Ashleigh + fish = happiness
Ashleigh Pilkerton
PhD Student, co-advised with Annika Walters
BS Biology and Bioinformatics, Pacific University
Monitoring water quality and understanding factors that are stressors to aquatic life is essential for bridging the gap between science and management decisions. Ashleigh’s research addresses multiple aspects of water quality in the Western US. First, she is working to better inform our understanding of the relationships between sediment and fisheries through synthesizing the current state of knowledge of sediment effects on fisheries, evaluating metrics and approaches for assessing sediment levels in rivers and compiling current best management practices for managing sediment behind dams. More recently, she is developing projects related to harmful cyanobacterial blooms in Wyoming reservoirs.
Ashleigh received Bachelor of Science degrees in Bioinformatics and Biology from Pacific University, Oregon. During her undergraduate years, Ashleigh conducted computational chemistry research and taught computer science to 7th and 8th grade girls. Her subsequent experiences in marine and estuarine ecology shaped her current interest in water quality research and the long term implications of anthropogenic disturbances on aquatic ecosystems. Before joining the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit as a graduate student, Ashleigh conducted field and laboratory research in aquatic ecosystems studying plankton communities and harmful algal blooms, juvenile sea star growth rates, long term trends in estuaries and eelgrass beds, and was actively involved in science communication and education.
Ashleigh is an avid outdoors woman and particularly enjoys any activity that requires her hiking boots and exploring the natural environment. She plays classical and jazz trumpet and enjoys reading travel biographies and venturing to new places
PhD Student, co-advised with Annika Walters
BS Biology and Bioinformatics, Pacific University
Monitoring water quality and understanding factors that are stressors to aquatic life is essential for bridging the gap between science and management decisions. Ashleigh’s research addresses multiple aspects of water quality in the Western US. First, she is working to better inform our understanding of the relationships between sediment and fisheries through synthesizing the current state of knowledge of sediment effects on fisheries, evaluating metrics and approaches for assessing sediment levels in rivers and compiling current best management practices for managing sediment behind dams. More recently, she is developing projects related to harmful cyanobacterial blooms in Wyoming reservoirs.
Ashleigh received Bachelor of Science degrees in Bioinformatics and Biology from Pacific University, Oregon. During her undergraduate years, Ashleigh conducted computational chemistry research and taught computer science to 7th and 8th grade girls. Her subsequent experiences in marine and estuarine ecology shaped her current interest in water quality research and the long term implications of anthropogenic disturbances on aquatic ecosystems. Before joining the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit as a graduate student, Ashleigh conducted field and laboratory research in aquatic ecosystems studying plankton communities and harmful algal blooms, juvenile sea star growth rates, long term trends in estuaries and eelgrass beds, and was actively involved in science communication and education.
Ashleigh is an avid outdoors woman and particularly enjoys any activity that requires her hiking boots and exploring the natural environment. She plays classical and jazz trumpet and enjoys reading travel biographies and venturing to new places