Nature and all of its inhabitants have always enthralled me. As I got older, these interests were nurtured and I began to focus on them. I grew up on the outskirts of the city of Columbus in Ohio ; where there were no natural places still remaining. Therefore, I watched television shows and read books that were geared to various aspects of nature to acquire additional knowledge in ecology and wildlife biology. My desire to increase my knowledge in these subjects led me to a major in Wildlife Biology after high school graduation. Unfortunately, Ohio State University was not a college conducive to my needs therefore I decided to continue my education at Columbus State Community College in the field of Veterinary Technology where I received an Associates of Science degree.

My determination to find a place that was not only conducive to my desire for wilderness and wildlife but also to a college that offered a major in Wildlife biology never diminished. I found this and more in Missoula , Montana at the University of Montana . Not only did I find a plethora of wilderness and wildlife but in addition I happened to attend a college renowned for its College of Forestry and Conservation. I am preparing to graduate with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology at the end of the summer (2004) and from there I will continue my education with a B.A. in Biology as well as Secondary Teaching Certificates in biology and general science.

Throughout my college career I have had numerous opportunities to assist in and conduct research. I have worked with various wildlife species in different habitats including; mark and recapture surveys for small mammals, bark gleaning and nest searching surveys for several bird species, visibility measurements for big horn sheep, wolf tracking, and research regarding the indirect effects of spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) on various insects and animals. I am completing my senior thesis on the effects of spotted knapweed on grassland bird foraging. I am excited to be a part of the ECOS fellowship and am looking forward to this rewarding experience.  

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I became interested in ecology as I learned about the role of microbes in sustaining life on earth.  It was intriguing to me that vital processes such as nutrient cycling, which is necessary for the survival of all higher organisms, was primarily dependent on the complex interactions of microscopic organisms.  I originally came to the university to become a pharmacist, but my interest in science led me to switch my major to microbiology with the intention of going on to medical school after getting my degree.  My research experience thus far consists of volunteering in an immunology lab on campus with Chris Migliaccio Ph.D, who studies the effect pollutants like silicon have on alveolar macrophages in mice.  My work experience there, along with the influence of a few excellent professors, has sparked my interest scientific research. 

 

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My path to ecology started in rural Maryland and West Virginia where I was a barefooted and reptile-chasing kid. As a teenager I warmed up to the nuances of botany while roaming the hills and drainages of West Virginia . One of my favorite places in the state was the Dolly Sods Wilderness, a high, boggy plateau that looks like northern Canada and is home to many plants at the southern end of their range, including aspens. Among my favorite habitats were those dominated by Eastern Hemlock or Balsam Fir, currently under devastation by insects called adelgids. Such problems contribute to my increasing interest in plant-insect interactions from applied and ecological/evolutionary perspectives.

When I started homeschooling at 15 I spent much time envying our early naturalists. As a remedy I volunteered myself to the scientists at the Blandy Experimental Farm in Virginia before and during college. I worked for Dave Carr and his postdoc Chris Ivey both of whom study inbreeding depression in Mimulus (Monkeyflower) . The kind folks at Blandy gave me exposure to ecology and tons of experience. Dave is also an avid birder and I credit him for sending me down the path to compulsive bird chasing. During the summer of 2002, Chris advised me in research where I studied plant-pollinator xinteractions and in 2003 I worked on another pollination biology project dealing with Penstemons at Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Colorado . I will be back high in the Colorado Rockies briefly this summer studying interactions between sapsuckers, swallows and heartwood fungus in aspen forests. Besides birds and flowering plants, fungi and ferns are high on my list. But I have to admit that when it comes to biodiversity my taste is not discriminating!

From West Virginia I transferred to the University of Montana in September of 2003. Currently, I am thinking about the myriad of systems I could adopt for graduate study, considering spending time in South America , finishing up my biology degree and enjoying immensely the natural history and mountains of the West.

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My Grandmother was a world traveler in the 1950's, and as a child, these were my favorite bedtime stories. She inspired me to follow in her footsteps and explore different environments and lifestyles as a young adult. For several years, and much to my parent's chagrin, I set out to explore cloud forests and deserts, high mountains and rivers. I worked seasonally at a variety of jobs to fund these trips, and the combination of interesting jobs and faraway travels was an exhilarating experience in and of itself. As a naturalist at the Grand Canyon, I was captivated by the striking differences between the landscapes there compared to that of my home in Rhode Island. As a caretaker and landscaper at a garden center, I gained a true love of plants. I voyeuristically watched the relationships and subtle changes in the wilderness over two seasons as a wilderness ranger in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana. Ski instructing in the winter provided me with a forum to share a skill with my students that would entice them to spend more time in the outdoors. My curiosity about the interrelationships between living creatures and their environment grew with each new experience. My next step seemed natural: to filter this wanderlust into something more constructive. I decided that a degree in ecology at the University of Montana could be an elegant match with my first degree in Communication Studies from the University of Massachusetts. It is my hope to couple my experiences thus far with innovative scholastic tools into a career teaching ecology creatively and hands-on, in an inspirational environment.

In addition to the ECOS project, I am currently working on a project with the Rocky Mountain Research Station as a plant ecologist. This research, titled Exotic Plants and Forest Restoration Treatments: Effects on Flora and Fauna of the Northern Rocky Mountains , seeks to explore the effects of weed eradication treatments used in Western Montana on community structure over multiple trophic levels.

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My name is Hollie Sexton, and I am a biology student at the University of Montana with an emphasis in pre-medical studies. Since my childhood days digging in the mud and snow of Alaska and Western Washington, I have been fascinated by the biological sciences and ecology in particular. Although, back then ecology was chasing moose off my front porch and catching sea stars in the tide-pools. After we moved down to the lower forty-eight, it was through classes in my high school that I continued to study and learn about ecology. It was Ms. Lawi who first got me interested in the academic portion of the life sciences. She made books and nature mesh in a way that was practical and hands-on and helped me understand nature on a whole new level. Before attending the University of Montana, I guess you could say that I bounced around a fair amount. First, I studied at Clark University near my family's home just outside of Portland , Oregon . Then I transferred to the University of Nevada-Reno. After a year and a half there, I decided to study abroad in Santiago , Chile . When I was done there, I enjoyed Spanish so much, I studied abroad again in Barcelona , Spain . I suppose all this traveling seems a little out of the way, but I really felt like I wanted to see the world before I settled down to pursue one single thing. And, for the record, I'm glad I did. Since I've been here in Missoula, I've worked as a lab technician in the Wild Trout and Salmon Genetics lab, working on conservation issues of the fish in our watersheds, and I have led the human dissection team for the Anatomy and Physiology class. Whether I am hiking in the Bitterroots, sitting in class or working in the lab, I am constantly trying to better understand the Ecology of our world and Missoula . I still love learning about everything that affects our lives, from frogs to microorganisms, to rain fall and am excited to share this passion with other students in the coming year.

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