Mark Andrew Ward, M.S.

Research interests

I am interested in enhancing our understanding of natural systems to inform the conservation of functional ecosystems. I use a layer cake approach from bedrock geology to soil science to plant and animal distribution to try and understand terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and to assess their ecological quality and uniqueness. In recent years, my field research has focused primarily on the distribution, biology, and conservation of rare amphibian, reptile, and invertebrate species in Maine. Some of the species with which I have become particularly enthralled are spotted and Blanding’s turtles, odonates (especially the ringed boghuanter dragonfly), tiger beetles, butterflies (spicebush swallowtail) and fairy shrimp.