Megan Hess

is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse with an aquatic biology degree and minors in chemistry and environmental studies, having worked with the molecule Triclosan, a chemical used as an antibacterial in soaps, deodorants and mouthwash and the effects it had on Zerafish hearts. More recently she has been exploring the effects of mercy contamination on aquatic systems using larval dragonflies as biosentinels.

2 posts

Kidneys of the Rivers

Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are of extreme importance to an aquatic ecosystem’s function and health. Probably the most well-known ecosystem service that mussels provide is ‘cleaning up the water.’ They are filter feeders; meaning they get their nutrients from straining small organisms and particles out of the water. Some species are even being reintroduced to areas of poor water quality, in hopes of decreasing the sediment and pollution load. One adult mussel can filter approximately 20 gallo

5/1/2018Megan Hess

Mercury & Dragonflies

It’s always interesting for me, being an aquatic biologist and angler, to look down into the water and see the diversity of life on the bottom of a beautiful stream. It wasn’t until recently during my time researching invertebrates, that I now go out to a stream while fishing and wonder how much mercury, a neurotoxin, is in the body of the small critter my fly is trying to resemble. Billowing smoke stacks of coal burning industries fill the Midwest. These rolling fumes contain mercury (Hg) th

12/15/2015Megan Hess

Posts by this author

Kidneys of the Rivers

Mercury & Dragonflies