Faculty/Staff Directory
First Name
Megan
Last Name
Woller-Skar (she/her/hers)
Email
wollerm@gvsu.edu
Title
- Professor
Website
Office Address
2200i Kindschi Hall of Science
Office Phone
616-331-3279
Areas of Expertise
Quantitative Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology
Professional Societies
Society for Freshwater Science, 2006-present.
International
Association for Great Lakes Research, 2016-present.
Sustainability
Academic Network, 2025-present.
Courses Taught at GVSU
BIO 215 - Ecology
BIO/NRM 315 - Racism and the Conservation
Movement
BIO 440 – Limnology
BIO 460 - Terrestrial Ecosystems
Ecology
BIO 480 - Marine Mammals
BIO 593 - Advanced
Univariate Methods
BIO 594 - Advanced Multivariate Methods
Research Interests
My research focuses on ecosystem changes in space and time following perturbation. Currently I am working on several projects:
- 3D modeling and visualization in research, teaching, and innovation. Woller-Skar, M.M., Li, Haoyu, Schwartz, Mark, & Wes Jackson.
- Using machine learning to distinguish between images of Dreissena rostriformis, Dreissena polymorpha, and Limnoperna fortune. Woller-Skar, M.M., Leidig, J., and A.K. Elgin.
- Algal community structure in vernal pool communities. In prep, Thomas, E.T., Ress, J.A. and M.M. Woller-Skar.
Education
Ph.D. Biology: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.
December 2009.
M.S. Biology: Central Michigan University, Mt.
Pleasant, MI. December, 2006.
B.S. Zoology: Miami University,
Oxford, OH. December, 1998.
Select Publications
Cianci-Gaskill, J.A., Woller-Skar, M.M., DeBruyne, R.L., and E.F. Roseman. 2026. Microcystin concentrations relative to stomach contents of double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum), Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. Submitted to Waterbirds.
Olszewski, M.W., Strychar, K.B., Ruetz III, C.R. and M.M. Woller-Skar. 2026. Evaluating Escherichia coli contamination of the outer mucus layer on freshwater fish in west Michigan waters with implications for transfer to humans. Submitted to Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
STEWART, S., LEE, F., HOLMES, R., KUSABS, I., WOLLER-SKAR, M.M., AND L. HITT. 2024. Developing a knowledge base to support fishery management in Lake Lkataina. Cawthron Report (Peer reviewed). Cawthron Institute, Nelson, NZ.
WOLLER-SKAR, M.M., LOCHER, A., AND E.M. AUDIA. 2024. Carbon storage in rare ecosystems relative to their encroaching forest in western Lower Michigan. Plos One, 19(6): 1-14.
BARDWELL, B. AND M.M. WOLLER-SKAR. 2023. Challenges and successes of
using Two-Eyed seeing to teach Indigenous Science at a predominantly
white institution. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 49, s78-s83.
Woller-Skar, M.M., Locher, A., Audia, E. and E.W. Thomas. 2021.
Changing water levels in Lake Superior, MI (USA) impact periphytic
diatom assemblages in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Water, 13, 253. DOI.org/10.3390/w13030253.
Recent Presentations
2025: Investigating age-0 trout survival on the North Branch of Michigan’s Au Sable River (USA). Society for Freshwater Science, San Juan, PR. Author Only.
2025: Freshwater fish as a bioindicator for Escherichia coli (E. coli) in contaminated river systems in Michigan (USA). Society for Freshwater Science, San Juan, PR. Author Only.
2024: Investigating conservation challenges and opportunities for native fish in New Zealand lakes. American Fisheries Association, Honolulu, HI (USA). Author Only.
2024: Using multiple lines of evidence to understand complex systems for management: Lake Lkataina food-web dynamics. New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society, Rotorua, New Zealand. Author Only.
2023: Investing conservation challenges and opportunities for native fish in Aotearoa New Zealand lakes in the face of climate change. Freshwater Science Meeting, Brisbane, Australia. Author Only.
2023: Abundance and demography of the Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) across two river systems in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Conservation Symposium for Wood, Blandings, and Spotted Turtles, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Huntingdon, PA (USA). Author Only.
2022: Challenges and successes of using Two-Eyed Seeing to teach Indigenous Science at a predominantly white institution. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI (USA).
2021: Changing water levels in Lake Superior impact periphytic diatoms. International Association of Great Lakes Research, Houghton, MI (USA) – ONLINE.
2020: Carbon sequestration in a restored West Michigan oak savanna: how carbon relates to game management practices. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Springfield, IL (USA). Author Only.
2019: An assessment of periphyton communities in five Upper Peninsula streams, MI. International Association of Great Lakes Research. Brockport, NY (USA). Author Only.
2019: Diverse, equitable, and inclusive scientific societies: Progress and opportunities in the Society for Freshwater Science. Society for Freshwater Science, Salt Lake City, Utah (USA). Author Only.
2019: Striving towards a more diverse and inclusive scientific society: progress made in the Society for Freshwater Science. Association for the Sciences Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, San Juan (Puerto Rico). Author Only
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