Lara Katz holds up bridle shiners caught during a river seine net survey

Lara became interested in monitoring rare species as she researched Acadia’s bat community using acoustics and radio-telemetry. Her interests in rare species monitoring and geographic information systems led her to return to the University of Maine to pursue her Master’s degree. Her thesis research focuses on locating remnant populations of the bridle shiner, a rare native minnow, in southern and western Maine. She is using a combination of seine netting and eDNA sampling to locate the fish. Lara is also developing a predictive habitat model to help inform future surveys, long-term monitoring, and conservation actions. Her research is supported by, and in collaboration with, the USGS, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.