Allison D. Stamatis
- Instructor - Biology Department
Weatherford College
Weatherford, TX 76086
Email: astamatis@wc.edu
Office: Business 211
Phone: (817) 598-6230
Education:
Ph.D. Environmental Science, University of North Texas
M.S. Biology, University of Texas at El Paso
B.A. Biology, Austin College
Courses taught:
Environmental Biology
General Biology (non-majors)
Human Anatomy and Physiology
Background:
Growing up in arid west Texas, I came to appreciate natural resources at an early age. I completed an undergraduate thesis by writing a taxonomic treatment for the Magnoliaceae family of Texas, which will be a contribution to the upcoming Shinners and Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of East Texas. I returned to my roots in west Texas for my master’s research by undertaking a macroinvertebrate and limnology study of a freshwater stream in the Chihuahuan Desert.
My doctoral research took me deep into the heart of the “biological crossroads of North America”, the Big Thicket. Consisting of almost 100,000 acres in east Texas, the Big Thicket National Preserve contains an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life, some of which is located in floodplains adjacent to the Neches River. The cypress sloughs and bottomland hardwood forests located within these flooded areas abound with sources of organic matter, which, once flushed from the forest floor, can then become available to other organisms within the river itself. Many organisms are dependent on floodplains to sustain their populations. My study focused on the ecology of the floodplain, including the flow of carbon from the forest bottom to the Neches River, the impacts of hurricanes on floodplain dynamics, and the role that the many trees play in the availability of carbon to begin the nutrient spiraling.
I am now teaching in a small college setting at Weatherford College where I teach in the classroom and laboratory. I have continued my field work by teaching other students in an outdoor environment. I also teach and mentor students in pre-health fields of study, and love combining human and environmental sciences in the classroom. I am currently completing two manuscripts to be submitted for publication. My husband, Stephen, has a medical practice in Weatherford, and we have two delightful daughters, Lillian and Hazel, who love to collect insects, sticks, rocks, and leaves.
