MISSOULA — On a small island in Lake Michigan, 20 miles from the nearest shore, Lauren Western searches for snails in the shallow water. At each of her sites, she needs to collect 30 specimens of Campeloma decisum, a common freshwater snail found across the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada.
If the snails proved difficult to find on the shore, she dips a net to sift through the sediment or snorkels her way through deeper waters. The specimens she collects help scientists understand how freshwater snails adapt to their environment and what their shells can tell us about water quality.
Western grew up surrounded by the Great Lakes. Originally from Wheaton, Illinois, she always looked forward to swimming in the lakes near her grandparents’ homes in Michigan and Wisconsin. Given her background, it was no surprise that Western chose to study wildlife biology with an aquatic concentration at the University of Montana.
Now she will graduate from UM’s W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and the Davidson Honors College on May 10 with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems.
“I remember telling my parents I didn’t want to go to college in a cornfield,” Western said. “I wanted to see different biology than what I grew up with.”
Though she originally began her studies with a terrestrial concentration and the intent to pursue pre-veterinary requirements, her research and time with the UM’s American Fisheries Society chapter convinced her to make the switch to an aquatic focus.
“My pre-vet requirements were really diving deep into chemistry and molecules, and I wanted to go back to the biology I loved,” Western said. “I’d always liked the water, so when I saw AFS at a student club fair as a sophomore, I decided to reconnect with the aquatic side of things.”
Western has been involved with the fisheries club the past three years, most recently serving as co-president. When she joined, the club mainly featured talks from local biologists. During her tenure, Western helped usher in a new era for the club, getting students out in the field to gain fisheries skills like snorkeling and electrofishing.
These are skills that Western herself used in her research and internships with fisheries labs. Her snail research, conducted in collaboration with Central Michigan University, analyzed how environmental factors such as pH, ammonia and phosphate levels influence snail shell shape.
Findings suggest that water chemistry — often altered by human activity — affects how these snails develop, which means they could help signal the overall health of freshwater ecosystems. Western published her research as the lead author in The American Malacological Society earlier this year.
“Being able to conduct independent research as an undergraduate has been an incredible opportunity,” said Western. “I’ve always been passionate about conservation and understanding how species interact with their environments, and this project allowed me to explore that in a way I never expected. It’s exciting to see how even small creatures like snails can provide valuable insights into water quality.”
In addition to her own research, Western has conducted several internships across the country, including at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where she collected and analyzed tissue samples from freshwater mussels. This summer she will join a team from Andrew Whiteley’s UM lab studying the genetics of western pearlshell mussels.
Her UM experiences showed her what research should look like firsthand.
“You read all these papers in classes, but it’s hard to visualize the challenges and successes you face in conducting it yourself,” Western said. “Research like this is exactly why UM’s Wildlife Biology program is such a great place for students.
“The chance to work with faculty, collaborate with other universities, and apply what we learn in the classroom to actual fieldwork makes such a difference,” she continued. “I’m grateful for the support and mentorship that made this possible.”
