Lab Members
|
Amanda Subalusky, PhD
|
|
Chris Dutton, PhD
|
Audrey Goeckner, PhD
|
Audrey joined the Subalusky Lab as a postdoc in August 2025. She is a freshwater ecologist with expertise in ecosystem ecology, nutrient and carbon biogeochemistry, and microbial ecology. She earned her PhD in Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences from the University of Florida in 2024, where her research focused on stormwater ponds and their effects on receiving streams. Overall, Audrey’s work examines how ecosystems respond to hydrologic stress, urbanization, and ecosystem management or modification (e.g., stormwater infrastructure, groundwater withdrawals, dams), with emphasis on dynamic interfaces such as freshwater confluences, terrestrial-aquatic transitions, and sites of stormwater or wastewater discharge. In the Subalusky lab, Audrey applies these concepts to isolated wetlands in north central Florida and dams and streams in South Africa.
|
Lee (Emily) Nonnamaker, PhD
|
Lee (Emily) Nonnamaker joined the lab in 2024 as a NSF funded postdoctoral researcher. They specialize in the connections between microbiomes and animal behavior. They began their career as an ecologist and animal behaviorist at Tulane University, where they earned their undergraduate and 4+1 masters degrees in 2016 and 2017, respectively. After graduation, they spent a year in the Mara, Kenya working as a research assistant with the Hyena Project, ran by Dr. Kay Holekamp at Michigan State University. Hyena camp and “Maji” camp, run by Drs. Subalusky and Dutton, are neighbors in the Mara, and Lee first met Chris and Amanda during this time. Amanda and Chris helped Lee apply for PhD programs, and in 2024 Lee earned their PhD from The Department of Biology at The University of Notre Dame. Their thesis work focused on the role of the vaginal microbiome in producing odors that may be used to communicate reproductive state in Yellow and Olive Baboons. They collected data for this project from wild animals in Amboseli, Kenya with the Amboseli Baboon Research Project, as well as captive females in Rousset, France at the CNRS SdP. In France, Lee learned how to train animals using positive reinforcement techniques. While finishing their PhD, they chose to apply for an NSF grant in order to work with Amanda and Chris. Now, Lee is bringing an animal behavior perspective to the Dutton lab, studying hippo social behavior and gut microbiomes, back in the Mara, Kenya. They are keen to collaborate with other hippo people.
|
Joshua Benjamin
|
Joshua is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biology, pursuing a degree in Zoology. He holds a MSc degree in Limnology and Wetland Management from BOKU University and IHE-Delft and a BSc degree in Environmental Science from Karatina University, Kenya. His current research work focuses on assessing how Anthropogenic Activities and Land Use Change Influence Aquatic Biodiversity and Trace Element Distribution in the Mara River Basin.
Research Interests: Macroinvertebrate taxonomy and ecology, fish ecology, community ecology, trace element pollution, and aquatic food web ecology |
Amber Miller
|
Amber is a Zoology PhD student at the University of Florida. She received her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Northern Kentucky University where she studied tick and mosquito ecology in the Northern Kentucky area. After graduating, she became a zookeeper of African animals at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and educated the public on the importance of coexisting with wildlife. Amber is interested in exploring the impacts of urbanization on American alligator ecology in Florida.
|
Susannah Lohmann
|
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Florida in Zoology. I am studying crawdads (aka crayfish, crawfish, mudbugs, yabbies, and other names!) to learn about the effects of predation threat on animal growth, behavior, diet, morphology, excretion and egestion, and the subsequent impact on ecosystem function. I got my bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in marine science at William & Mary, then spent several years working at children’s science/nature camps and as a medical lab technician before starting at UF. My research interests include the ecology of fear, phenotypic plasticity, ecological stoichiometry, ecosystem engineering, and animal behavior.
|
Hervé Jr. Pierre-Paul
|
My name is Hervé jr. Pierre-Paul and I graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in Zoology in 2024. My research interests revolve around wildlife ecology and conservation with a focus on how the presence of animals affect both biotic and abiotic ecosystem processes. My current research is on Galápagos tortoise usage of freshwater ponds on Santa Cruz Island with the objectives being: understanding what drives the usage of these ponds and understanding how tortoise movement in and out of ponds affects the surrounding environment. When I’m not in the lab or out in the field, I like to play video games and make videos. Additionally, I've been learning how to do pixel art. In the future, I'd like to continue pursuing higher education and work as a lab manager and eventually a professor on projects and systems I find interesting.
|
