research team mentor
Principal Investigator
Cristy Portales-Reyes, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
Saint Louis University
Lab website: https://portalesbiodiversitylab.com/
Email: cristy.portales@slu.edu
Research focus for summer 2026
This summer, we will be setting up a long-term field experiment exploring how drought at different times of the season impacts grassland plant communities.
Skills
techniques
methods
We will be doing intensive field work and site preparation early in the summer including setting up plots and posts. Later in the summer, we will be carrying out plant community surveys and will work on learning the names and characteristics for the plant species in the experiment.
research conditions
We will be working almost exclusively out in the field at Tyson Research Center. Given that we are working with grassland species, shade is very limited. We will be doing physically intensive tasks like taking soil cores, pounding metal posts into the ground, a lot of walking, and kneeling for plant surveys. Ticks and poison ivy are common in the areas we work on.
Team structure and opportunities for independent research
Highly motivated students are encouraged to develop independent research projects. Depending on the nature of the work proposed, independent research will mostly be carried out by the student after an initial training period. Each student will present a poster at the Tyson Summer Research Symposium at the end of the field season.