PhD Student Justin Lesser

As a Biology PhD student in Dr. Jimmy Nelson’s Ecosystems Lab at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Justin Lesser studies how coastal erosion affects the eating habits of mummichogs. His work focuses on the food webs of coastal ecosystems and how they respond to landform changes linked to nutrient additions.

His research includes fieldwork in marshes, including tracking mummichogs during summers as part of the TIDE Project. The project adds excess nutrients to a salt marsh creekshed to support a “natural laboratory,” and his study assesses how the legacy of nutrient addition influences system recovery and response to additional stressors such as sea-level rise and warming.

The text connects his training to skills in analyzing collected data, planning a field season, and leading a research team. It also highlights experience supervising and working with undergraduate researchers, described as helpful for his future as a principal investigator in his own research lab.

• Principal investigator in his own research lab