Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Staff Member

Kristin Womble

Kristin Womble
Project Coordinator
Phone: (615) 308 - 8094
Email: kirwin@tntech.edu

Biography

I earned my master's in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2018, and I am currently a Project Coordinator for the Rosenberger lab. My research interests center on freshwater mollusks with a focus on bivalves. I am interested in freshwater mussel distributions and population demographics, especially in under-sampled areas such as small, headwater streams. I also use GIS to conduct spatial analysis on freshwater mussels and their habitat preferences to predict their distributional limitations.

Research Publications Publication Date
Fetters, J., A. Rosenberger, K.I. Womble, A. Ford, B. Bajo. 2022. Increased population size of the federally endangered Ptychobranchus subtentus in the Wolf River, TN (Fentress and Pickett Co.). Ellipsaria 24: 21-24. February 2022
Project Completion Date
A comprehensive understanding of mussel populations in the Duck River, Tennessee for their conservation and to establish ecological flows for ongoing water withdrawals and water management January 2030
Creation of a Statewide Freshwater Mussel Database for the State of Tennessee January 2030
A re-survey of the mussel fauna and a habitat assessment of the Wolf River, Tennessee January 2024
Assessment and Modeling of the Freshwater Mussel Distributions and Habitat Preferences in the Hatchie River, Tennessee January 2026
Update to Tennessee Status Assessments and Recovery Plans for Listed Mussel Species January 2025
Presentations Presentation Date
Womble, K.I., Rosenberger, A.E., and G.R. Dinkins. 2023. A Comprehensive Freshwater Mussel Database for the Duck River Drainage, Tennessee: The History of Mussels in a Priority Watershed. Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Symposium: Portland, OR. April 2023. February 2023
Womble, K.I., A.E. Rosenberger, and K.N. Key. 2024. Expansion of a comprehensive freshwater mussel database for the state of Tennessee: Compiling mussel assemblage information for West Tennessee Drainages. Poster presentation for West Tennessee River Basin Conference, Jackson, TN. February, 2024.<br><br> February 2024
Womble, K.I. and A.E. Rosenberger. 2022. A habitat suitability model for the Tennessee Heelsplitter (<i>Lasmigona holstonia</i>). Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI. May, 2022. May 2022
Womble, K.I. and A.E. Rosenberger. 2019. A habitat suitability model for the Tennessee Heelsplitter (<i>Lasmigona holstonia</i>). Oral presentation. Tennessee Endangered Mollusk Meeting, Crossville, TN. December 2019.<br><br> December 2019
Womble, K.I. and A.E. Rosenberger. 2021. A habitat suitability model for the Tennessee Heelsplitter (<i>Lasmigona holstonia</i>). Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Annual Meeting. April, 2021. <br><br> April 2021
Womble, K.I. and A. Rosenberger. 2022. A habitat suitability model for the Tennessee Heelsplitter (<i>Lasmigona holstonia</i>). Tennessee Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Gaitlinburg, TN. March 2022.<br><br> March 2022
Sallack, K., Key, K.N., Irwin Womble, K., and A.E. Rosenberger. 2023. Initiating Freshwater Mussel Research in the Hatchie River. West Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Jackson, TN. March 2023 (abstract not published) March 2023
Sallack, K., Key, K.N., Irwin Womble, K., and A.E. Rosenberger. 2023. Initiating Freshwater Mussel Research in the Hatchie River. Tennessee Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Chapel Hill, TN. March 2023 (Abstract not published) March 2023
Rosenberger, A.E., S. McMurray, K. Bouska, G. Lindner, K. Key, J. Holtswarth, K. Womble, M. Schrum, and L. Lueckenhoff. 2020. Towards a statewide, strategic, and spatially-explicit mussel conservation assessment and monitoring program - our vision. Virtual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, September, 2020. September 2020
Rosenberger, A.E., D.B. Fitzgerald, K.I. Womble, and D.R. Smith. 2022. Making your survey effort count for the USFWS species status assessment process. Invited Workshop Presentation for the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society, Henry Horton State Park, TN. August, 2022. <br><br> August 2022
Rosenberger, A.E. and Womble, K.I. 2023. The history of freshwater mussels in the Duck River, Tennessee. Presentation to the Duck River Agency Annual Meeting, Henry Horton State Park, TN. December. December 2023
Irwin, K.L., A.E. Rosenberger, G.R. Dinkins, S.A. Ahlstedt, and J.B. Alford. 2019. Freshwater mussel and habitat assessment of the Duck River System, TN. Annual Conference of the Freshwater Mussel Conservation Society, San Antonio, TX. April, 2019. April 2019