MEET THE TEAM
SHELBY L. ZIEGLER, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Shelby Ziegler is an Assistant Professor of Ecology in the Biology Department at Villanova University. She completed her B.S. in Biology College of William and Mary and Ph.D. in Ecology at UNC Chapel Hill (UNC Institute of Marine Sciences). She is an ecologist conducting interdisciplinary research that investigates environmental variation and anthropogenic stressors on faunal communities in marine and aquatic systems. Her work spans across multiple levels of biological organization from cells and organisms to communities and ecosystems using a combination of field sampling, laboratory experiments, molecular techniques, satellite-derived data, and geospatial analysis to test questions related to the conservation of aquatic and marine systems.
Undergraduate students
Patrick Morin
Patrick Morin is a third-year undergraduate student at Villanova University working towards a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Global Health with a focus on parasitology, epidemiology, and global health policy. Patrick’s research focuses on the prevalence of the parasite that causes Swimmer's itch, Austrobilharzia variglandis, in mud snail populations along the Delaware River. His work will examine the ecological factors that are associated with this parasite and aims to provide indicators for local public health systems to facilitate beach closures in areas with high parasite prevalence.
JOIN US!
The Coastal Ecology and Conservation Lab at Villanova University will be opening in Fall 2024!
We will be recruiting Master's students to join the lab in Fall 2025
We also welcome undergraduate students at Villanova with strong desire to learn more about coastal and estuarine ecology and gain experience in lab and field settings.
Check out the Join Us page for more information.