Museum Associate, Science Educator

Curriculum Vitae

Research interests: I'm broadly interested in the emerging field of Conservation Paleobiology, or utilizing the fossil record for current and forecasted conservation issues. This includes differentiating background vs. human-caused extinctions, ecosystem dynamics including responses to climate change and habitat disruption, the Anthropocene, and management guidelines for biologic invasions and reintroductions.

Why paleontology? I've made an academic hobby out of paleontology since a family vacation in kindergarten to the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, but have also been interested in contributing more through a career in conservation. After a colleague introduced me to the idea of Conservation Paleobiology, I realized: "why not both?" So now I'm working in the Barnosky and Looy labs to investigate the ecological consequences of late-Quaternary extinctions as a lens for addressing present and future conservation concerns.

Selected Publications

• Spano, N.G., C.S. Lane, S.W. Francis and T.C. Johnson. 2017. Discovery of Mount Mazama cryptotephra in Lake Superior (North America): Implications and potential applications. Geology, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/G39394.1 Read it