Assistant Professor of Biology at Hampden-Sydney College
Ph.D. in Biology M.S. in Biology B.S. in Environmental Biology
I am an ecologist who uses techniques from landscape ecology, community ecology, and entomology to study aquatic ecosystems and how land use and human activities affect these systems. My current and past research have all revolved around aquatic ecosystems. I have worked in streams, rivers, floodplains, playa wetlands, and ponds conducting various research projects. My research has included field surveys and field, lab, and computer based experiments. These projects have allowed me to acquire skills involving sampling, processing, and analyzing large data sets.
My dissertation research was on the effects of land use and climate change on playa wetlands and their invertebrate communities. Playas are ephemeral wetlands of the Great Plains and constitute the primary source of aboveground freshwater in the middle of the North American continent; they are foci for biodiversity but vulnerable to human impacts. I successfully defended my dissertation in the summer of 2018.
Currently I am working on several independent projects and always looking for new collaborations.
News: Summer 2021: -I have started a new position as a assistant professor of biology in the biology department at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia.
Spring 2021: - Website will be undergoing extensive upgrade. - Exciting announcement coming later this Spring.
Winter 2019/2020: -New article about my research: Rising Temperatures Could Stunt Growth, Threaten Survival of Common Damselfly, January 10, 2020. (Link)
-New publications: Starr, S.M., and N.E. McIntyre, 2020. Land-cover changes and influences on playa wetland inundation of the Southern High Plains. Journal of Arid Environments 175:104096. (Link)
Starr, S.M., N.E. McIntyre, 2019. Effects of Water Temperature Under Projected Climate Change on the Development and Survival of Enallagma civile (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). Environmental Entomology (Link)
Fall 2019: -I recently moved to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area and am continuing work on current collaborations and also looking to establish new projects and collaborations in the local area.
Summer 2018: -I started at South Plains College as an instructor of biology in the biology department. -I graduated from Texas Tech University with my PhD in Biology on August 11th. -I successfully defended my dissertation on June 12. -I will be defending my dissertation titled "The Effects of Land Use and Climate Change on Playa Wetlands and Their Invertebrate Communities" on June 12th at 2 pm in TLPDC room 153, TTU Library.
-I will be teaching Biol 3309, Principles of Ecology during Summer II semester.
Spring 2018: - A new lab paper was published in Ecological Indicators:
McIntyre,N.E., S.D. Collins, L.J, Heintzman, S.M. Starr, N. van Gestel, 2018. The challenge of assaying landscape connectivity in a changing world: A 27-year case study in the southern Great Plains playa network. Ecological Indicators 91: 607-616. DOI 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.04.051
Summer 2017: - Paper Published in the Journal Wetlands:
Heintzman, L.J., S.M. Starr, K.R. Mulligan, L.S. Barbato, and Nancy E. McIntyre, 2017. Using Satellite Imagery to Examine the Relationship between Surface-water Dynamics of the Salt Lakes of Western Texas and Ogallala Aquifer Depletion. DOI 10.1007/s13157-017-0940-2