TCU Contaminant Ecology Lab

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TCU Contaminant Ecology Lab

The contaminant ecology lab at Texas Christian University studies mercury toxicology in the Arctic

21/05/2026

Had a great time representing the Texas Christian University Contaminant Ecology Lab at the Society for Freshwater Science meeting!

Cami Middlebrooks (2nd year PhD student) gave an oral presentation on mercury concentrations and the diets of Arctic wolf spiders at different distances from pond shorelines, and Nicole Fordree presented a poster on temporal and species differences in mercury concentrations in seabirds. Both projects focused on ecosystems from the Pituffik Peninsula in Greenland.

Really fun week getting to share our research and hear about all the cool work happening in freshwater science! ❄️🕷️🐦

14/05/2026

Baby spider update 🕷️

Our orb weaver spiders have grown a lot and will soon be moving into upgraded enclosures! We’re also excited to welcome new lab members to the project as we begin asking new questions about lab-reared orb weavers.

Current projects include:
• How does humidity affect survival and growth?
• Does feeding frequency impact survival?

These studies will help us improve rearing methods for future contaminant testing research. Stay tuned for more spider updates!

01/05/2026

Congratulations to our PhD student Cami Middlebrooks, who has been awarded a $5,400 Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grant and named a Lewis and Clark Field Scholar.

The award will support dissertation research in northwest Greenland investigating contaminants in Arctic foxes, a top terrestrial predator that has never before been tested for contaminant burdens in this region. This research will help reveal how terrestrial predators accumulate contaminants through multiple environmental pathways, improving our understanding of wildlife health, ecosystem risk, and the impacts of environmental change in the rapidly changing Arctic.

(Do not attempt to recreate without proper permitting and authorization)

22/04/2026

Our grad students had a great time at Como Community Center for Science Nights with the TCU Graduate Student Community Outreach Club! ❄️

Kids learned about Arctic food webs, how energy flows through ecosystems, and how removing even one species can impact the whole system. So many great questions and a fun night all around! 🌎

17/04/2026

Proud of our incredible undergraduate researchers representing our lab at the TCU Student Research Symposium 🕷️🔬

Kiera and Ramsey are sharing their work on how spider diets influence mercury concentrations, while Sommerlyn and Aiden are presenting their research on orb-weaver spider husbandry and survival rates.

Grateful for the dedication and curiosity they bring to this work.

10/04/2026

Huge congratulations to undergraduate researchers Chidi Mbagwu and David Wright on their outstanding honors presentation “Assessment of Dietary Sources of Mercury Contamination in Spiders from Western Greenland” 🎉

We’re incredibly proud and can’t wait to see where their scientific journeys take them next!

04/04/2026

So proud of our PhD student, Nicole Fordree, for successfully presenting her first chapter proposal to the department on “temporal and interspecific variation in mercury in High Arctic birds.” Excited to see where this research goes!

01/04/2026

Excited to share that one of our PhD students, Cami Middlebrooks has been awarded a Community Civic Grant from the Fort Worth Audubon Society! 🌎🐦

This funding will support research on mercury exposure in Arctic songbirds, helping us better understand how contaminants move through food webs and impact wildlife health. From fieldwork in Greenland to stable isotope analysis, this project connects ecology, conservation, and real-world impact.

26/03/2026

Congratulations to Matt Chumchal, Nicole Fordree, and Cami Middlebrooks on being named American Scandinavian Foundation Fellows! Together, they received $15,000 to support their 2026–2027 Greenland field season.

This funding will support research on how mercury moves from aquatic to terrestrial food webs, including a unique study of an Arctic fox population that has never before been sampled for contaminants. This work will help improve risk assessments and deepen our understanding of wildlife health and ecosystem safety. 🦊❄️

12/02/2026

Welcome to our new lab member Lillianna. Lillianna is a biology major at TCU and is working through our 2025 Greenland insect samples to get them ready for mercury testing. We are super excited to have her join our team!

26/12/2025

We’re excited to celebrate our PhD student Cami, who received a $2,000 TCU Biology DARE Grant to support her research on mercury dynamics in the Arctic!

This funding will go toward her next field project examining mercury contamination in Arctic foxes and how aquatic food webs contribute to contaminant exposure on land. 🦊🌊

(The bird in the first photo is a guillemot that is being banded and sampled for mercury, do not attempt to recreate without proper permitting and authorization)

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http://www.aquaticecologylab.tcu.edu/

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