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Center For Lakes and Reservoirs - StudentsClick on the names below to go to personal websites where available. Leslie Bliss-Ketchum
BS in Environmental Sciences • Minor in Biology • Cum Laude • Portland State University Leslie is working toward her MS in the ESR department. Her project will focus on issues of road ecology including the efficacy of wildlife passage and prevention structures. The types, frequency and preferences of animal (mammals and amphibians) passage will be determined using motion detection cameras and tracking methods coupled with road kill surveys. She is also the co-director of the Student Water Resources Group (SWRG) whose mission is to connect students with practical applications of in-class learning related to water resources. SWRG organizes field trips and speakers related to water resource issues. In the summer of 2007, Leslie worked on New Zealand mud snail (NZMS) outreach in the Deschutes River Basin, where she gathered information on NZMS distribution while simultaneously conducting education and outreach to angling groups, recreational users and agencies on the Deschutes. The aim of this work was to aid the identification of various ANS species in the PNW and to identify ways to prevent the spread and introduction of ANS by utilizing tested gear cleaning methods. Leslie enjoys poetry, long walks on the beach and, when the mood strikes, poking dead things with sticks. Valance Brenneis (PSU adjunct research affiliate)
valbrenneis@gmail.com PhD candidate, Graduate Group in Ecology, UC Davis Food Web Impacts of Invasive Species 
tid@pdx.edu MS: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon • Biology Tim is a recent graduate (MS) from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. His thesis research examined the invasion of the Australasian burrowing isopod (Sphaeroma quoianum) in Coos Bay, Oregon. He is currently pursuing a PhD. in Environmental Sciences and Resources. His primary research interests are biological invasions, crustacean biology, community ecology, and the conservation of aquatic systems. Throughout his graduate and undergraduate career he has worked on a variety of projects ranging from biofouling studies in Florida, aquatic ecology in the Midwest lake systems, the green crab invasion in Oregon, and bioinvasions in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Tim is continuing to investigate the invasion and ecology of Sphaeroma quoianum for his dissertation. He is currently evaluating the relationship between erosion rate and the presence of isopod burrows in Coos Bay and conducting regional surveys for introduced species. Future work will investigate the dispersal rate/distance, burrowing rates, and possible control options for Sphaeroma quoianum. Erik Hanson
ehanson@pdx.edu MEM: Portland State University • Environmental Management Erik recently completed the Masters of Environmental Management Program and is currently pursuing a PhD. For the M.E.M. he developed the Oregon Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan through the coordination of a steering committee composed of members from federal and state natural resource agencies. The Plan received approval from the Governor of Oregon and the federal Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, which will allow the state to receive federal funding for ANS management. The newly formed Invasive Species Council will implement the Plan in 2002. Erik presented the plan at professional conferences, the federal ANS Task Force, and the Governor’s Natural Resource Council and received 2nd place in the student paper contest at the APMS annual conference in 2001. Erik has continued to work on invasive species issues, primarily the potential for a mitten crab invasion of the Columbia River. Vanessa Howard
vhoward@pdx.edu B.A Community Studies • UC Santa Cruz Vanessa is in her fourth year at Portland State, researching the spread of non-native cordgrasses (Spartina spp.) in Pacific estuaries. Her research has focused on vegetative reproductive capabilities of Spartina alterniflora as well as examining the potential geographic spread of Spartina spp. propagules via ocean currents on the West Coast. She is completing her thesis, while also working on a variety of other projects; these currently include updating the plant portion of the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database, conducting early detection surveys for Spartina, and developing a field guide for Alaska's aquatic plants. Lynda Moore
BS: Oregon State University ● Botany Since earning her BS in Botany Lynda has been working on a project assessing the population establishment of biological control agents released in the Columbia River Estuary to treat purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). This study showed indications of successful agent establishment at many of the study sites but no agent presence at others. In an effort to elucidate causal factors, Lynda conducted field and laboratory experiments which established the beetles were able to tolerate the periods of inundation, water temperatures, and the mechanics of the tidal exchanges experienced at the study sites. As a graduate student (MS) Lynda's research will focus on the role of refugia at these sites on population establishment of the biological control agents. She also looks forward to being up to her ears in plants, bugs, mud, and the outdoors. Trevor Sheffels
BS Biology, Whitworth University Trevor is a first year graduate student at Portland State pursuing an MEM degree in the ESR department. His project focuses on nutria (Myocastor coypus) management issues in the Pacific Northwest. His current research includes the assessment of nutria impacts on regional riparian restoration projects and the current distribution of nutria in the Pacific Northwest. Trevor has also assisted in organizing a nutria workshop with the purpose of coordinating regional nutria management efforts and moving toward a central management plan. Trevor's project is funded by United States Geological Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Clean Water Services. Whitney Temple
Whitney is a first year graduate student pursuing an MS degree in the ESR department. Her research plans are currently open, but her interests include constructed wetlands as a means of water treatment, the effects of wastewater contaminants on aquatic organisms, toxic algae bloom prevention, and bioremediation. Prior to coming to PSU, Whitney worked as a research and data analyst. Steven W. Wells
sww@pdx.edu B.S. Environmental Sciences-Biology • Marist College, NY Steve is a graduate student in the ESR department focusing on aquatic nuisance species. Time is divided between researching the life phenology of Potamogeton crispus, Curlyleaf Pondweed and expanding the Zebra Mussel Monitoring Network. Potamogeton crispus research addresses the formation and germination of vegetative structures called turions or stem apices in Blue Lake, Oregon. Steve is expanding the Zebra Mussel Monitoring Network through increased public outreach and education and recruiting new volunteers to deploy substrates. Recent GraduatesToni Pennington, PhD 
PhD: Portland State University • Environmental Sciences & Resources Toni is a former graduate student of PSU, successfully finishing her PhD work in 2007. She researched the biology of Egeria densa (Brazilian elodea) in California
and Oregon and she assessed seasonal plant growth, production
and nutrient allocation from plants collected from
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California. The
purpose of this research was to improve control of this highly invasive
species in the Delta and other Western waterways. This research was supported
by the Washington Department of Ecology, the California Bay-Delta Authority
(CALFED), the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation, and the USDA-APHIS
at UC Davis. |
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blissket@pdx.edu
