https://www.bastiaanslab.com/people daily 0.75 2026-01-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/9ff7c75c-52bb-467a-8dac-d451c6c08788/Beth+with+wood+frog+031625.jpg People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/196347f1-6e37-48ed-920c-50cc29209649/Alexia+Leone+website+photo.jpeg People - Make it stand out Alexia Leone - M.S. Biology Student Alexia completed her Bachelor of Science Degree at SUNY New Paltz with a major in environmental biology in Spring 2024. Her undergraduate research was in limnology, and she studied the aquatic ecology of multiple lakes and ponds in the Hudson Valley while trying to find a more precise definition for ponds and their stratification seasons. After graduating, she worked as a field technician for The Wetland Trust where she helped to conserve an endangered Blanding’s turtle population and helped to protect nests during their nesting seasons. She also worked as a laboratory coordinator at Vassar College, preparing labs for microbiology and biochemistry courses. Alexia arrived at SUNY Oneonta as a master’s student in Fall 2025. She hopes to conduct research on the endangered wood turtles species and learn more about their local populations. She intends to use eDNA sampling in order to locate unknown populations and learn about the effects of invasive knotweed on the turtles. She also hopes to find new ways to protect their nests in order to increase the viability of the offspring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/406d7b6f-7edc-4b35-a3e2-260fd08f011a/Tyler+photo+in+collections+for+website.jpg People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/70c7812b-b08a-47d3-81c9-9615a7cc6fb3/geary_shawn_bastiaans_lab_photo.jpg People - Make it stand out Shawn Geary - M.S. Biology Student Shawn graduated from SUNY Oswego with a B.S. in Biology in Fall 2020. They excitedly join the lab in Fall 2025 as a Biology M.S. student. Their research interests include behaviors relating to dispersal and foraging, conservation biology, population genetics, and all things herpetology. Shawn is helping coordinate SPARCnet sampling at SUNY Oneonta, and their thesis work will assess the effect of stress hormones on the surface activity and dispersal of red-backed salamanders. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/a600d41f-f6b3-471f-b9e1-3d446dd5c868/Rachael+at+NENHC+conference+2024.jpg People - Make it stand out Rachael Wolf - M.S. Biology Student Rachael Wolf earned a B.S. in Bioinformatics at Iowa State University in 2018, after which she worked for two different agricultural genetics labs. She came to SUNY Oneonta in Fall 2022 as a research volunteer and then officially joined the lab as a graduate student in Spring 2023. Rachael’s thesis work focuses on tracking red-backed salamanders over time, using SUNY Oneonta’s SPARCnet research plots. She is using next-generation population genetics methods to study how salamanders’ relatedness to their neighbors affects their territory use and movement over time. She is also documenting biofluorescence in red-backed salamanders and studying how it changes over time in individual, marked animals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/3cb4d256-3c00-43f1-b6a6-9c3b86e5fcf2/Alex+Byrne+website+photo.jpg People - Make it stand out Alex Byrne, M.S. A graduate in biology from Paul Smith’s College in 2023, Alex joined SUNY Oneonta as a master’s student in Spring 2024. Even prior to finishing his bachelor’s degree, Alex had assisted on a wide range of projects, including studies of the life history of mink frogs and red backed salamanders, mesocosm studies on larval amphibian predator-prey dynamics, applying decision analysis to water quality monitoring programs and providing numerous technical reports to the NYC parks department on an urban assemblage of ants, beetles, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fungi. Alex’s thesis used a combination of manipulative experiments in the field and mesocosm experiments to understand oviposition behavior in vernal pool-breeding amphibians, including wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and the Jefferson salamander complex. Specifically, he tested whether female wood frogs use the presence of other females’ egg masses to help them decide where to lay their own eggs. Alex graduated with his master’s degree in December 2025 and is currently applying for PhD programs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/01393867-6962-4de1-8f1d-2fcc137bdd30/Victoria+Prouty+Photo+Summer+2023.jpeg People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/1629564979375-B881KGB8R5XS7YHRGJ6S/Jpipino_Headshot.jpg People - Make it stand out John Pipino, M.S. Upon completion of the Environmental Management bachelor’s program at SUNY Cobleskill, John began his master’s degree in biology at SUNY Oneonta in the Summer of 2021. His interest in invertebrate ecology and conservation biology has led him to the current American burying beetle reintroduction effort in New York State. John’s thesis research focused on the factors impacting post-release viability of American burying beetle, which include overwintering survival and competition for reproductive resources. He graduated in May 2024 and is currently a Research Scientist at SUNY Cobleskill, continuing to work towards the reintroduction of the American burying beetle to New York. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/1624755718643-K47FBHXVQYZQ3S5RH38E/Bethany+headshot+website.jpeg People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/1627592406663-W1U1VHSKDSRMYVNAE46O/R.+Jones.jpg People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.bastiaanslab.com/home daily 1.0 2025-08-21 https://www.bastiaanslab.com/home/woodturtles monthly 0.5 2021-06-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/cbc41abf-f0f1-407d-a02f-b563fa40269c/IMG_3535+-+Copy.JPG Home - Wood Turtle Conservation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/9b096d4c-5545-44e6-8e7f-08e63d4f6330/Head+Started+Wood+Turtle+Photo+Charlotte+Creek+Spring+2019.JPG Home - Wood Turtle Conservation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/4fec1a02-4cf5-4c76-a656-a5d2241da4b8/Historical+wood+turtle+photo+for+website.jpg Home - Wood Turtle Conservation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/852134b7-92c7-40b6-84bf-7045f0f33061/Male+L9R2+photo+for+website.jpg Home - Wood Turtle Conservation https://www.bastiaanslab.com/home/beanbeetles monthly 0.5 2021-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/da4c4335-f38f-4f66-9355-7424a4e5f5f4/Bastiaans+et+al+Bean+Beetle+LOTM+poster+2019+for+website+4to3.jpg Home - Bean Beetle Mating Behavior https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/f0fceecd-91bd-491b-9342-4246803428b2/Collum+et+al+Bean+Beetle+SICB+poster+2020+for+website+4to3.jpg Home - Bean Beetle Mating Behavior https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/f1764f8e-9d91-4bf1-a97f-4c8624271e19/IMG_3157.JPG Home - Bean Beetle Mating Behavior https://www.bastiaanslab.com/home/mexicanlizards monthly 0.5 2021-07-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/4ba91bde-3043-43af-af19-6cdecf2de3fa/Cerro+Pe%C3%B1a+Nevada+Color+Morphs+for+website.jpg Home - Behavioral Ecology of Mexican Montane Lizards https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/6deb9913-25e7-48f6-b0bc-021eb9420c8b/CPN+Summer+2011+4.JPG Home - Behavioral Ecology of Mexican Montane Lizards https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/ca440aea-fdd2-4613-b16f-45ef6f339848/Nopalillo+habitat.JPG Home - Behavioral Ecology of Mexican Montane Lizards https://www.bastiaanslab.com/home/sparcnet monthly 0.5 2025-08-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/5090ce81-340c-4578-a189-c71b3805daf1/Salamander+on+leaf+photo+by+Bethany+Fall+2020+-+Copy.jpeg Home - Red-backed Salamander Ecology with SPARCnet A red-backed salamander on a leaf at our study site. Photo credit: Bethany Shaw. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/af3a6686-9dc9-4bc5-8a6c-339638165a7a/IMG_3620.JPG Home - Red-backed Salamander Ecology with SPARCnet One of our study sites just after we set them up, in summer 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/de3cbf1d-418b-4089-83fc-4ac6ebd42736/Salamander+sampling+052018.jpeg Home - Red-backed Salamander Ecology with SPARCnet Sampling a salamander plot during early spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60ccbdcafe620145a955d12d/31b7e8f1-85b6-4bf4-b063-9bd075efb54a/Salamander+processing+042618.jpeg Home - Red-backed Salamander Ecology with SPARCnet Students from Biology 345 (Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles) at SUNY Oneonta measure salamanders after a sampling trip.