LAMER AQUATIC ECOLOGY LAB
Graduate Students
Cassidy Miles
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I am originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado. I grew up in a military family and have lived in many places. My honors biology class in high school sparked my passion for the environment and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in biological sciences. I attended Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville and graduated with my B.S. in Biology in 2013. My first job within the field of natural resources was as a field technician at the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Illinois River Biological Station in Havana, IL where I had briefly met Dr. Lamer for the first time. I then spent several years in the environmental consulting business before I realized I wanted to return to research in aquatic ecology and to pursue a master’s degree. From February 2018 to October 2018 I worked as a field technician for the INHS Great Rivers Field Station in Alton, IL where Dr. Lamer and I met again on a field trip to the Kibbe Life Science Station and subsequently applied for a position in his lab. I am currently in the middle of my second semester of graduate school at Western Illinois University. My project and thesis involves a gear evaluation and aquatic macroinvertebrate survey of the upper Mississippi river. I also have a passion for public outreach and communication. I am the public relations/outreach coordinator for the WIU subunit of the American Fisheries Society. In my free time I love hiking and playing roller derby!
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Maddie Tomczak
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I am from Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from the University of Toledo in May 2018. I received my B.S in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology. While attending Toledo, I worked as a technician for the Ohio DNR tracking the spawning of Grass Carp in a Lake Erie tributary. My honors thesis focused on the developmental stages of the Grass Carp eggs collected to describe and track the progression of development from spawning ground to river mouth. I am pursing a master’s degree in Biology at WIU working on the age, growth, and emergence of larval fishes in the Upper Mississippi River. I started in the fall of 2018 and I am currently in my third semester. In my free time I enjoy hiking, camping, skiing, and snorkeling.
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Current students
Jehnsen Lebsock
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I am from Lincoln, Nebraska and graduated with a B.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in December 2017 with a major of Fisheries and Wildlife. During my tenure at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln I held a Temporary Lab Technician position with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. At this position I was responsible for various water sampling in lakes, rivers, and streams across Nebraska. We also conducted fish and macro-invertebrate surveys by sampling those same rivers and streams to assess their condition. My research through Western Illinois University under Dr. Lamer will focus on the use of acoustic telemetry to identify movement and habitat preferences of Asian carp in the Upper Illinois River waterway. Growing up I have always enjoyed hunting and fishing with friends and family and that is what has encouraged me to pursue a degree and employment in this field.
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Tyler Thomsen
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I am from Thurston, Nebraska and I graduated from Emporia State University with a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Biodiversity in May of 2017. While attending Emporia State University I worked at the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism as an environmental technician. This allowed me to travel all around the state conducting zebra mussel detection surveys, gathering samples for disease testing, and performing vegetation mapping in different Kansas impoundments. I began my Master’s degree in Biology in the Spring of 2018. Working under Dr. Lamer, I will be conducting research on the abundance of larval Asian carp in the Mississippi River utilizing light traps and trawling. In my free time, I enjoy fishing for catfish, hunting and, watching the Chicago Bears.
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Ollie Mendenhall
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I am originally from Rochester, Missouri and I graduated from Missouri Western State University with a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management in 2014. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I started working for the Missouri Department of Conservation on the Missouri River. I worked several projects such as: Pallid Sturgeon Assessment Project, assessed fish community in chutes, and a herpetological study of wetlands. After that, I worked for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service as a technician. At FWS I worked on Asian carp monitoring for the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. I currently work for Illinois River Biological Station in Havana, IL as the Emiquon Project Coordinator where I conduct fish and aquatic vegetation monitoring. My graduate research will focus on herpetofauna at Emiquon and Merwin Preserves.
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Co-advised with Dr. Andy Casper (Shedd Aquarium)
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Chelsea Center
I am from Normal, Illinois and graduated in May 2017 from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and an emphasis in Marine and Freshwater Aquatic Biology. I worked for the Illinois Natural History Survey the summer of 2015 interning as a Fisheries Field Technician with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where I traveled central Illinois doing stream surveys. In addition, I studied abroad in Australia for two semesters in 2016. In pursuit of my M.S. in Biology, I joined Dr. Lamer’s lab in June 2017 where I will be using GPS satellite transmitters to track the movement of Asian carp in the Upper Illinois River. I am a certified SCUBA diver and enjoy underwater photography.
Ashley Stanley
My name is Ashley Stanley and I’m from Danvers, Illinois. I received my bachelor’s degree at Eastern Illinois University in Biology. At EIU I was introduced to fisheries through ichthyology and fisheries management classes with Dr. Colombo. My junior year I took an internship with the Illinois Natural History Survey in Kaskaskia and helped with creel work and regular field sampling for the first time. My senior year I did an independent study cutting and aging silver carp cleithra, sorting larval fish and cutting channel catfish spines. After I graduated I worked as a technician with the Illinois River Biological Station in Havana. After witnessing all the great opportunities that come from having a graduate degree I made the decision to apply to Western Illinois University. This summer at WIU I will be looking at ontogenetic shifts in diets of blue catfish using species specific stable isotope signatures. I will be using hoop nets, and trotlines to target blue catfish. I will utilize fishing tournaments to obtain tissue samples as well.
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