People

 

Matthew A. Barnes, Principal Investigator

As a child, Dr. Barnes enjoyed flipping over rocks to catch bugs in the creeks of his hometown in Plano, Texas. He later discovered a more scholarly approach to aquatic ecology and studying human interactions with their environment as an undergraduate at Southwestern University, earning a B.A. in biology with a minor in sociology. Barnes earned his PhD from The University of Notre Dame, then he returned to Texas in 2014 to begin a position within The Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University. Now an Associate Professor at Texas Tech, Barnes' research program focuses on the ecology of environmental DNA (eDNA) and eDNA applications to improve fundamental ecological understanding about the distribution and dispersal of species, primarily in freshwater ecosystems. 

Dr. Barnes is a member of the Teaching Academy and enjoys sharing his research with students in the classroom, and his recently taught courses include Introduction to Freshwater Ecology, Quantitative Methods in Natural Resources Management, and Natural Resources Policy for both undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Barnes is a TrUE Faculty Fellow and welcomes enthusiastic undergradaute and graduate student to contact him about research opportunities.

Students

Hayden Hays

Dissertation title: The island biogeography of ephemeral waters

Maddie Knauss

Dissertation title: Monitoring mesoamerican reef species using environmental DNA

Kaitlin Plate

Thesis title: Environmental influences on zebra mussel eDNA dispersal and particle size distribution in a reservoir

Sadie Roth

Thesis title: The impact of water management practices on reproduction and disease in Sonoran Desert anurans

Ashley Whitehead

Thesis title: Downstream transport of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) environmental DNA

 

View eDNA Ecology Lab Alumni on the Academic Family Tree