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College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Kara Andres

Assistant Professor of Ecology of Human Impacted Systems
School of Biological Sciences
Office
SLB Science Laboratory Building 341
Office Phone
(309) 438-8677office
phone
Email
kjandr2@ilstu.eduemail
Website
https://about.illinoisstate.edu/kja... website
  • About
  • Education
  • Research

Biography

Dr. Kara Andres earned her B.S. in Biology from Missouri State University, M.S. in Biology from Saint Louis University, and Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis prior to joining the School of Biological Sciences in Fall 2024.

Current Courses

BSC 280.001 Conservation Of Animal And Plant Biodiversity

BSC 420.001 Seminar In Conservation Biology

BSC 490.001 Biostatistics

BSC 499.002 Independent Research For The Master's Thesis

BSC 290.005 Research In Biological Sciences

BSC 420.001 Seminar in Biostatistics Laboratory

Teaching Interests & Areas

Conservation Biology, Freshwater ecology, Biodiversity

Research Interests & Areas

My research interests are broadly focused on conserving aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity. I am particularly interested in the ecological consequences of global change and the spread of aquatic invasive species in freshwater systems. A large portion of my research uses molecular approaches to study aquatic biodiversity, population genetics, and host-microbe interactions.

Post-Doc Living Earth Collaborative

Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO

PhD Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

MS Biology

Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO

BS Biology

Missouri State University
Springfield, MO

Journal Article

Andres, K., Liu, B., Johnson, L., Kapuscinski, K., Moerke, A., Ling, F., & Knouft, J. Life stage and vaccination shape the gut microbiome of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) intended for river stocking. Aquaculture 594 (2025): 741469.
Andres, K., Lambert, T., Lodge, D., Andrés, J., & Jackson, J. Combining sampling gear to optimally inventory species highlights the efficiency of <scp>eDNA</scp> metabarcoding. Environmental DNA 5.1 (2023): 146-157.
Andres, K., Lodge, D., Sethi, S., & Andrés, J. Detecting and analysing intraspecific genetic variation with <scp>eDNA</scp>: From population genetics to species abundance. Molecular Ecology 32.15 (2023): 4118-4132.
Andres, K., Lodge, D., & Andrés, J. Environmental DNA reveals the genetic diversity and population structure of an invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120.37 (2023)
Andrés, J., Czechowski, P., Grey, E., Saebi, M., Andres, K., Brown, C., Chawla, N., Corbett, J., Brys, R., Cassey, P., Correa, N., Deveney, M., Egan, S., Fisher, J., vanden Hooff, R., Knapp, C., Leong, S., Neilson, B., Paolucci, E., Pfrender, M., Pochardt, M., Prowse, T., Rumrill, S., Scianni, C., Sylvester, F., Tamburri, M., Therriault, T., Yeo, D., & Lodge, D. Environment and shipping drive environmental <scp>DNA</scp> beta‐diversity among commercial ports. Molecular Ecology 32.23 (2023): 6696-6709.