Current Graduate Students
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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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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.
Emily Mausteller (M.S. Student, Graduate Assistant 2018-present)
Emily’s research interests include herpetofaunal ecology, conservation, and responses to climate change. For her thesis, she is investigating potential mechanisms for differential habitat use of salt marsh hummocks by the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). Specifically, she is examining tidal flows within coastal rivers and prey availability along a coastal gradient. Emily graduated from Susquehanna University in 2017 with a B.S. in Ecology and minors in Environmental Science and Spanish. Her previous research as an undergraduate student involved the impacts of climate change on food sources of terrestrial salamanders in the northeastern United States.
Emily’s research interests include herpetofaunal ecology, conservation, and responses to climate change. For her thesis, she is investigating potential mechanisms for differential habitat use of salt marsh hummocks by the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). Specifically, she is examining tidal flows within coastal rivers and prey availability along a coastal gradient. Emily graduated from Susquehanna University in 2017 with a B.S. in Ecology and minors in Environmental Science and Spanish. Her previous research as an undergraduate student involved the impacts of climate change on food sources of terrestrial salamanders in the northeastern United States.
Allison Kelley (M.S. Student, Graduate Assistant)
Allison's research interests include herpetology, conservation biology, and wildlife management. For her thesis, she is conducting a long-distance translocation of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus). She is investigating how the translocation effects the movement ecology of the species as well as how the translocated and resident individuals respond to prescribed fire. Allison earned her B.S. degree in Biology and Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation from Canisius College in 2017.
Alex Foote (M.S. Student, Graduate Assistant, 2018)
Alex’s research interests include herpetology, conservation biology, and genetics. He graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon. Recently, he has worked on conservation projects with Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs.
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Nicholas Bolin (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant, Smith-Goodno Fellow) Nicholas' interests lie in the ecology and evolutionary relationships of vertebrates, particularly amphibians. For his thesis project, he is investigating the demography of eastern hellbender populations in West Virginia. Nicholas received B.S. degrees in Biology and Chemistry in 2018 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Prior to his arrival at Marshall, he assisted with research on temperature-dependent sex determination in hawksbill sea turtles. |
John Huang (M.S. student, Graduate Assistant)
John's research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including animal-habitat relationships, movement ecology, behavioral ecology and predator-prey dynamics among other things. He graduated in 2017 with a B.S degree in Environmental Science from the University at Albany (SUNY). He has worked on a variety of research and management projects involving various species of birds, herpetofauna, and mammals.
John's research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including animal-habitat relationships, movement ecology, behavioral ecology and predator-prey dynamics among other things. He graduated in 2017 with a B.S degree in Environmental Science from the University at Albany (SUNY). He has worked on a variety of research and management projects involving various species of birds, herpetofauna, and mammals.
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.
Having fun way up high in Rocky Mountain National Park while attending Pathways: Human Dimensions of Wildlife conference in Estes Park, CO, September 2017. Pictured (Left-Right, back row): Jayme Waldron, Zella May Welch, Maggie Smith, Rachel Arrick, Jessica Cantrell, Mike Jungen; Front, left to right: Zach Ross, Kate Amspacher, and Oscar Welch.
