At Mississippi State University, I led an undergraduate research project, with Dr. Correa’s guidance, looking at potential changes in fish distributions along local coastal rivers driven by sea-level rise. This project used survey data of Local Ecological Knowledge from fishermen and anglers to assess change. In addition, I participated in field research assisting graduate student Conner Owens in sampling fishes with different gear types, identifying and handling fish, and collecting water quality measurements.
After graduation, I continued working with Dr. Correa’s lab. I am leading another project estimating the age of bowfin fish using hard structures such as the gular plate and pectoral fin rays. Bowfin fish is an ancient predatory fish species abundant in floodplain forests. My research aims to understand how long individuals persist in flooded forest ecosystems and thereby their influence on food webs.