Amy Fowler

UNH Fulbright Scholarship Winner for 2006-2007

Amy Fowler, UNH ‘05 has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in New Zealand . A resident of Colliersville , TN , Ms. Fowler graduated from the University of New Hampshire in May 2005 with a B.S. Degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology. She will spend the 2006-2007 academic year at the Leigh Marine Laboratory in Waitemata Harbour , New Zealand . Working in conjunction with the World Conservation Union Invasive Species Specialist Group and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Ms. Fowler will conduct research on the impacts of the invasive Asian Paddle Crab, Charybdis japonica.

 While at UNH, Ms. Fowler was a member of the University Honors Program and served as a laboratory technician under Dr. James E. Byers, assistant professor of zoology. In spring 2004, working through the UNH Center for International Education, Amy studied abroad at James Cook University in Queensland , Australia , where she had many opportunities to explore the marine environment of the Great Barrier Reef . She spent summers working off the Maine/NH coast at the Shoals Marine Laboratory, initially as a student and later as a teaching assistant, island coordinator and, in summer 2004, as a research intern when she was awarded a National Science Foundation grant. Under the guidance of Dr. Byers, Amy completed her honors thesis on the influence of a parasitic trematode on marine ecosystems and the local fisheries industry. She presented her research at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference and at the International Benthic Ecology Meeting in Williamsburg , VA. In spring 2005, Amy was selected as an intern at the Marine Invasives Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater , Maryland , where she has been working since graduation.

In keeping with Fulbright's mission, Ms. Fowler plans to supplement her research activity with community engagement. An avid soccer player, Ms. Fowler plans to draw on her previous experiences in Australia , to become involved with soccer teams while in New Zealand , both as a player and as a youth team coach. Following her Fulbright year, Amy would like to earn her doctorate in marine biology and teach at the college level.