Current Students

Daniel Spooner (Zoology, Ph.D)

 I am a Ph.D. student studying freshwater mussel community ecology at the University of Oklahoma. I grew up in Ontario, Canada fascinated with water and the critters that inhabit it. I began studying mussels under the direction of Dr. Andre Martel (Canadian Museum of Nature) as an undergraduate honors project at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Since then, I have moved to Oklahoma and have been researching freshwater stream communities in Oklahoma and Arkansas under the tutelage of Dr. Caryn Vaughn.

Priscilla Crawford (Interdiscipinary, Ph.D)

 Priscilla Crawford coordinates the Oklahoma Natural Areas Registry. She encourages landowners to conserve Oklahoma's biological diversity by becoming members of a voluntary land preservation association. She also manages the Oklahoma Vascular Plants Database.

Kathleen Reagan (Zoology, MS)

  

Heather Galbraith (Zoology, Ph. D.)

 Currently my interests are in stream ecology and conservation biology. My research focuses primarily on determining what environmental variables are most important in structuring Trichopteran (caddisfly) communities in several streams in Oklahoma.

My study sites are the Kiamichi, Little, Mountain Fork and Glover Rivers located in the Oauchita Mountains region in the southeastern part of the state. These four rivers are clear, rocky-bottomed streams that remain in relatively pristine condition with the exception of small amounts of agriculture and siliviculture in surrounding areas

 

Paulette Reneau (Zoology, Ph.D.)

 Evolutionary patterns of genes and the process of adaptive evolution at the molecular level

Dan Allen (Zoology, Ph. D)

 I am originally from New Jersey and did my undergraduate work at Cook College at Rutgers University. For my Ph.D. with Dr. Jeff Kelly, I use stable isotope analysis to research the effects of vegetation change on the foraging specialization of birds in the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. I have worked a number of places, including Acadia and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks. I also enjoy knitting and long walks on the beach.

Jacqueline Paritte (Zoology, Ph.D)

 I am originally from New Jersey and did my undergraduate work at Cook College at Rutgers University. For my Ph.D. with Dr. Jeff Kelly, I use stable isotope analysis to research the effects of vegetation change on the foraging specialization of birds in the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. I have worked a number of places, including Acadia and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks. I also enjoy knitting and long walks on the beach.

Ferrella March (Zoology, MS)

 I am a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma currently working on my M.S. in Zoology with Caryn Vaughn, and I have been a research assistant for an impact study on Lake Texoma since the Fall semester of 2000. My primary interest is aquatic ecology. More specifically, the focus of my graduate work is on chironomid (midge larvae) composition and reservoir aging. How reservoir aging affects biodiversity within ecosystems is an important question as we continue to rely heavily on healthy reservoirs for flood control, hydro power, municipal and recreation purposes.