My name is Christopher Rounds and I am an aquatic ecologist interested in invasive species ecology and how humans influence aquatic ecosystems. Currently, I am a MS student in the Conservation Sciences Department at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. For my masters I study how we can use Environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect aquatic invasive species. This involves repeated sampling of lakes with known invasive species populations at different times of the year. Our ultimate goal is to create a plain language guide to help aquatic managers monitor for invasive species. This project is funded through the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center and you can read more about it on the MAISRC webpage.

When I am not busy with research or classes, I enjoy playing video games, cooking, destroying my knees playing soccer and exploring the great outdoors!