Katrina Cook joined the Chalfoun lab in the fall of 2019. She is pursuing her master’s degree with research focused on habitat selection and quality of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in the Snowy Mountains of Wyoming. Katrina received her B.S. in Wildlife Conservation at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA in 2014. During the following 5 years she worked multiple field technician jobs working with reptiles and amphibians across 6 different states, including Wyoming. She has worked with sea turtles, amphibians, and gopher tortoises in Georgia, dunes sagebrush lizards in Texas, invasive reptiles in southern Florida, to statewide amphibian and reptile surveys in Wyoming for the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Additionally she has 1.5 years of lab experience working for Dr. Lusha Tronstad at the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database at the University of Wyoming working with aquatic invertebrates on a long-term study assessing the effects of the introduced lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) on lower trophic levels (benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, and phytoplankton) in Yellowstone Lake at Yellowstone National Park. Some of Katrina’s research interests include food web dynamics, aquatic ecosystems, entomology, and herpetology.
Download CVProfessional Preparation and Appointments
Education
2014 B.S., Wildlife Conservation, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA
Work Experience
2019 Butterfly Survey Technician, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD), University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
2019 Amphibian Project Coordinator, WYNDD, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
2016-2019 (winters) Invertebrate Zoologist Assistant, WYNDD, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
2016-2018 (summers) Herpetology Field Technician, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Laramie, WY
2015-2016 Research Technician, Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC
2015 Herpetology Research AmeriCorps Member, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island, GA
2014-2015 Biological Intern, University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research & Education Center, Davie, FL
2014 Field Technician, Texas A&M University, Andrews, TX
2013 Sea Turtle Intern, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island, GA
Publications
B. Rivera, K. A. Cook, K. Andrews, M. S. Atkinson, and A. E. Savage. 2018. “Pathogen infection dynamics
differ in an invasive island-dwelling frog compared to native species.” EcoHealth.
Technical Reports
W.A. Estes-Zumpf, W. Baer, K. Cook, and S. Loose. 2018. Habitat Use and Movements of Western (Boreal)
Toads in Ryan Park, Wyoming. Wyoming Game and Fish Department Project Report.