Katy Cummings Email & Phone Number

Florida, United States

As part of the Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP), I participate in field data collection through scuba to assess the condition, status, and abundance of scleractinian corals and octocorals at monitoring sites within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Dry Tortugas National Park. I also managed a longterm water temperature dataset for the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas as part of CREMP. I also served as a coral team lead to determine ecological indicators of health for coral reef ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico and develop a long-term monitoring program to be implemented as part of the Restore Act.

As part of the Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP), I participate in field data collection to assess the condition, status, and abundance of scleractinian corals and octocorals at monitoring sites within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Dry Tortugas National Park.

Florida’s Aquatic Preserve program protects areas of outstanding waters throughout the state. I manage the two southernmost aquatic preserves located in the Florida Keys, Lignumvitae Key Aquatic Preserve in Islamorada and Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve in Big Pine Key.

Hurricane Irma had devastating impacts to the marine and coastal communities of South Florida and the Florida Keys. I worked as part of a team to remove massive amounts of marine debris deposited by Hurricane Irma onto the Florida Reef Tract and the mangrove forests fringing much of the shorelines within the Park.

To fully understand the recent and future changes of seagrasses, a historical perspective is critically needed. Using the paleontological record to provide a historical perspective on present-day ecosystems is an emerging tool of ecological conservation and restoration efforts. However, seagrasses do not fossilize well, and it is difficult to examine their long-term responses to past environmental changes. We developed a tool to help determine how seagrass has changed through time using molluscan assemblages as a proxy for seagrass characteristics and to assess their utility in determining within-habitat differences. Mollusk distribution patterns were described from seagrass sediments collected from a steep nutrient gradient along the Florida Gulf Coast, with N:P ratios decreasing northward. Results indicate that molluscan death assemblages preserve environmental gradients and record subtle differences within the seagrass beds. Assemblages from the same estuaries group together in ordination space and are less similar in faunal composition to assemblages from more distant estuaries. The controlling factor of molluscan composition appears to be primary production, strongly correlated with total P concentration. The generally high fidelity between living and death assemblages suggests that this region has remained stable over recent centuries despite local anthropogenic stressors. Functional groups of the mollusks (feeding guild and trophic level) also show system-level differentiation, highlighting the potential for this proxy to be used in other areas. This proxy has potential for assessing how seagrasses have responded to historical environmental conditions and thus help us to develop effective conservation plans for seagrass ecosystems. Besides my research, I assisted on other research projects involving mollusks and conservation paleobiology in the Bahamas, Panama, and north Florida springs, and outreach events at the Florida Museum of Natural History

I assisted with restoration and monitoring of oyster reefs, shoreline habitat, and longleaf pine ecosystems in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. I worked to make the Betty and Crawford Rainwater Perdido River Nature Preserve more accessible to the public by developing trail signs, brochures, and collaborating with county officials to install a parking lot. I also researched historical storms in Alabama from 1916 to the present to aid in a discussion about how artificial oyster reefs have been affecting shoreline erosion rates. Other miscellaneous tasks included grounds and facilities maintenance, taking notes at a public hearing for the appropriation of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill money, and georeferencing and tracing shoreline position using ArcGIS.

As a 2012 George Melendez Wright Climate Change Intern at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, I researched how climate change could effect the Southern Sierra Nevada region and how land managers and other conservation workers should prepare for these changes. I developed materials for participants of the Southern Sierra Change Adaptation Workshop, mainly information briefs of important focal resources of the southern Sierra region. At the workshop itself, I helped facilitate group exercises, helped with logistics, and will assist in writing the final report.

As one of The Nature Conservancy's Diversity Interns, I mapped native and exotic stands of Phragmites with a handheld GPS unit and created ArcGIS maps for management tools. My other duties included removing invasive plants from TNC properties in the Door County Peninsula of WI, as well as helping with research projects on the endangered Hine's Emerald Dragonfly. I also developed a long-term monitoring protocol for native Phragmites patches, wrote a white paper to disseminate to other land management agencies, and did other miscellaneous needs as arose (boundary postings, assisting with Legacy Club hikes, etc.).

I excavated 16-22myo fossils along the Panama Canal, prepared them for analysis, and cataloged them.

I was the sole land steward on the 80-acre reserve and managed invasive species on the property by hand, tools, and herbicide. I also led volunteer crews and undertook a risk assessment for the susceptibility of ash trees to emerald ash borer infestation. I designed the methodology, collected data with a handheld GPS, and wrote the associated report, which included management options and ArcGIS maps for management tools.

I volunteered in Barbuda, Montserrat, and Antigua assessing a potential reef restoration site, transplanting imperiled corals, and monitoring an established artificial reef. I recently published an assessment of coral growth on The Reef Ball Foundation restoration project on Antigua (see below).

I assisted students in understanding labs for the Introduction to Geology class. I answered questions and helped the students prepare for lab reports and exams.

Controlled for aquatic and terrestrial invasive plant species on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway by hand, tool, and herbicide. Used Trimble GPS device to map locations and extent of infestations. Conducted breeding bird and frog surveys. Operated kayaks, canoes, and pulled a trailer.

Controlled invasive plants on the Nachusa Grasslands, a tallgrass prairie, by hand, tools, and herbicide. Maintained facilities and vehicles.

Controlled invasive plant species by hand and using simple tools on the Lulu Lake and Crooked Creek Preserves in southeast Wisconsin.

Controlled invasive plant species by hand and simple tools and maintained facilities at the Lulu Lake and Crooked Creek Preserves in southeast Wisconsin.

Master Of Science (Ms), Interdisciplinary Ecology

B.A., Biology, Geology

Activities and Societies: Outdoor Recreation Club, Lawrence University Geologic Society, Animal Welfare Soceity, Lawrence Ecology Club.