R. Nick Loveland, MS Student
Nick completed MS degree in May 2024. His research used lab-based physiology experiments to characterize thermal sensitivity of spring-associated fishes—specifically the Guadalupe bass, Guadalupe roundnose minnow, and Plateau shiner—and field-based monitoring of stream temperature regimes across the Edwards Plateau to characterize thermal exposure. Integrating sensitivity and exposure data provides a comprehensive view of spatially-explicit and species-specific vulnerability to warming, which will inform conservation actions to mitigate climate change, land use change, and groundwater management.
Current position: Habitat Restoration Specialist, Rio Grande Joint Venture
Garrett Tucker, MS Student
Garrett completed his MS degree in May 2024. His research used lab-based physiology experiments to characterize thermal sensitivity of spring-associated fishes—specifically the Devils River minnow and Rio Grande Darter—and field-based monitoring of temperature regimes in San Felipe Creek to characterize thermal exposure. Integrating sensitivity and exposure data provides a comprehensive view of spatially-explicit and species-specific vulnerability to warming, which will inform conservation actions to mitigate climate change, land use change, and groundwater management.
Current position: Aquatic Biologist, San Antonio River Authority
Mary Sears, MS Student
Mary finished her MS degree in the May of 2023. Her research characterized habitat associations and population structure of Guadalupe bass (Micropterus treculii) and largemouth bass (M. salmoides) in the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River. This research informs management of this unique urban population of Guadalupe bass, which was established in 2015 following habitat restoration of Mission Reach.
Current position: Lecturer, Department of Integrative Biology, UTSA
Tony Javiya, MS Student
Tony completed his MS degree in December 2022. Tony conducted presence-absence surveys of non-native virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis) in the lower Colorado River basin and used species distribution modeling to understand niche dimensions and map habitat suitability. This research is important for the management of this non-native species, which negatively affects the unique and imperiled fauna of invertebrates, fishes, and herps in the Desert Southwest.
Current position: Graduate Program in Computer Science, Oregon State University
James Robbie Carl, MS Student
Robbie completed his MS degree in Summer 2020 in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Robbie used species distribution modeling to assess how well terrestrial protected areas safeguard the diverse freshwater fish fauna within the Mobile River system.
