Katrina Cook

Katrina CookKatrina Cook joined the Chalfoun lab in the fall of 2019. She pursued 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 five years she worked multiple field technician jobs working with reptiles and amphibians across six 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.


Professional 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.


Projects