Division of Biological Sciences
226 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
email: kmr625<at>mail.missouri.edu
Research Interests
After spending a year working toward a degree in Chemistry to attend medical school, I switched my path to pursue a career in ecology and conservation biology. I am currently a senior pursuing a B.S. in Biological Sciences and will graduate in December 2013. Then I plan to continue with research and attend graduate school for a degree in Biology. My professional goal is to find a position working for the conservation of endangered species. My interests are in molecular ecology, social behavior of vertebrates, management of endangered species, and education outreach.
I was able to join the Eggert lab in the Fall of 2012 and have been working with Grant Connette. I have learned a lot about conservation genetics and really enjoy working with everyone in the lab. My research project looks at gene flow and habitat structure in a terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani. We hypothesized that fine-scale topographic features, such as slopes and streams, would influence patterns of genetic relatedness across a landscape for these movement-limited salamanders.