Current Lab Personnel

Dylan Bakner

Ph.D. Student

Dylan graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. After graduation he worked as a waterfowl technician all over North America, including jobs in Virginia, North Dakota, and Manitoba. At LSU, Dylan working with box-nesting wood ducks as part of a larger collaboration throughout the southeastern United States. In his free time, Dylan enjoys hunting, trapping, decoy carving, and the occasional skateboard trick.

Alex Dopkin

M.S. Student

Alex graduated in 2015 from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife, Fish, and   Conservation Biology.  Alex has worked around the country on a variety of wetland birds and mammals.

Zack Loken

M.S. Student

Zack graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Management. Since graduating, he has worked on several projects assessing the spatial ecology of wetland-dependent bird species across the United States. At LSU, Zack is investigating the utility of drones equipped with multi-spectral cameras to monitor waterfowl use of restored wetlands. He is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop protocols to derive duck counts and behaviors. In his free time, Zack enjoys going to live shows, cooking with friends, playing soccer, wandering with his dog, and learning how to write better code.

 

Tori Drake
M.S. Student

Tori graduated from Bemidji State University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and minors in Wetland Ecology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). From there she has traveled throughout the Mississippi Flyway working on many different waterfowl and wetland related jobs and research projects. Her work at LSU will include evaluating different sampling systems for the Louisiana portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley as a 2nd observer on aerial wintering waterfowl flights. In Tori’s free time she enjoys baking, hunting, reading, and traveling to visit friends around the country she has met through different wildlife jobs. 

 

Grant Rhodes
M.S. Student

 

Katie Miranda

M.S. Student