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Due to climate change, glaciers in Alaska are melting at rates faster than predicted. In response, the National Science Foundation is funding research to examine the effects of this global phenomenon. Lindsey Stadler ’14 is joining the research effort as she earns her Master’s of Marine Biology degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

Fire and Ice: Navigating Variability in Boreal Wildfire Regimes and Subarctic Coastal Ecosystems is a five-year research project involving the efforts of 100 people. Stadler’s role centers around the food-web ecology of coastal margins, specifically Kachemak Bay and Lynn Canal. Stadler will study the stomach contents of gunnel fish using stabilized trope analysis to see if their diet changes due to increased flow in glacial-fed rivers caused by climbing temperatures. 

As Stadler returned to the classroom as a graduate student, she reflected on the ways her undergraduate study of marine biology prepared her for the challenges of graduate school. 

“The way that I observe when I go out into the field and the way I think about things really became more refined through my experiences at Roger Williams,” said Stadler. “It’s actually pretty crazy how much I retained. All of the classes I took at Roger Williams really did end up sticking with me.” 

When recalling her time at Roger Williams, Stadler spoke warmly of her experiences studying marine biology on school trips to Panama and Belize. 

“On the Panama trip we were able to snorkel in both the Caribbean and the Pacific and did presentations based on what we had seen. Mine was on juvenile coloration in fish, which I wouldn’t have thought of before the trip. It really changed my perspective. I think about what I learned all the time when I go out into the field now,” she said. 

Stadler will be researching in the field through mid-September. Her goal is to eventually go on to earn her PH.D apply her knowledge of food web ecology to efforts to protect the Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea. 

“Gaining knowledge made me really passionate. I think that’s why I love marine biology so much,” she said.