S.A. Lesmeister CV
Sarah A. Lesmeister
2376 Crosby Herold Road Lincoln CA 95648
Email: Salesmeister@ucdavis.edu Phone (916) 847-6366
Education
The University of California at Davis September 2009- Present
PhD in Ecology (In Progress)
The University of California at Davis January 2007-March 2009
B.S. in Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity
Sierra College
August 2004-December 2006
Emphasis in Biological Science
Honors in Organic Chemistry
Publications
Jacobs, B. S. and Lesmeister, S. A. 2012. Maternal environmental effects on fitness, fruit
morphology and ballistic seed dispersal distance in an annual forb. Functional Ecology
Ger, K. A., S. J. Teh, D. V. Baxa, S. Lesmeister, and C. R. Goldman. 2010. The effects
of dietary Microcystis aeruginosa and microcystin on the copepods of the upper San
Francisco Estuary. Freshwater Biology 55:1548-1559.
Presentations
Lesmeister, S.A. 2011. Acute Toxicity of Insecticides to the Calanoid Copepods,
Eurytemora affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi, of the San Francisco Estuary. Society
of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America Annual Meeting. Boston,
MA.
Lesmeister, S.A. 2011. Acute Toxicity of Insecticides to the Calanoid Copepods,
Eurytemora affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi, of the San Francisco Estuary. Life
Sciences in the 21st Century: A Focus on Water. Technical University of Munich.
Munich, Germany
Lesmeister, S.A. 2010. Evaluation of Acute Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos, Permethrin and
Bifenthrin on the copepods Eurytemora affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi of the San
Francisco Estuary. 6th Biennial Bay-Delta Science Conference. Sacramento, CA
Lesmeister, S.A. 2010. Differences in Sensitivity of Eurytemora affinis and
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi to Chlorpyrifos, Permethrin and Bifenthrin. 2010 Interagency
Ecological Program Workshop. Sacramento, CA.
Lesmeister, S.A. 2010. Acute Toxicity of Insecticides on the copepods Eurytemora
affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi, of the San Francisco Estuary. Northern California
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting. Berkeley, CA.
S.A. Lesmeister CV
Awards
2011-2013: Bay Delta Science Fellowship. The acute and chronic effects of pesticides on
the calanoid copepods, Eurytemora affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi, of the San
Francisco Estuary
2011 Spring UC Davis Graduate Student Association Travel Award to attend Life
Sciences in the 21st Century with a Focus on Water. Munich, Germany
2011 North America Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Travel Award
to attend annual North America SETAC Conference. Boston, Massachusetts.
Research Experience
September 2009-Present
Aquatic Toxicology
Graduate Student Researcher
Maintain live zooplankton and phytoplankton culture
Develop and conduct aquatic toxicology and zooplankton experiments
Analyze and interpret experimental data
March 2009-September 2009
Aquatic Toxicology
Lab Assistant
Maintain live zooplankton and phytoplankton culture
Develop and conduct aquatic toxicology and zooplankton experiments
Analyze and interpret experimental data
July 2007-March 2009
Aquatic Toxicology
Student Assistant
Maintain live zooplankton cultures
Assist in laboratory experiments regarding ingestion of toxins, including Microcystis,
and their effects on copepods
January 2008-Present Independent Research
Student of EVE 199
Under the guidance of Dr. Maureen Stanton and PhD candidate, Brooke Baythavong,
designed and carried out an individual research project aimed to answer the question:
How does maternal and current environment nutrient availability affect primary and
secondary dispersal distances of Erodium cicutarium?
Preliminary data analysis indicate plasticity and maternal environmental effects.
January 2008-June 2008
Experimental Field Ecology
Student of EVE 180 A/B
As a class, under the guidance of Dr. Sharon Strauss and Dr. Maureen Stanton, we
designed and executed two field experiments regarding the invasive plant species,
Raphanus sativas.
Addressed the following questions: How does neighborhood genetic relatedness affect
plant size? And how does neighborhood flower color effect pollinator behavior?
S.A. Lesmeister CV
July 2007-November 2007 Population Biology
Student Assistant
Entered and updated experimental data
Assist in greenhouse experiment regarding Erodium Cicutarium, nutrients, and fitness
February 2007-June 2007 Animal Behavior
Patricelli Lab Student Volunteer
Assisted in obtaining data by evaluating videos of mating Sage Grouse to determine a
relationship between sexual selection and acoustic communication.
March 2007- June 2007
Herpetology Field Course
Student of EVE 134F
 As a class, under the guidance of Dr. H. Bradley Shaffer, we designed and executed
an experiment addressing the spatial distribution of two species of turtles, Emys
marmorata and Trachemys scripta, in the UC Davis Arboretum
Professional Society and Club Memberships
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
 Member (2009-Present)
American Fisheries Society-Davis Sacramento Subunit
 President (2010-Present)
 Treasurer (2009-2010)
 Member (2009-Present)
SEEDS  
 Member (2007-Present)

Sierra College Science Club
 Treasurer (2005-2006)
 Member (2004-2006)
Research Interests
Ecotoxicology
Aquatic Food Webs
Population Dynamics
Estuarine Ecosystems
Lower Trophic Level Organisms
Community Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology