Personal Summary

Annie Caires is an aquatic ecologist that has studied invertebrates in lake and stream systems, including Lake Tahoe, Lake Mead, Lake Atitlán (Guatemala), Crater Lake, and the North Fork of the Virgin River. She has focused primarily on the effects of system changes such as eutrophication and introductions of non-native species on aquatic invertebrate communities. She also has an interest in science education and is excited to be back in the classroom. 

Education

M.S., Ecology, Department of Watershed Science, Utah State University, 2007

B.S., Conservation Biology, Department of Environmental and Resource Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 2004 

Courses Taught

ENSC 105: Environmental Science

ENSC 360: Applied Ecology

Selected Publications

Caires, A.M., S. Chandra, and C.R. Nelson. 2016. Unique reproductive characteristics of Lake Tahoe’s Capnia lacustra (Plecoptera: Capniidae), a stonefly in decline. Freshwater Science 35:1291-1299.

Hayford, B.L., A.M. Caires, S. Chandra, and S.F. Girdner. 2015. Patterns in benthic biodiversity link lake trophic status to structure and potential function of three large, deep lakes. PLoS One 10:e0117024.

Caldwell, T.J., M.R. Rosen, S. Chandra, K. Acharya, A.M. Caires, C.J. Davis, M. Thaw, and D. Webster. 2015. Temporal and basin-specific population trends of quagga mussels on soft sediment of a multibasin reservoir. Pages 33-53 in W.H. Wong and S.L. Gerstenberger (editors). Biology and management of invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the western United States. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Caires, A.M., S. Chandra, B.L. Hayford, and M.E. Wittmann. 2013. Four decades of change: dramatic loss of zoobenthos in an oligotrophic lake exhibiting eutrophication. Freshwater Science 32:692-705.

Wittmann, M.E., S. Chandra, J.E. Reuter, A. Caires, S.G. Schladow, and M. Denton. 2012. Harvesting an invasive bivalve in a large natural lake: species recovery and impacts on native benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in Lake Tahoe, USA. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 22:588-597.

Caires, A.M., and S. Chandra. 2012.  Conversion factors as determined by relative macroinvertebrate sampling efficiencies of four common benthic grab samplers. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 27:97-109.

Caires, A.M., M.R. Vinson, and A.M.D. Brasher. 2010. Impacts of hikers on aquatic invertebrates in the North Fork of the Virgin River, Utah. Southwestern Naturalist 55:551-557.

Wittmann, M.E., S. Chandra, A. Caires, M. Denton, M.R. Rosen, W.H. Wong, T. Tietjen, K. Turner, P. Roefer, and C. Holdren. 2010. Early invasion population structure of quagga mussel and associated benthic invertebrate community composition on soft sediment in a large reservoir. Lake and Reservoir Management 26:316-327.

Hobbies

In her free time, Annie likes fiddling for square dances with friends at Lake Missoula Old Time, hiking, or trying to find a beautiful fish.