Ph.D. Dissertations
2023
Joseph Benito, Biotechnology Science & Engineering, UAH, “Speleogenomics of cave life in North America”
Master’s Theses
2025
Jared P. Higgs, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Surveying subterranean biodiversity of the Tongass National Forest using traditional survey approaches and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding”
Bjorn V. Peterson, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Characterization and comparison of skin and exoskeleton microbiomes of stygobiotic fauna and the influence of environmental variables on microbiome diversity and composition”
2024
Emma Jordan, Biological Sciences, UAH, “An assessment of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in North Alabama with a focus on Ranavirus prevalence and urbanization”
Brendan Cramphorn, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Phylogeography, speciation, and cryptic diversity in the cave springtail Pseudosinella spinosa (Entomobryomorpha: Entomobryidae) from the Interior Low Plateau and Appalachian Valley & Ridge karst regions”
2023
Jackson Schoettle, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Seasonal vulnerability of snakes to road traffic at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge”
Jeremy Foster Sims, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Environmental factors influencing selection of cave entrances as nesting sites by the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)”
2022
Megan Carter, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Variation in diet between cave and surface populations of the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)”
2021
Tessa Costley, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Cave use of Tri-colored Bats (Perimyotis subflavus) pre- and post-arrival of White-nose Syndrome in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia”
Katherine E. Dooley, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Phylogenetics of cave crayfish in the genus Cambarus and using environmental DNA to detect populations of Cambarus jonesi and Cambarus speleocoopi”
Kayla Wilson, Biological Sciences, UAH, “The reproductive ecology of the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) in a cave in north Alabama”
2019
Spencer Boyd, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Development of an environmental DNA assay for detection and monitoring of the troglobitic crayfishes Cambarus speleocoopi and Cambarus laconensis”
Undergraduate Honors Theses
2025
Clay G. Bibby, Biological Sciences, UAH, “A baseline survey of meiofauna from the Paint Rock River, northern Alabama”
2023
Brock G. Busby, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Vessel strike prevention measures for marine animals and their effectiveness”
2022
Jared P. Higgs, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Effects of seasonal variation of abiotic factors on eDNA detection of two groundwater crayfish species”
2020
Summer Sparrow, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Using eDNA to detect and monitor Alabama Cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni)”
2019
Katherine E. Dooley, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Conservation genomics of Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus)”
Summer RCEU Projects
2024
Clay G. Bibby, Biological Sciences, UAH, “A baseline survey of meiofauna from the Paint Rock River, northern Alabama”
Ashlyn Wandstrat, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Generation and curation of a reference sequence database for groundwater organisms”
2021
Katherine Giltner, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Development and testing of an environmental DNA assay to detect and monitor the federally endangered Alabama Cavefish”
2019
Abigail Guillemette, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Assessing the status of subterranean biodiversity at Shelta Cave in Huntsville: traditional surveys and examining the persistence and efficacy of environmental DNA”
2018
Jennifer Nix, Biological Sciences, UAH, “Is out of sight, out of mind? The use of environmental DNA as a tool for the discovery and monitoring of rare groundwater organisms“