Texas A&M University
B.S. Fisheries Sciences
2021
Arctic warming is accelerating permafrost thaw, driving changes in hydrologic linkages between groundwater and immobile heavy metals. One striking consequence is the phenomenon of "rusting rivers," observed across the Brooks Range, where mineral and metal inputs visibly discolor previously pristine waterways. In the far western Brooks Range, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game has conducted annual biomonitoring for the Red Dog Mine, creating a valuable multi-decade archive of biological data from the Wulik River drainage. My project leverages this historical data to assess shifts in biological communities over time in response to both longstanding and newly emerging rusting rivers. Additionally, my work investigates fine-scale movements of juvenile and resident Dolly Varden within the Wulik River drainage, particularly in relation to rusting seeps.
Habitat Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Fairbanks
Lauren earned her B.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences with an emphasis on Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences from Texas A&M University. She worked on a variety of fish ecology projects as a field and lab student technician while working in the Riverscape Ecology Lab at TAMU and conducted an undergraduate research project on integrating stream ecosystem theories into spatial modeling of fish richness and assemblage structure. Lauren worked for the Alaska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Â鶹¹ÙÍø Unit at UAF in 2021 as a field technician which was the turning point for her move to Fairbanks.