Current Graduate Students
Jonathon Cooley (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2013-present)
Jonathon's research interests focus on the life history of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus). Specifically, he is interested in neonatal movement patterns and survival in an anthropogenic landscape. Additionally, he is interested in eastern diamondback rattlesnake winter behavior, particularly feeding behavior. Jonathon received his B.S. from Catawba College in 2013, with a double major in Biology and Environmental Science.
Jonathon's research interests focus on the life history of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus). Specifically, he is interested in neonatal movement patterns and survival in an anthropogenic landscape. Additionally, he is interested in eastern diamondback rattlesnake winter behavior, particularly feeding behavior. Jonathon received his B.S. from Catawba College in 2013, with a double major in Biology and Environmental Science.
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Maggie Smith (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2017) Maggie’s research interests include ecology, herpetology, and conservation biology. Her research projects include fire effects in longleaf pine savannas and monitoring the rare species Rana capito and Ambystoma cingulatum in the Francis Marion National Forest of South Carolina. She graduate with B.S. degrees in Biological Sciences and Environmental and Natural Resources from Clemson University in 2014. |
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Katelyn Amspacher (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2016-present) Katelyn's research interests include conservation, small populations, and small mammals. She is currently studying the habitat preferences of wild and manicured Southern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger niger) after translocation. Katelyn graduated from Shepherd University with a B.S. in Biology and concentration in ecology in 2015. |
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Michael Jungen (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2016-present) Mike is a native of Greenville, WI and received his B.A.S. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2013 and received his B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2015. While at Stevens Point, his research included small mammal populations in prairies and burned pine forests as well as the non-native stone marten (Martes foina) population in southeastern Wisconsin. His research interests include population dynamics, wildlife conservation, and spatial ecology. He is studying eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) populations in South Carolina and is specifically investigating translocation as a conservation tool for mitigating EDB imperilment and prey abundance within their newly established home ranges. |
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Jessica Cantrell (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2016-present)
Jessica's research interests include herpetology, life history strategies, historical ecology, and conservation biology. For her thesis research, she is interested in the 2016 Magicicada emergence in WV and the possible conservation message that it brings, from the community role as “citizen scientists” to the cicadas’ role as bioindicators. Jessica received her B.S. with a major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Marshall University in 2015. Her previous research as an undergraduate student involved the effects of limestone treatments on the head morphology on Northern Spring Salamander larvae. |
Zach Ross (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2016-present)
Zach's research interests focus on the ecology of herpetofauna of the southeastern
United States and the human dimensions of their conservation. He is currently
studying eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) populations in
South Carolina. Specifically, he is looking at the effects of short-range intra-
installation translocation on the movement ecology of the species. Zach graduated
from New York University in Abu Dhabi in 2014 with a B.S. in Biology and a
concentration in environmental studies.
Sean Wineland (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant, Smith-Goodno Fellow, 2016-present)
Sean's diverse research interests stem from his undergraduate research at California
University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, and his time
as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research
Center (UNDERC). His research interests include conservation biology, ecology,
herpetology, food web dynamics, trophic interactions, and physiological ecology. For his
thesis research, Sean will use environmental DNA (eDNA) to sample Hellbender
(Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations throughout the Monongahela National Forest
in West Virginia.
Sean's diverse research interests stem from his undergraduate research at California
University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, and his time
as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research
Center (UNDERC). His research interests include conservation biology, ecology,
herpetology, food web dynamics, trophic interactions, and physiological ecology. For his
thesis research, Sean will use environmental DNA (eDNA) to sample Hellbender
(Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations throughout the Monongahela National Forest
in West Virginia.
Rachel Arrick (M.S. student advised by Dr. Jennifer Mosher, GA, Smith-Goodno Fellow)
Rachel graduated from West Virginia University with a B.S. in biology in 2015. Her research interests
include conservation ecology and aquatic ecosystems. For her thesis research, Rachel is working
with Dr. Jennifer Mosher and plans to investigate microbial communities associated with
eastern hellbenders in the Monongahela National Forest. She is also a PATHWAYS biological
sciences intern for the U.S. Forest Service.
Theresa Houze (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant 2014-present)
Theresa's research interests include amphibian conservation and anything that involves getting to be outside in the Appalachian Mountains. For her thesis, she is studying land-use legacies and their effects on the Cheat Mountain Salamander (Plethodon nettingi). Theresa received my BS in Biology: Environmental Science from Liberty University in May 2013, where I studied the Peaks of Otter Salamander and factors limiting its distribution in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
