Meryl Storb
Biography
While completing my B.S. at the University of Montana I worked as a research assistant for a groundwater modeling project related to the Milltown Dam Removal. I also worked as Environmental Health Technician for the Missoula City County Department of Water Quality working on monitoring and communicating impacts of the Milltown dam removal to residents.
After completing my B.S. I worked as a hydrogeologist for a series of environmental consulting firms in Missoula. In 2014 I moved to Bozeman to pursue a Ph.D. related to hydrology at Montana State University. My dissertation research is focused on understanding impacts from climate change and development on alpine stream ecosystems.
B.S. in Environmental Geology from the University of Montana, 2008
In progress: Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Science – working in the Watershed Hydrology Lab at Montana State University
Science and Products
Weed-suppressive bacteria effects differ in culture compared to in soils and with or without microbial competition and separation of active ingredient
Weed-suppressive bacteria (WSB), specifically the D7 and ACK55 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were previously reported to selectively inhibit growth of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) that have caused severe ecosystem degradation across much of the western US. However, recent studies show highly mixed evidence for WSB effectiveness in...
Lazarus, Brynne E.; Feris, Kevin; Germino, MatthewComplexity of groundwater age mixing near a seawater intrusion zone based on multiple tracers and Bayesian inference
Aquifer flow systems near seawater interfaces can be complicated by density-driven flows and the formation of stagnation zones, which inevitably introduces uncertainty into groundwater age-dating. While age-dating has proved effective to understand the seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization process in coastal aquifers, further efforts are...
Ju, YeoJin; Massoudieh, Arash; Green, Christopher; Lee, Kang-Kun; Kaown, DuginQuantifying model structural uncertainty using airborne electromagnetic data
The ability to quantify structural uncertainty in geological models that incorporate geophysical data is affected by two primary sources of uncertainty: geophysical parameter uncertainty and uncertainty in the relationship between geophysical parameters and geological properties of interest. Here, we introduce an open-source, trans-dimensional...
Minsley, Burke J.; Foks, N. Leon; Bedrosian, Paul A.Movement of synthetic organic compounds in the food web after the introduction of invasive quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) in Lake Mead, Nevada and Arizona, USA
Introductions of dreissenid mussels in North America have been a significant concern over the last few decades. This study assessed the distribution of synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) in the food web of Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona, USA and how this distribution was influenced by the introduction of invasive quagga mussels. A clear spatial...
Goodbred, Steven L.; Rosen, Michael R.; Patino, Reynaldo; Alvarez, David; Echols, Kathy R.; King, Kerensa; Umek, JohnMortality predispositions of conifers across western USA
Conifer mortality rates are increasing in western North America, but the physiological mechanisms underlying this trend are not well understood.We examined tree‐ring‐based radial growth along with stable carbon (C) and oxygen (O) isotope composition (δ13C and δ18O, respectively) of dying and surviving conifers at eight old‐growth forest sites...
Wang, Wenzhi; English, Nathan B.; Grossiord, Charlotte; Gessler, Arthur; Das, Adrian; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Baisan, Christopher H.; Allen, Craig D.; McDowell, Nate G.Lake trout growth is sensitive to spring temperature in southwest Alaska lakes
In high‐latitude lakes, air temperature is an important driver of ice cover thickness and duration, which in turn influence water temperature and primary production supporting lake consumers and predators. In lieu of multidecadal observational records necessary to assess the response of lakes to long‐term warming, we used otolith‐based growth...
von Biela, Vanessa R.; Black, Bryan A.; Young, Daniel B.; van der Sleen, Peter; Bartz, Krista K.; Zimmerman, Christian E.Food web fuel differs across habitats and seasons of a tidal freshwater estuary
Estuarine food webs are fueled by multiple different primary producers. However, identifying the relative importance of each producer to consumers is difficult, particularly for fishes that utilize multiple food sources due to both their mobility and their generally high trophic levels. Previous studies have documented broad spatial differences in...
Young, Matthew; Howe, Emily R.; O'Rear, Teejay; Berridge, Kathleen; Moyle, Peter B.Underwater photographic reconnaissance and habitat data collection in the Florida Keys—A procedure for ground truthing remotely sensed bathymetric data
Bathymetric geoprocessing analyses of the Florida Reef Tract have provided insights into trends of seafloor accretion and seafloor erosion over time and following major storm events. However, bathymetric surveys sometimes capture manmade structures and vegetation, which do not represent the desired bare-earth data. Therefore, ground truthing is...
Fehr, Zachery W.; Yates, Kimberly K.Early warning pesticide monitoring in Nevada’s surface waters
A pesticide is a substance, or mixture of substances, used to kill or control insects, weeds, plant diseases, and other pest organisms. Commercial pesticide applicators, farmers, and homeowners apply about 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides annually to agricultural land, non-crop land, and urban areas throughout the United States. Although intended...
Huntington, Jena M.; Entz, Derek C.; Thodal, Carl E.High prevalence of biliary neoplasia in white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA: potential roles of bile duct parasites and environmental contaminants
Recent surveys of white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay revealed a high prevalence of hepatic and biliary lesions, including neoplasia, and bile duct parasites. Here, we describe lesions in the liver and gallbladder and evaluate for statistical associations between lesions, parasites, and biomarkers of chemical exposure in fish from...
Matsche, Mark A; Blazer, Vicki S.; Pulster, Erin; Mazik, Patricia M.Conservation genetics of imperiled striped whipsnake in Washington
Conservation of wide-ranging species is aided by population genetic information that provides insights into adaptive potential, population size, interpopulation connectivity, and even extinction risk in portions of a species range. The Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus) occurs across 11 western U.S. states and into Mexico but has...
Pilliod, David; Hallock, Lisa A.; Miller, Mark P.; Mullins, Thomas D.; Haig, Susan M.Multilocus metabarcoding of terrestrial leech bloodmeal iDNA increases species richness uncovered in surveys of vertebrate host biodiversity
Leech-derived invertebrate DNA (iDNA) has been successfully leveraged to conduct surveys of vertebrate host biodiversity across the Indo Pacific. However, this technique has been limited methodologically, typically only targeting mammalian 16S rDNA, or both 16S and vertebrate 12S rDNA for leech host determination. To...
Fahmy, Mai; Williams, Kalani; Tessler, Michael; Weiskopf, Sarah R.; Hekkala, Evon; Siddall, Mark E.