THE ALLEN LAB at The Pennsylvania State University

Megan is a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (DGES) at the University of Oklahoma, and is advised by Dr. Tom Neeson. Megan received her BA in Biology from Kalamazoo College and her MS in Biology from Central Michigan University. She is broadly interested in understanding the structure and function of stream ecosystems. Her dissertation research at OU is focusing on the spatial modeling component of the StreamCLIMES project, which aims to understand how large scale variation in stream drying affects ecosystems.

Alice joined the lab in 2021, and is a master’s student in the Wildlife and Fisheries Science program in the Department of Ecosystem Management at Penn State. She graduated with a BS in Environmental Science from Stockton University, where she was a member of the Stoler lab. Her previous research focused on how climate change and anthropogenic pollutants, such as microplastics and pesticides, affect freshwater organisms. She is broadly interested in aquatic ecology and genetics, and is excited to learn more about stream communities. In the Allen Lab, her thesis research will focus on DNA metabarcoding of benthic macroinvertebrates in intermittent streams under the AIMS project.

Kierstyn joined the lab in 2022 as a PhD student in the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Penn State. She received her BS in Environmental Science from The State University of New York at Plattsburgh and her MS in Environmental Biology from Hood College. As a master's student, her research focused on the recent invasion of the rusty crayfish in the Monocacy River and its potential impacts on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. She is interested in the changes that the biological health of streams will endure in the age of climate change. Her research at Penn State will concentrate on the effects of drying on benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in streams across the southern US under the StreamCLIMES project.