Limpets on Atlantic Shores: Val!





Valerie Locker, Clark University 2009
Biology Major, Geography Minor
Hailing from Windsor, CT

I am a senior at Clark preparing to begin the accelerated masters degree program in biology.  I have been an absurd biology nerd my whole life, running through the woods and rolling over logs to identify salamanders.  My goal now is to combine my biology background with my geography skills to  possibly help save the world through conservation.



I do research within the Foster/Baker stickleback lab in the biology department, and have been there since my freshman year.  I have worked on various projects including pelvic girdle re-evolution, dorsal spine retention, pterygiophore variation, and social learning.  In the summer of 2008 I investigated the role of social learning in locating food patches.  I have recently started a new project in collaboration with John Baker, John Rogan, Jana Loux-turner and Bardan Ghimire studying the relationship between watershed landcover, lake water chemistry, and stickleback traits.


I am also a Human Environment Research Observatory fellow (HERO).  I worked for the Massachusetts Forest Monitoring Program in the summer of 2008.  This program seeks to use satellite imagery to determine landcover in Massachusetts, concentrating on deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests.  I worked to implement a new methodology for modeling landcover change over time using a landcover map from one date and raw satellite imagery from another.  Now I am working on modeling the distribution of seven key tree species in Massachusetts (eastern hemlock, white pine, pitch pine, white oak, sugar maple, birch, and american beech).


The majority of my free time is devoted to ultimate frisbee.  It is easily the best sport on the planet (self-refereed!) and instantaneously gives players a group of friends anywhere you go.  At Clark I am the president of the Co-ed ultimate team Trigger Happy.  I also co-founded a womens team in the spring of 2008 with players from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Holy Cross, and Clark.  We are a beast team and our goal is to win a tournament this coming spring.

The tail ends of my free time are spent working as a senior interviewer for Clark Admissions, where I interview prospective high school seniors, and reading novels.
Fearsome with limpet-studying utensils

Holding a black-legged kittiwake in Middleton, Alaska

Playing ultimate in Wildwood, New Jersey