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Bried Lab
wetlands | odonates | insect conservation | applied plant ecology | community ecology
L to R: Nathan Solano, Rohini Vembar, Jason Bried, Matt Finzel, Aiden Garrett, Uriah Elliott
June 2023
Current Members
Ayla Skorupa
Dr. Skorupa is a malacologist and INHS postdoc analyzing aquatic invertebrate vulnerabilities to Midwest climate change, supported by the USGS Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Weiqing Qu
Weiqing is a Ph.D. student in PEEC assessing the resilience of wetland biodiversity to Midwest climate change, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Emmy Medina Espinoza
Emmy is a Ph.D. student in PEEC exploring the endemism of odonates and cockroaches in the Andean-Amazon region, supported by the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship program.
Aidan Garrett
Aidan is an M.S. student in Entomology studying bumblebee survey methods focusing on surrogate detection of the endangered rusty-patched bumblebee, supported by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Matthew Finzel
Matt is an M.S. student in NRES evaluating taxonomic surrogates in wetland floristic quality assessments, supported by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Former Members
Rohini Vembar, M.S. Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois (2022-24, co-advised w/ S. Jog)
Rohini used her background in environmental management and consulting to develop new wetland assessment and prioritization tools for Illinois and the greater Midwest. She now works for an environmental consulting firm near Baltimore.
Suhani Peramanu, B.S. Integrative Biology, University of Illinois (2023-24)
Suhani worked on a pond metacommunity study. She earned research credit hours and presented a poster in in an undergraduate research symposium. She also served as a summer field technician on our dragonfly and bumblebee projects.
Ella Huller, B.S. Integrative Biology, University of Illinois (2023-24)
Ella worked on a pond metacommunity study and rusty-patched bumblebee analysis. She earned research credit hours and presented a poster in an undergraduate research symposium.
Uriah Elliott and Nathan Solano, Summer Research Opportunities Program, University of Illinois (2023)
Uriah began a pond metacommunity study and Nathan worked on a nature preserve ranking for pollinators. They presented posters at the Illinois Summer Research Symposium.
Wade Boys, M.S. Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas (2017-19)
Wade conducted extensive field surveys and niche modelling for two rare stream dragonflies endemic to the Ozark-Ouachita mountain region. He summarized this work in Insect Conservation and Diversity. Wade is now a PhD student studying the role of phenotypic plasticity in shaping species distributions.
Tommi Fouts, M.S. Natural Sciences, Northeastern State University (2016-19, co-advised w/ S. Jog)
Tommi explored the wetland plant communities of Oklahoma, broadly asking whether floristic quality indicator species may exist for wetlands. She led field surveys, plant identifications, and the analyses that appear in Wetlands and Conservation Science and Practice. Tommi now works as a Public Health Specialist for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Martin Jeanmougin, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (2018)
Martin analyzed large wetland biodiversity datasets from Alberta, Canada. He works at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris and helps coordinate the DRAGON project.
Stacey Murray, B.S. Environmental Health and Safety Management, Northeastern State University (2016-17)
Stacey used an outdoor mesocosm experiment to study interactions of vegetation structure and dragonfly emergence. She presented for an undergrad research symposium and published in the International Journal of Odonatology. Stacey went on to become an environmental health and safety intern, supervisor, and (now) manager at Webco Industries.
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