Current lab members / Former students

Flex_muscles

 

 

 

 

 

Current students/lab members

Mariana Perez Rocha, PhD                  Postdoctoral Associate:

I am working on various metacommunity ecology projects as part of a collaborative project funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

I did my Ph.D. at University of Oulu (Finland), 2018; Dissertation on “Large-scale patterns of biodiversity in northern streams: insights from species, traits, and phylogeny”. More about my research here.

 

Andreia Alves, PhD student

I am currently a PhD student in the Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology Program at Texas State University. I’ll be working with macroinvertebrates in intermittent streams. I obtained my MS at Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), 2019; the title of my thesis was “Drivers of benthic metacommunity structure along tropical estuaries”.

 

Eleanor Krellenstein, MS student

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas State University in 2021 and returned in January 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in the Schwalb lab. I am studying native freshwater mussels in central Texas.

 

 

 

 

Sarah Stannard, MS student

I have a BS in wildlife biology from Texas State and joined the Schwalb lab in Spring 2023 to work towards my MS in Aquatic Resources.  I am examining the role of predation in population dynamics and dispersal of zebra mussels.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter York, Grant Specialist

I obtained a BS in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston and joined the Schwalb’s lab in April 2023 as a Grant Specialist. I collect data on zebra mussels in Canyon Lake and assist in the state-wide lake monitoring of Texas Parks and Wildlife. I also assist with surveying native freshwater mussels and with various projects on freshwater mussels and aquatic invertebrates.

 

 

Ethan (Cole) Ames,

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in Wildlife Biology. I started as a Field Technician in May 2023.

 

 

 

 

Priscilla Inostroza-Hernandez,

I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in Wildlife Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies. I am interested in macroinvertebrates as indicator species to determine the biological conditions of freshwater streams. When I graduate in May of 2024, I will be taking a position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife focusing on conservation and research.

 

 

Carolyn Trombley

VLUU L200 / Samsung L200

I am currently in the PhD program in Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph (co-advised by Dr. Schwalb and Dr. Cottenie) after having completing a Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Environmental Science at the University of Guelph. My project explores metacommunity dynamics of fish in the Virgin River, with a focus on determining factors related to the decline of the endemic and critically endangered woundfin (Plagopterus Argentissimus).

 

Schwalb lab Alumni

 

Kiara Cushway, graduated 2023

Thesis: “Go with the flow: impacts of high and low flow conditions on freshwater mussel assemblages and distribution”

Grant Specialist for TRIAGE

 

 

 

 

Emily Lorkovic, graduated 2023

Thesis: “Two invaders, one ecosystem: Exploring interactions between Dreissena polymorpha and Hydrilla verticillata.”

Meadows Center

 

 

Meghan Martinski,  graduated 2023

Thesis: “Freshwater mussels vary in substrate preference and mobility in pairwise behavioral experiments.”

Junior Biologist, GEI Consultants, Michigan

 

 

Ericah Beason, graduated 2021

Thesis “Impact of zebra mussels on physiological conditions of unionid mussels in Texas. ”

published in Aquatic Sciences  [Link to article]

She could not get enough and hung around as research assistant in the lab until December 2022 leading an ammonia toxicity project when she started a Biologist position with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources propagation work with the federally endangered Carolina Heelsplitter (Lasmigona decorata).

David Swearingen, graduated 2021

Thesis: “The impact of summer mortality of invasive zebra mussels on nutrient cycling in a Texas Reservoir”

Research assistant in Schwalb Stream Ecology lab until August 2022; published on thermal limitation of zebra mussels in Texas [Link to article]

Zachary Mitchell, PhD, graduated 2020,
Postdoc in the lab until December 2021

Dissertation: “The role of life history strategies and drying events for mussel communities: a multiscale approach”

Currently Assistant Professor at the Eastern New Mexico University, Biology Department

 

 

Kayla Hayes,  graduated  2020Kayla

Thesis “Comparing life history traits and responses to envrionmental variation between mussel species in the San Saba River”

Environmental Specialist with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection

 

Alison Tarter, graduated 2019

Thesis “Distribution of unionid mussels in the Big Thicket region of Texas. Texas State University”

published in Hydrobiologia [Link to article]

Research associate with the Southern Regional Climate Center (SRCC)

Brittney

Brittney Sanchez, graduated 2018

Thesis “Detectability affects the performance of survey methods: A comparison of sampling methods of freshwater mussels in Central Texas”

published in Hydrobiologia [Link to article]

 

 

StaceyStacey Britton, graduated 2018

co-advised with Dr. Dutton

Thesis “Impact of environmental contaminants on the Threeridge mussel (Amblema plicata) in the Guadalupe River basin, Texas.”

Department of Ecology in the Water Quality Program,                                                        Washington

 

Becky

Rebecca Zawalski, graduated 2017

Thesis: “Benthic macroinvertebrate metacommunity structure of the Guadalupe River Basin, TX.” 

published in Freshwater Ecology [Link to article]

Water Quality Project manager,

Merrimack River Watershed Council, Massachusetts

 

 

AshleyAshley Seagroves, graduated 2017

Thesis “Reproductive ecology of Lampsilis bracteata (Bivalvia: Unionidae)”

published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems [Link to article]

Aquatic Biologist with USFWS in Jackson, Mississippi

Jenae

Jenae Olson, graduated 2016                            Thesis: “Dispersal of zebra mussels downstream of an invaded reservoir.”

published in Aquatic Invasions [Link to article]

Veterinary Technician, Sioux Falls, SD

 

 

Bianca

Bianca Hernandez, graduated 2016

Thesis: “Movement behavior of unionid mussels in Central Texas”

published in Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems [Link to article]

Data Science Fellowship with the Office of Inspector General.