Center For Lakes and Reservoirs - Students

Leslie Bliss-Ketchum

blissket@pdx.edu
Ph: 503-481-6753

Ph.D. • Environmental Science & Management Program • School of the Environment • Portland State
University

BS in Environmental Sciences • Minor in Biology • Cum Laude • Portland State University

Leslie is working toward her Ph.D. in the School of the Environment. She began her graduate research
with a broad interest in urban and road ecology and has since found a passion for discovering and
enhancing wildlife linkages, particularly in urban habitats. Research she has conducted includes examining
wildlife under-road crossings, road avoidance behavior and wildlife response to artificial light. Leslie is
currently serving as President Elect of the Oregon Chapter of The Wildlife Society and is active on the
conservation affairs committee for the state chapter as well as the sustainability sub-committee for
national. During her graduate and undergraduate career Leslie has participated in several internships with
organizations and agencies such as Americorps, the city of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
and the city of Hillsboro as well as maintaining positions in student run clubs such as Senior Director of
the Student Water Resources Group and Co-President of the Environmental Science and Management
Graduate Student Association.

Rich Miller

richm@pdx.edu
Ph: 503.725.9075

BS:Humboldt State University • Aquatic Systems Analysis

Rich Miller is a research assistant for the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs. Rich’s technical expertise lies in water quality monitoring, invasive species surveys, bathymetric and aquatic plant mapping, and data management. His research interests include nutrient loading, food web ecology, harmful algal blooms, and aquatic invasive plants. He has
contributed to many projects including the ecological monitoring of Diamond Lake and Waldo Lake, Oregon. He recently helped develop the on-line Atlas of Oregon Lakes and is working on a volunteer lake monitoring pilot project. In addition to
his duties as a technician, Rich is pursuing a MS degree with a thesis project focused on modeling the distributions of aquatic macrophytes within lakes.

Trevor Sheffels

sheffels@pdx.edu
Ph: 503.725.9076
Fax: 503.725.3834

MEM, Environmental Management, Portland State University
BS Biology, Whitworth University

Trevor completed his MEM at Portland State University in December 2007.  His project focused on developing regional management strategies for the nutria (Myocastor coypus), an invasive semi-aquatic rodent native to South America.  Products from his work included a two-day national nutria management workshop and an assessment “Report on Nutria Management and Research in the Pacific Northwest.”  Trevor is now in the PhD program and continues to focus his research on regional nutria issues.  Research questions focus on differences between urban and non-urban nutria populations, habitat and movement modeling, and environmental impacts.  He is also a member of the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Nutria Working Group, which is charged with developing a national nutria management plan.  Trevor’s research is funded primarily by the United States Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Recent Graduates

Lynda Moore, MS

lkmoore@pdx.edu
Ph: 503.725.9076
Fax; 503.725.3834

MS: Portland State University • Environmental Science & Management
BS: Oregon State University • Botany

Lynda successfully defended her MS Thesis, entitled "Biological control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria): Factors affecting Galerucella pusilla and Galerucella calmariensis in tidal areas", in December 2009. As a Research Assistant with the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs at Portland State University, Lynda studies a variety of invasive species issues involving both animals and plants. Current projects include a freshwater aquatic plant risk assessment and a Micronesia Biosecurity Plan related to the U. S. Military build-up on Guam. This work facilitates three of Lynda's favorite things: 1) learning, 2) traveling, and 3) being out of doors.

Toni Pennington, PhD

PhD: Portland State University • Environmental Sciences & Resources
MS: Texas State University at San Marcos • Aquatic Biology
BS: Fort Lewis College • Environmental Biology

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.

Tim Davidson, PhD

tid@pdx.edu
Ph: 503.725.9076
Fax: 503.725.3834

PhD: Portland State University • Environmental Sciences & Resources
MS: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon • Biology
BS: Oregon State University • Environmental Sciences

Tim is a recent graduate from Portland State University. 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 currently in Panama where he is doing a post doc and surfing.