Kimberly Lellis

Natural Resources Science
vita

Kim’s research interests include the herbivory and use of Phragmites australis versus Spartina alterniflora habitat by aquatic nekton in Rhode Island’s wetlands. Kim’s participation in the URI Coastal Institute IGERT Project will allow her to bridge her background in coastal science and policy while contributing to the growing body of knowledge that provides natural resource managers with information to justify habitat restoration decisions. Kim earned a M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island (2004), and also holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Gettysburg College (2002). Her Masters thesis research examined the implications of global warming for fisheries management in the Arctic waters off Alaska, which was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Kim joined Dr. Laura Meyerson’s laboratory in 2007 after working for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she worked on a variety of marine resource management issues such as the nationwide economic importance of estuarine habitat to fish and shellfish species, the use of Living Shorelines to stabilize the coast in lieu of hardened structures, and the environmental impacts associated with coastal development. In addition to the ocean and coastal policy experience Kim gained at NOAA, she also has several years of scientific research experience in the field. She interned and worked for the United States Geological Survey as a research SCUBA diver and stream ecologist, focusing on the status, trends, and distribution of endangered freshwater mussels in rivers along the east coast of North America. In addition to her work with the USGS, Kim was granted an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates fellowship through the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. During the REU fellowship Kim was stationed at the Toolik Lake Field Station in Alaska, where she assisted scientists studying the potential effects of climate change on stream ecosystems.