lindsay e hansen

fish biologist

flagstaff, az

lindsayerikahansen@gmail.com

Lindsay Hansen is a fish ecologist and artist based out of Flagstaff, Arizona. Her first job was waiting tables at a fancy fish restaurant, and now she works to increase the understanding about how fish live and experience the world. She currently lives part time in the Grand Canyon, where she really gets to know some of Northern Arizona's underwater inhabitants. Lindsay has a masters of science in environmental science and a master of arts in biology, in which she studied statistics, ecology, and science communication through the arts. She is a Wyss Scholar and the author and illustrator of the picture book 'The Adventures of Franny the Flanny'. On any given day you can find her snorkeling in desert creeks, mountain biking with her dog, or experimenting with paint and form on a canvas. 

EDUCATION
August 2021
Master of Science, Environmental Science and Policy
Northern Arizona University
Thesis: Explaining spatial and temporal variation in growth rates of a native fish: A study of flannelmouth suckers in the Grand Canyon Colorado River
 
December 2021
Master of Science, Biology
Miami University of Ohio
Thesis: Using the Arts for Better Science Communication

May 2016
Bachelor of science (conservation and resources studies), and
Bachelor of arts (Art Practice), University of California, Berkeley
Conservation Thesis: Methylmercury pollution history and implications for the San Francisco Bay
Art Capstone Project: Scientific field guide to the wildlife of the San Francisco Bay Area

 


EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Fish Ecologist,  Flagstaff, AZ
US Geological Survey, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
June 2021 - present
Use data science to create state-space models that describe somatic fish growth. Collect fish field data via hoop netting and nighttime boat electrofishing, administering PIT tags and VIE tags, and collecting weight, length, and sex measurements of fish caught on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Communicate findings with stakeholders, colleagues, and the public on the state of native fish in the Grand Canyon.

Graduate Teaching Assistant in Environmental Science and Policy,  Flagstaff, AZ
Northern Arizona University
August 2019 - August 2021
Taught college students in foundations in environmental science laboratory courses, with emphasis in scientific writing skills and field methods.

Americorps Member placed at NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA
California Conservation Corps Watershed Stewards Program in partnership with Americorps
October 2018 - August 2019
Assist with both upstream migrant trapping of salmonid adults and salmonid smolt outmigration trapping. Deploy coded wire tags (CWT) and passive integrated transponder s(PIT) on smolts to monitor smolt to adult survival and adult returns (escapement), and monitor PIT antenna arrays. Conduct juvenile snorkel surveys to document annual trends in juvenile coho and steelhead abundance in watersheds in Santa Cruz county. Compile data and work with volunteers and students to remove fish barriers in the watershed.
 
Science Instructor, Dana Point Ocean Institute, Dana Point, CA      
Sep 2017 – Jun 2018       
Taught students aged college through preschool on a variety of marine science topics, in laboratories and on a research vessel at sea. These topics include watershed pollution, ecosystem function, morphological identification, animal adaptations, dissections, and bioluminescence, among others. Deployed deep-sea research monitoring equipment, including a benthic trawl, vertical and horizontal plankton tows, gravity corer, and benthic mud grab.
 
Student Conservation Association Massachusetts Americorps Member, Hawley, MA      
Oct 2016 – Aug 2017     
Environmental education and science instructor for elementary and middle school students in a formal setting at underserved rural schools in Western Massachusetts for 5 months, and worked as a conservation steward for an additional 5 months, conducting high priority trail-building, habitat monitoring, and natural space restoration projects, leading crews, and working directly with contacts and stakeholders at Massachusetts state forests.
 
Field Biologist Intern, Institute for Bird Populations, Plumas National Forest, CA           
May 2015 - Aug 2015
Sampled native bumble bee species populations, mist netted and bird banded target bird species, and recorded vegetation assessment data during avian point counts in watershed areas in the Moonlight Fire burned area of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
 
Naturalist and Scientific Illustrator, Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, Silverado, CA        
May 2014 - Aug 2014
Taxonomically classified native plants within the sanctuary, led education lessons for high school student groups, and designed and illustrated leaf identification placards for native vegetation.

Assistant Science Instructor,  Earthroots Field School, Trabuco Canyon, CA           
May 2013 – Aug 2013
Assistant instructor for outdoor science education school and summer camp for children ages 5-18. Taught lessons including wilderness survival skills, wildlife identification, botany, and native history.
 
 
 
HONORS
Wyss Foundation Scholar (2019) (https://www.wyssfoundation.org/)
Segal Americorps Education Award (1700 hours of volunteer service) (2017, 2019)
Dean’s List, UC Berkeley (2014)
Dean’s List, Semester at Sea (University of Virginia) (2014)
Semester at Sea Merit Scholarship Recipient (2014)
National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Member, (2013-2016)
National Society of Leadership and Success, Member (2013-2016)
Honor’s List, UC Berkeley (2012)
Laguna College of Art and Design Portfolio Development Scholarship Winner (2012)



RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Master's thesis research: Explaining spatial and temporal variation in growth rates of a native fish: A study of flannelmouth suckers in the Grand Canyon Colorado River
Northern Arizona University, in Partnership with the United States Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
  • Database management
  • Bayesian modeling and generalized linear mixed modeling
  • Fish marking and tagging (PIT, VIE tagging)
  • Hoop netting and boat electrofishing

NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Fish Biology Research Assistant
California Conservation Corps and Americorps Watershed Stewards Program
Santa Cruz, California (October 2018 – August 2019)
  • Juvenile salmonid monitoring (snorkel surveys, backpack electrofishing)
  • Stable isotope sample preparation, scale mounting, E-DNA
  • Database management
  • Fish marking and tagging (PIT, CWT, FLOY, DISC tagging)
  • Adult salmon trapping, downstream migrant (smolt) trapping
  • Redd and spawning ground surveys
  • Water quality assessments and freshwater microplastic concentration in California coastal stream
 
Climate Change Impacts on High Alpine Trees in Mexico using Stable Isotopes, Research Assistant
University of California, Santa Cruz   (July 2018)
  • Prepared samples of wood from high alpine areas in Mexico to be measured in a mass spectrometer for carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope concentration
  • Isolated tree rings by year
 
GIS Modeling of Urban Bird Distribution and Behavior in Shops and Street Markets
Kathmandu, Nepal   (May 2016 – May 2019)
  • 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
 
Bumble Bee Population Surveys and Songbird Blood Testing in the Sierra Nevada
Institute for Bird Populations, Plumas National Forest   (May 2015 – August 2015)
  • 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
 
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   (January 2015 – May 2015)
  • Identified and GIS digitized marijuana grows along watersheds in Mendocino County, California via Google Earth for preliminary data for water quality assessments
 
Seedling and Sapling Phenology Study with UC Berkeley Ackerly Integrative Biology Lab
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP)
University of California, Berkeley   (January 2015 – May 2015)
  • 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
 
Strawberry Creek Water Quality Restoration Management Plan
University of California, Berkeley   (January 2014 - May 2014)
  • 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
 
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   (August 2013 – May 2014)
  • Wrote species accounts, compiled research, and collected wildlife population data from camera trap video footage
 


PRESENTATIONS, PUBLICATIONS and POSTERS
Talk: Art-ology: Using the arts to better understand science. Flagstaff Festival of Science. Flagstaff, Arizona. September 26, 2022.

Talk: Expanding your audience: Collaborating with the arts to communicate science to children. Biennial Conference of Science & Management of the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region. Flagstaff, Arizona. September 14 2022. 

Talk: Linking ecosystem processes to consumer growth rates: gross primary productivity and temperature drive fish growth. Joint Aquatic Science Meeting. Grand Rapids, Michigan. May 2022. 

Talk: Microplastic Concentration and Composition in Freshwater and Wild Steelhead (anadromous Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a Coastal California Stream. Lindsay E Hansen. American Fisheries Society Virtual Annual Meeting. September 2020.

Publication: 3.3 Urban Ecology in shops and housing: An example of culture, religion and how (nesting) Barn Swallows, House and Tree Swallows create for a lively human-wildlife link at the commercial interface. Lindsay Hansen & Falk Huettmann.  In Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Perspectives. Basel, Switzerland: Springer, 2020. Print.
 
Poster: “Assigning species to redds: exploring uncertainty in a central California coastal creek.” Lindsay Hansen,  Karlee Liddy, Rosealea Bond, Ann-Marie Osterback, Cynthia Kern, Alexander Hay, Jeffrey Perez, Joshua Meko and Joseph Kiernan. Poster presented at the Salmonid Restoration Federation Annual Meeting. Santa Rosa, California. 25 April 2019.
 
Poster: ‘Birds in the Human Street-Market Interface of Urban Nepal: Towards a first Open Access GIS Data and Model Inference of Bird Distribution’. Lindsay Hansen & Falk Huettmann. US Regional Association of the ​International Association for Landscape Ecology Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. April 2018.
 


 
SKILLS, EXTRACURRICULARS AND CERTIFICATIONS
  • River Studies and Leadership Certificate, River Management Society (2021)
  • Planning Committee and Moderator, Earth Water Fire Seminar Series (2020 - 2021) (conservationpolicydiscussions.org)
  • NAU School of Earth and Sustainability Diversity and Inclusion Committee Member (2020-2021)
  • GIS Specialization, UC Davis/ Coursera (2020) (Click Here to View Certificate)
  • Swiftwater Rescue (Sierra Rescue) (2018)
  • Wilderness First Aid (Sierra Rescue) (2018)
  • American CPR Training (2018)
  • Wilderness First Responder (AERIE Backcountry Medicine) (2017)
  • American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR Certified (2017)
  • PADI Open Water SCUBA Diver (2016)
  • Trained in Grip Hoist and Rigging
  • Field research methods:
    • PIT, CWT, VIE and FLOY tagging, snorkel surveys, whale shark sexing, mist netting, bird banding, salmon spawner surveys
  • Experience with:
    • ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth
    • Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Illustrator
    • Microsoft Office, Microsoft and Mac Operating Systems
    • Writing literary reviews and research papers
    • Data collection and working in burned areas and watersheds (vegetation/habitat assessments)
    • Leading field crews, trail building and forest management