Camryn Bigelow

Camryn is a first year graduate student in the Piller lab. She graduated from Texas
A&M University at Galveston with her B.S. in Marine Biology. She will be working with
eDNA for the Maurepas biomonitoring project as a graduate research assistant. Her
thesis project is currently directed towards examining variation in invertebrate populations
along the salinity gradient and how this information contributes to a greater understanding
of how estuaries work overall.

Email: [email protected]

Emily Vanaselja

Emily is a first year graduate research assistant on the project. Her main role will
be to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to better understand the spatial and temporal variability
in the fish assemblage of Lake Maurepas. This comprehensive monitoring technique will
be used in conjunction with traditional sampling approaches that also will be used
on the project.                 

Email: [email protected]

Anthony Johnson

Anthony Johnson is a Master of Science student and Graduate Research Assistant at
Southeastern Louisiana University. He aims to integrate his background in natural
resource management with his passion for landscape ecology, herpetology, and conservation
biology to support the Lake Maurepas monitoring team. He will be assisting the team
both in the field and in the lab to gain a deeper understanding of the pre-carbon
capture conditions of the lake. While Anthony is involved in collecting biological
data on several taxa within Lake Maurepas, his primary focus is on gathering physiological
data from alligators and catfish.

Email: [email protected]

Maggie McGreal

Maggie McGreal is a graduate research assistant who will be involved in monitoring
wildlife in the lake through the collection and handling of physiological data, primarily
focusing on frogs and alligators. She will also be involved in investigating the demographics
of alligators through a large-scale mark-recapture program and will be working in
a collaborative team towards the development of satellite trackers to collect data
on alligator movement and space use patterns.

Email: [email protected]

Mario Campo

Mario Campo is a graduate research assistant in Dr. Gary Shaffer’s lab. He assists
with data collection, field work, and greenhouse upkeep. Campo is composing a new
version of the Sustainability map of the Maurepas/Manchac Wetlands. He is also assisting
with the growth of bald cypress and tupelo trees that will be used for mitigation
during this project.

Email: [email protected]

Taylor Parker

Taylor Parker is a graduate research assistant studying in Dr. Shaffer’s lab. He assists
with data collection and prepping field monitoring stations in the Maurepas swamp
and on Lake Maurepas. He is a greenhouse technician that is assisting in the management
of bald cypress and water tupelo trees that will be used for mitigation during this
project. His thesis will be measuring recent subsidence rates across the Maurepas
swamp.

Email: [email protected]

Thilini Gunawardhana

Thilini is a Graduate Assistant on the Chemistry team. She will assist in the examination
of water and sediment samples from Lake Maurepas weekly and analyze the samples for
their chemical properties. Her primary studies are directed toward the chemical migration
within the lake and the nearby wetlands.

Email: thilininimanthikagunawardhan.wickramaarachchigunawardhana@selu.edu

Md. Alinur Rahman

Md. Alinur is responsible for water and sediment sampling from Lake Maurepas, analyzing
the chemical properties of these samples, comparing the data with the dredge and non-dredge
sampling locations, and identifying the pollution sources and their distributions. 
                         

Email: [email protected]