Megan Flanagan

I started my research journey during my undergraduate experience where I collected data for call sampling surveys of frogs and toads in Kentucky. This was my first exposure to amphibian research, and I was hooked. Moving forward, I knew I wanted to produce research that would be beneficial to amphibian conservation.  

After my BS, I joined GASP lab at Texas State University to work under Dr. Gabor. GASP lab is known for using noninvasive waterborne hormones to measure stress in fish and amphibians. During my MS, I studied how the impacts of traffic noise affected the cognition, behavior, growth, activity and glucocorticoid response of both adult and larval frogs. It was this work that spurred my interest in early life stress exposure and carryover effects. I believe that conservation research aimed at juveniles is particularly important as early life experiences can have profound implications on adult experiences and survival. 

In the future, I will be pursuing a Phd in aquatic resources and integrative biology. I will measure waterborne hormones in lesser sirens over 2 years to track how environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, community composition, etc. impact the stress response of juvenile sirens. My goal is to produce meaningful conservation research and publish in high impact journals. 

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