I am interested in ​in freshwater fisheries research, river science and watershed management, especially in those habitats that are most susceptible to warming climate in the American west, including low-order headwater streams, alpine ecosystems, and drought-prone ecosystems. This research is progressively critical, because watershed systems provide habitat, water, food, and essential ecosystem services relied upon by human as well non-human plant and animal communities, yet are increasingly threatened by changing climate, urban encroachment, and non-native species invasion. 
Flannelmouth Sucker Growth and Abundance, United States Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University
The flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) (hereafter FMS) is currently the most abundant native fish in the Grand Canyon reaches of the Colorado River, but during the 1990’s, the population was in such low numbers that the species was on the verge of being listed on the Endangered Species Act. However, beginning in the late 1990’s, the species population has increased dramatically. Currently the FMS makes up a significant portion of the fish biomass within the Grand Canyon, but because it has such a stable population, limited research has been conducted to assess its population stability, growth, diet, and migration. Further, the source of energy for this fish biomass is currently unknown for all fish species within the Grand Canyon because the Canyon has such a limitation of food inputs and availability.

In this study, to help understand how FMS have increased over the past two decades, I will explore how the growth rates of individual fish appear to vary over space and time, and test whether this can be explained by available data on temperature and stream metabolism. I propose to build a model using FMS location data to compare primary productivity sources (what food is available in the river) in the canyon with FMS growth throughout time and space. Using an existing 20-year mark-recapture dataset on flannelmouth sucker distribution and size in the Grand Canyon and georeferenced data on primary productivity sources in the canyon, I will create a model to show growth rate and identify the most important factors influencing growth of FMS.
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Salmonid Monitoring (Coho and Steelhead)
Santa Cruz, California
Advisors: Dr. Joseph Kiernan, PhD, Research Ecologist; Dr. Ann-Marie Osterback, PhD, Fisheries Biologist; and Dr. Cynthia Kern, PhD, Fisheries Biologist
  • Juvenile salmonid monitoring (snorkel surveys, electrofishing)
  • Stable isotope sample preparation, scale mounting
  • Database management
  • Fish marking and tagging (PIT tagging, CWT, FLOY, VIE)
  • Adult salmon trapping, downstream outmigrant (smolt) trapping
  • Adult spawning ground (red) surveys, salmonid stream habitat typing
  • Water quality assessments and freshwater microplastic concentration in California coastal streams
GIS Modeling of Urban Bird Distribution and Behavior in Shops and Street Markets
Kathmandu, Nepal 
​Advisor:  Falk Huettmann (PhD), Associate Professor of Wildlife Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
  • Conducted initial population research of bird species nesting inside shops in cities and villages
  • Led a crew to collect nest monitoring data and conduct avian point counts
  • Created GIS models and predictions using Machine Learning software
Related publications:
"Swallows and Sparrows in the Shop and Street Market-Interface of Nepal: Towards a first Open Access GIS Data and Model Inference on the Role of Religion in Bird Distribution". L. Hansen & F. Huettmann. Expected 2018.

Poster:
"Swallows and Sparrows in the Shop and Street Market-Interface of Nepal: Towards a first Open Access GIS Data and Model Inference on the Role of Religion in Bird Distribution". L. Hansen & F. Huettmann. Presented at the US Regional Association of the ​International Association for Landscape Ecology Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. April 2018.
Bumble Bee Population Surveys and Songbird Blood Testing in the Sierra Nevada
Institute for Bird Populations, Plumas National Forest   
  • Sampled bumble bee species populations in remote post-fire chaparral habitats
  • Mist netted, bird banded, and collected blood samples (for methylmercury testing) for target bird species
  • Recorded vegetation assessment data for plots in watershed and riparian areas
Geographic Information System (GIS) Digitizing of Marijuana Grows in Northern California with UC Berkeley LUC Lab
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP)
University of California, Berkeley   
  • Identified and GIS digitized marijuana grows along watersheds in Mendocino County, California via Google Earth for preliminary data for water quality assessments
Rangeland Ecology Study of Animal Impacts on Native Grasses in Tejon Ranch, California with UC Berkeley Bartolome Rangeland Ecology Lab
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP)
University of California, Berkeley   
  • Wrote species accounts, compiled research, and collected wildlife population data from camera trap video footage
Strawberry Creek Water Quality Restoration Management Plan
University of California, Berkeley 
  • Sampled macroinvertebrate populations using kick nets and sampled water flow rate and temperature
  • Wrote a restoration management plan for the University of California regarding population numbers in respect to water quality in collaboration with classmates
Seedling and Sapling Phenology Study with UC Berkeley Ackerly Integrative Biology Lab
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP)
University of California, Berkeley   
  • Sampled tree saplings distribution and diversity to test the effect of climate change on demographic range shifts in temperate tree species in California oak woodlands