Research Technichian

Mercedes is the research technichian for the Bumpers and Wenger labs in Odum.  Mercedes earned a B.S. in Fisheries Management from BYU-Idaho and a M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University. Her research with the USGS South Dakota Coop Unit focused on the aquatic attributes of Prairie Pothole wetlands, where she developed a wetland condition index and environmental metric framework for long-term monitoring. Her research interests include aquatic ecology, fish and macroinvertebrate population dynamics, water and habitat restoration assessments, and developing biomonitoring and rapid assessment tools. 

PhD Student, co-adivsed by Dr. Seth Wenger

Emily is studying freshwater fish and invertebrate ecology and conservation in the Upper Coosa River basin. Emily graduated from UMass Amherst with a B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation. She previously worked in the Wenger Lab as a Research Technician assisting with freshwater fish surveys, and as a master's student researching the habitat use of the Etowah Bridled Darter. Emily is also a Pathways Intern with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's New Mexico Ecological Services Office. 

MS Student, co-advised by Dr. Seth Wenger

Alivia received her B.S. in environmental science from the University of Central Arkansas in December 2024. She worked with the NPS Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network for a year studying spatiotemporal changes in aquatic communities and worked at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science for five months as an aquatics technician before coming to UGA. Alivia's research interests include stream ecology, ecohydrology, and the conservation of non-game aquatic species in the Southeastern United States. Her work at UGA will focus on the Amber Darter, a species listed as endangered under the ESA.