Julia Kay Eichman
Periphyton Taxonomist

Julia has several years of experience identifying periphyton in the Midwest. This experience was acquired working with Dr. Cameron Christensen, Dr. John Dodd, and Dr. Charles Reimer, both as course work and field work in Iowa. Her principal areas of expertise include bioassessment of surface waters using soft-bodied algae, diatoms, water chemistry and geology. As a periphyton taxonomist for EcoAnalysts, Julia’s duties include preparation of samples, identification and enumeration of soft-bodied algae, diatoms, data analysis, interpretation and report preparation.

Since joining EcoAnalysts, Julia has worked on projects involving the Kootenai, Nez Perce, Shoshone, and Bannock tribal lands in the Northwest. Other projects she has worked on involved Missouri, Kansas, South and North Dakota, California, New York, and Delaware. Julia also continues work on preparing samples for deposition in various Diatom Herbariums, and presentation of taxa information gathered from the projects.

An active member of the North American Diatom Society and International Diatom Research, Julia maintains contact with experts in the field and keeps an updated library of changes and advancements in algae as water quality indicators. Julia has authored and co-authored presentations at both the national and international meetings.

Prior to joining EcoAnalysts, Julia was employed as a high school and college instructor. Principal duties included teaching ecology, biology, chemistry, physics, geology and sponsor of the Stream Team. The function of the Stream Team was to teach students how to monitor water quality using chemistry, algae, and invertebrates. Presentations and publications from this activity include Cross-Curriculum Math and Science: “Ebb and Flow of Aquatic Life, a Seasonal Study” and “Baseline River Study.”

During 1989 and 1991 Julia was a research and teaching assistant at the University of Arkansas, Botany Department in partial fulfillment of her Master’s Degree. Graduate work was done with Dr. Richard Meyer (Botany) and Dr. Arthur Brown (Zoology). Duties included research design and implementation for a stream bioassessment project on the west fork of the White River in the Boston Mountains. Specific areas of study included land use, algal assemblages, water chemistry, and geological substrates. Diatom assemblage and the relationships among these parameters were analyzed. Teaching duties included lab instruction for botany, biology, and field ecology.

Prior to enrolling in graduate school at the University of Arkansas, Julia taught high school and worked with Cameron Christensen on various research projects including, “Limnological Development of Brigg’s Woods Lake,” “Diatoms as Water Quality Indicators,” “Southern Iowa River Basin Study” and “Fort Dodge Diatoms, 1876, and 1976.” Julia was co-author of publications and presentations for each of these projects for the Iowa Academy of Science and the National Diatom Symposium.