Phycology Staff

 A photo of Mariena Hurley holding up plant growth from a river.

Mariena Hurley, Section Lead

Mariena Hurley, M.S., earned her Master’s degree in Biology from Central Michigan University with a focus in “Diel dissolved oxygen swings in streams (Pennsylvania, USA): importance of benthic primary production and nutrients. She has expertise in diatom taxonomy and background in environmental factors affecting freshwater algal communities. She is SFS certified in North American Diatom Species Taxonomy, Level II certification.

 A photo of Diane Winter, a staff scientists with a microscope.

Diane Winter, PhD, Algal Taxonomist

Diane Winter, PhD, is an algal taxonomist for the Phycology Section. She has worked with diatoms since the late 1990s, starting freshwater ecological taxonomy work in 2000. She has biostratigraphic experience with coastal and oceanic marine diatom taxa into the Miocene. Since 2014, she added biostratigraphic work with Plio/Pleistocene and Miocene calcareous nannofossils. She is SFS certified in North American Diatom Species Taxonomy, Level II certification.

 An image of Gloria Avila holding field equipment.

Gloria Avila, Laboratory and Field Technician

Gloria Avila graduated from Drexel University in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. During this time, she worked with Dr. Beth Watson in the bio geospatial lab in the BEES department focusing on wetland delineation. She also completed a co-op with Willistown Conservation Trust in the Watershed Protection Team. Currently she works in the Phycology Diatom Prep lab processing algal samples, preserving samples for the Diatom Herbarium, and assisting in maintain the NADED database. She also assists the other research sections in fieldwork for various projects.