Lauren M. Taylor

Research & Projects

A snail is climbing on the underside of a tree branch

Body Size Extremes v. Landmass Area and Species Richness

Objectives

How are land snail size extremes related to both the area of the landmass on which the snail resides and the number of snail species found on that landmass?

The question of how body size extremes relate to landmass area has been studied before for mammals and other vertebrates. We are exploring these well-documented invertebrates to see if the trends observed with vertebrate species hold with invertebrates. We are also adding species richness to the analysis to determine if the impact of landmass area on body size is mediated by the impact of landmass area on species richness.

Tasks: Compile volumes of species accounts, review recent gastropod literature, contact experts in the field to find data sources, process data and run statistics in R., structural equation modeling in R., make visualizations of data in R., and investigate abiotic factors across regions with GIS.

Poster Presentation from September of 2023

SESUR Poster.pdf

honeysuckle plants are beautiful, but also invasive to the Kentucky ecosystem

Field Research in Kentucky

Objectives

I collaborated with the Boyce Lab at Northern Kentucky University in studying invasive species in northern Kentucky and southwestern Ohio. We studied the effects of leaf blight on Amur honeysuckle growth to assess the potential use of leaf blight as a management tool. We also studied Callery pear tree distribution to assess their shade tolerance.

Tasks: Visiting 90 Amur honeysuckle plants across 3 sites to measure shoot growth, count leaves, diagnose and document leaf blight, and document grazing and trampling damage. Going to densely wooded areas to measure the positions and sizes of Callery pear trees and using R. to plot the distributions and assess shade tolerance.

Smaller Projects

Code with various objects color coded seen on a screen at a slight angle

Multiplayer Card Game (Wolfram Mathematica)

Coded the underlying logic for the card game Mao. Includes two game modes: multiplayer and single-player against an AI computer opponent. The AI could learn to improve based on the human player's performance, thus providing a dynamic experience fit for various users.

$A Sierpinski's triangle with its smaller, fractal-like inner triangles making a pleasant, geometric image.$

Recursive Fractal Generator (C++)

Designed and deployed algorithms to generate various polygons following the pattern in Sierpinski's triangle. The code can generate the fractals to an arbitrary resolution, allowing for high-quality results in a powerful machine and reasonable computing times with limited hardware.

The Elkhorn Slough in Kentucky is a water route that's vulnerable to eutrophication

Trophic Cascades Eutrophication Investigation

Ulva spp. is a problematic species that contributes greatly to eutrophication in Elkhorn Slough. I did fieldwork and wrote a paper on the hypothetical trophic cascade and effects on water quality and erosion that would result from the complete removal of the species.

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