Student Research
Dr. Alan Lievens and Dr. Mark Gustafson are both biology professors at Texas Lutheran University (TLU). They have lead many studies on the Weston Ranch with the help of their students to better understand the biodiversity on the ranch. While they have been working for many years at the Weston Ranch, they recently led two group of student researchers for their Weston Ranch project.
TLU students Leila Martinez, Mariluz Gonzalez, and Jamsine Sierra are working together with Associate Professors of Biology Dr. Danielle Grove and Dr. Stephanie Perez to identify plant specimens found at the Weston Ranch. Their goal is to be able to more accurately identify these plants using DNA sequencing. These plants are part of the TLU Herbarium that was collected by Dr. Gustafson, Dr. Lievens and their team. Dr. Gustafson and Dr. Lievens assisted with the Morphological identification of the plant specimens and the initial project Design. Funding for this project was supported by The Weston Ranch Foundation and the National Science Foundation
TLU biology students Leila Martinez (Left) and Jasmine Sierra (Right) working on DNA sequencing.
Madison Shultz, Hannah Welfel, Kristin Lucer, and Isaac Orozco (Right) from TLU collected plant specimens from the Weston Ranch to create scientific vouchers to add to their herbarium. Scientific Vouchers are preserved specimens that serve as a permanent record of plants. They are also contributing to an ongoing study to better understand how grassland plant diversity is effected by non-native and non-managed shrubs. They too are collecting specimens to perform DNA sequencing to add to an international database.
