Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Current Members

Walt Sadinski studied effects of acidic precipitation on assemblages of amphibians that breed in temporary ponds for his Ph.D. research (Ecology, Penn State University, 1991). Since 1992, he has studied the impacts of various environmental factors on amphibians, including toxicants, climate, UVB radiation, disease, and predation. During that time he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and at the University of California, San Francisco, a Supervisory Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a Senior Project Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Walt joined the U.S. Geological Survey as a Research Ecologist in January 2002. His current principal responsibilities at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center are to implement and execute the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) in the Midwest Region of ARMI.

Mark Roth studied seasonal movements of American alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis) and the characteristics of their habitat while earning a M.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Arkansas–Monticello (2003). Before graduate school, Mark worked as a technician for the U. S. Forest Service and as a fisheries biologist on fishing vessels in Alaska. He received a B.S. in Wildlife Management, Biology, Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1998. Mark has been working for ARMI in this region since 2002.

Past Members

Sam Bourassa worked as a biotechnician at the Upper Mississippi Environmental Sciences Center beginning in 2000, primarily on studies of amphibians, such as the Amphibian Farm Pond Project. He joinied the ARMI team in 2002 and was a critical member through the field season of 2004.

Tyler Fanta (2002), Leah Meier (2002-2004), Devin Bloom (2003), Dawn Miracle (2003), Jeremiah Yahn (2003, 2004), Elli Ladwig (2004), and Louisa Dubinski (2004) worked hard for ARMI during their summer breaks from college or as recent graduates.  They worked as members of field crews and as technicians in the laboratory.