“Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else ”
Fred Rogers
Hello!
My name is Kirsten Meltesen and I am a second year PhD student at the University of Washington in the Wilson Mantilla Lab. I am interested in the study of deep time biodiversity and community assembly through biogeography, ecospace analysis, ecological niche modeling, and dental topographic methods. I currently study mid-Paleocene (Torrejonian-Tiffanian) mammals from southeastern Montana.
ABOUT ME
EDUCATION
Ph.D Biology, University of Washington - Seattle (2021- )
Advisor: Dr. Greg Wilson Mantilla
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Certifications: Data Science
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Cumulative GPA | 3.98
​B.S. Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (2017- 21)
Advisor: Dr. David L Fox​
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Minors | Anthropology, Earth Sciences
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Cumulative GPA | 3.95
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP)
RESEARCH SKILLS
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R
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QGIS
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Excel
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MaxEnt
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Microfossil survey, collection, and identification
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Structured Light Imaging (Creaform Go!Scan 20 )
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Specimen Imaging: Nikon camera, iCapture software, Zerene image stacker
HONORS & AWARDS
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2023: Honorable Mention, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
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2023: Margo & Tom Wycoff Award, Department of Biology, University of Washington
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2023: Richard C. Snyder Award, Department of Biology, University of Washington
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2021: ARCS Foundation Scholar, ARCS Foundation - Seattle Chapter
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2020: Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, University of Minnesota
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2020: Nominee, Goldwater Scholarship, University of Minnesota
COURSES TAUGHT
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BIOL 180: Introductory Biology (Ecology & Evolution)
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BIOL 452: Vertebrate Biology
SCIENCE EDUCATION & OUTREACH
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DIG Field School Instructor, Burke Museum (Seattle, WA)
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Invited Speaker, 10th Annual Dino Shindig, Carter County Museum (Ekalaka, MT)
PUBLICATIONS
Meltesen, K.M., Whiting, E.T., Pinto-Ledezma, J.N., Cicak, T., and Fox, D.L. (2023) Deconstructing the latitudinal diversity gradient of North American mammals by nominal order. Journal of Mammalogy. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyad042
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RESEARCH
CURRENT WORK
Mid-Paleocene Mammals of Southeastern Montana
For my dissertation research, I am currently collecting and describing mammal microfossils from several mid-Paleocene (Torrejonian-Tiffanian NALMAs) sites in southeastern Montana: Medicine Rocks, Mehling Site, 7-Up Butte, Newell's Nook. These specimens are reposited at the Carter County Museum (Ekalaka, MT) and Burke Museum (Seattle, WA) primarily.
I am interested in community ecology with a focus on community structure and assembly. I seek to understand how modern mammal community structure first began to form and the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape the taxonomic and ecological structure of mammal communities throughout deep time.
PREVIOUS WORK
Deconstructing the latitudinal gradient of North American mammals by nominal order
Collaborators: Evan Whiting, Jesús Pinto-Ledezma, Tessa Cicak, David Fox
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We investigated the degree to which species in different mammal clades follow the same latitudinal gradient – and to which each clade contributes to the pattern observed for all mammals by separating the overall mammalian latitudinal diversity gradient by mammal order and investigating the impact of climate and topography on the distribution of each major mammal clade.
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​Published in the Journal of Mammalogy (2023)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyad042
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CONTACT ME
I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email or tweet me at the addresses below
@BiodivKirsty
Say Hi!
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