Our
Projects

Eastern Hellbenders are involved in head start programs at a variety of zoological institutions, with many populations serving as assurance populations as wild populations decline. It is important to promote animal wellbeing for these individuals by ensuring habitats are suitable to the species. I am studying their behavior and spatial use under human care to determine hide preference and a time budget for behaviors to inform best husbandry practices.  

Through direct education and outreach, with a focus on Value-Belief-Norms, I work to empower the public to take action to support Eastern Hellbenders and local waterways in a manner that is feasible and accessible to their individual conditions. I also train other researchers and educators on how to engage communities in community minded strategies to support Eastern Hellbenders, focused on local values and respecting community beliefs.

I currently serve as a coordinator for the Peabody-Beardsley-Maritime FrogWatch USA chapter, one of the largest in the nation. In this role I oversee the chapter's training and monitoring efforts, and collaborate with the national and regional coordinators to advance the program.

After discovering the misidentification of a species of cockroach at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, I worked with partners at multiple institutions to discover the identify of the species: Archimandrita tesselata. This species lacked a universal common name, which I then proposed and had accepted by the Entomological Society of America in spring of 2024.

Using a 15 year data set, I analyzed Anuran occupancy of 14 species across 30 sites in Wayne National Forest. I also restarted the monitoring program in 2021 and 2022, and trained a replacement to continue its efforts moving forward after my graduation from Ohio University. I shared these results with Wayne National Forest to support their land management strategy development.

Using linear transects, I evaluated salamander occupancy in response to prescribed burns within Wayne National Forest. I trained a replacement to continue these surveys after I graduated from Ohio University. These surveys will provide a year-one post burn baseline for future studies.

I assisted Dr. Viorel Popescu, Dr. M.L. Hunter & Dr. James P. Gibbs on the creation of their textbook Fundamentals of Conservation Biology 4th Edition. I compiled all sources for the literature cited and worked with the editor to format them for publication.

The AZA and Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut conduct annual frog call surveys and during the summer of 2020 I conducted surveys 2-3 times a week for the summer duration to support their efforts. 

​

As a member of a three person team in the laboratory of Dr. Lawrence Witmer, I conducted dissections and delineations of the Bobcat for the establishment of an academic specials collection.​