EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
- Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting (VNLC): Staff Ecologist, 2023 – present
- University of California, Santa Cruz: Teaching Assistant, 2023
EDUCATION
B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2023
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Coyote Ridge Pond Surveys (Sant Clara County, CA)
Survey Assistant (2023 – Present)
Assisted in multiple rounds of visual encounter surveys for California red legged frogs and California tiger salamanders. Additional night spotlight surveys were conducted for the frog species at the site. In addition, many other species of reptiles were found including the rare western black-headed snake.
Santa Cruz Long Toed Salamander Monitoring (Monterey County, CA)
Survey Assistant (2023)
Assisted in seining and dipnetting surveys for federally endangered Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders. During sampling, invertebrates were identified and cataloged, and abiotic features of pools such as temperature and salinity were measured. Additional terrestrial reptiles such as red-sided garter snakes were found and tissue samples were collected.
UCSC Herpetology Teaching Assistant (Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, San Mateo County, San Bernadino County, CA)
Teaching Assistant (2023)
Assisted in the teaching of the 2023 UCSC Herpetology class. His roles included teaching every class lab, administering exams, and guiding seven field trips across the state. This included weekly lab lectures in which every California reptile and amphibian’s ecology and biology were presented to the class. During the field trip portions, field survey techniques were utilized and taught to the students. The final field trip for the course was a four-day trip to the Mojave National Preserve, where visual encounter, road driving, and night spotlighting surveys were extensively utilized and taught to students.
Black Salamander Genetic Studies (Lake County, Mendocino County, CA)
Research Assistant (2023)
Assisted in UCSC Lecturer Sean Reiley’s research of black salamanders across their range. Black salamanders have large morphological/patterning differences in different counties. The purpose of the study was to get genetic samples of morphologically different individuals to see how genetically divergent individuals are within the species. Multiple rounds of field surveys in Lake and Mendocino counties were undertaken with tissue samples collected. In the lab, these tissue samples were prepared to be sequenced by a third party.