While completing his Ph.D. in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Justin Lesser ‘21 spent several summers knee-deep in the marshes of Massachusetts, tracking tiny fish called mummichogs. He studied how coastal erosion affects the eating habits of these abundant little fish, which in turn impacts the survival of larger predatory fish such as bass and flounder.
His research was conducted as part of the TIDE Project, an NSF-funded project administered through the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC).
“My advisor, Jimmy Nelson, worked on the project before joining the UL Lafayette biology department, and I jumped at the chance to return to some marshes I’ve studied during my previous degrees, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with people at a wide variety of places (Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland in addition to Louisiana and Massachusetts) with so many research interests,” he says.
In the field, Lesser examined food webs, and how they respond to landform changes.
“For 13 years, TIDE added excess nutrients to an entire salt marsh creekshed, establishing a natural laboratory to study the impact of excessive nutrients on coastal ecosystems. Now, we are beginning to assess how this legacy of nutrient addition affects the system’s recovery and response to additional stressors, such as sea-level rise and warming,” he says.
Preparing for a career in biology has led Lesser to travel to many new places, including Louisiana. After completing his master’s degree at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, he chose to travel south to pursue his Ph.D.
“Never having been to Louisiana, I jumped at the chance to step outside my comfort zone and experience someplace new. I also was very excited to work with my advisor and come on as one of his very first doctoral students,” he says.
At UL Lafayette, he’s found a supportive environment to fuel his growth as a scholar.
“The biology department is extremely vast in the research areas it covers, from genetics, to ecology, to neuroscience and medical research. I love that the department brings all these different areas together and provides opportunities to learn about research being done outside my focus,” he says.
Colleagues were always eager to share their work, he notes. He was also able to participate in a yearly graduate student symposium to give presentations in a low-stress environment.
“I’ve made some great friends in my department, and I like how inclusive our department can be. I think it's important to have that kind of relationship with peers in grad school,” he says.
After completing his degree, Lesser traveled back north for a position as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Vermont. He is developing a model of the nearby Lake Champlain food web to explore the impact of population levels of different fishes.
His time at UL Lafayette provided the preparation he needed to embark on his career.
“I’ve learned so much about how to analyze and look at the data I collect, and I’ve also learned a great deal about planning a field season and leading a research team. The experiences I’ve had supervising and working with undergraduate researchers will be really helpful for my future as a principal investigator in my own research lab,” he says.