
PI
Dr. Trisha Atwood is an Associate Professor at Utah State University & is a National Academies of Sciences Gulf Research Early Career Fellow
email: trisha.atwood(at)usu.edu
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Jaron Adkins Jaron is an ecosystem ecologist focused on the links between soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions. Jaron received his B.S. from Boise State University, where he researched how plant-soil interactions influence carbon sequestration under biofuel crops. Jaron completed his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, where he studied the effects of wildfire on soil carbon cycling and microbial community structure in California mixed-conifer forests. |
Current Graduate Students
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Adrián González Ortiz Adrián is an MSc student studying marine fisheries and nutrient cycling, emphasizing the amounts of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous being removed from marine food webs due to global fisheries. Adrián received his B.S. from the University of Michigan where he worked with the US Geological Survey studying the relationship between ecosystem health and juvenile fish diets in the Great Lakes. Emily Chavez
Emily is a MSc student studying the impacts herbivory has on plant traits and greenhouse gas fluxes in the Yukon-Kuskowim Delta, Alaska. Emily graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Natural Resource Management and a minor in Watershed Science. Pior to coming to USU, Emily was a Habitat Biologist with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. |
Lab Staff |
Dr. Ryan Choi Ryan is the Project Manager for the Arctic Carbon Cycling Project in the Y-K Delta. Ryan received his B.A. Biology from Whitman College and M.S. and Ph.D. in Ecology from Utah State University. His dissertation research focused on how shifts in the seasonal timing of plants and migratory herbivores affect biogeochemical cycling and sub-arctic plant communities. |
Alumni

Dr. John Draper (PhD)
At USU, John studied the effects of coyotes on plant seed dispersal and landscape-level carbon storage

MAYA PENDLETON (MSc) At USU, Maya studied ecosystem services and functions of wetlands on the Great Salt Lake.

JOSH EPPERLY (MSc) Josh studied the effects of river flow on aquatic communities and ecosystem functioning in Diamond Fork River/Sixth Water Creek

SUSAN WASHKO (MSc) At USU, Susan studied the effects of beavers on stream macroinvertebrates and fish communities.

SHALEY VALENTINE (MSc) Shaley's research focused on global extinction risk of species based on trophic level and diet.
Current & Past Undergraduate Research Assistants

SAM SEDGWICK

DYLAN ANDERSON

BRYCE BOLLINGER

Interested in joining the Atwood Aquatic Ecology & Global Change Lab?
Students wishing to join the lab should email Trisha with a CV (please include GRE scores and GPA) and a brief personal statement about which ecosystems and research questions you are interested in.
Students wishing to join the lab should email Trisha with a CV (please include GRE scores and GPA) and a brief personal statement about which ecosystems and research questions you are interested in.