western Lake Erie. I am studying the factors that cause the magnitude of these blooms to vary among years and how the cellular health and photosynthetic efficiency of Microcystis is affected by lake mixing and the Maumee River sediment plume.

I received my BS in biology from Bowling Green State University in May 2007. As an undergrad, I participated in three REU programs. I studied zooplankton of western Lake Erie at the LEC, mayfly bioturbation at Ohio State’s Stone Lab, and crayfish behavior at BGSU.