The 2024 Research in the Rotunda featured 16 Freshwater Collaborative-funded research projects. Students shared more about their experience.
Student: Carly Phalen
University: UW-Madison
Major: Wildlife Ecology with a certificate in Environmental Studies
Expected graduation date: December 2024
Mentor: Dan Isermann, UW-Stevens Point
Summarize the research and your role.
My role as an intern was to assist on a diverse array of graduate projects, including trout sampling in streams, conducting bass nest surveys, setting drift net arrays for sturgeon, and much more.
What skills have you gained?
Through this experience, I have acquired many skills, including electrofishing, eDNA sampling, otolith removal, drift and trawl net sampling, PIT tagging, and data analysis.
What was your favorite part of this project?
My favorite part of this experience was electrofishing for brook trout in spring ponds. These sampling sites were gorgeous, with crystal clear waters, and I enjoyed being hands on with such a beautiful fish species.
What are some of the opportunities you’ve had because of this research?
Through this experience, I was able to assist in an event at Kemp Station in which we gave kids a hands-on learning experience focused on engaging them in fisheries.
What are your plans after graduate?
After graduation, I hope to have a conservation-based career. I’m hoping to have a career conserving reptiles and amphibians.
This experience gave me many new skills necessary for a career in wildlife ecology, including a season conducting field research and data analysis. I believe these will be especially useful for my future, since I am planning on going to graduate school.