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Sept. 29, 2015 – Jared Balik, a senior at Allegheny College, received the Student Award from the Natural History Section of the Ecological Society of America at the society’s centennial meeting. Balik received the award for the best student paper dealing in natural history.

The son of Matthew and Karen Balik of South Beaver Township, Pa., Balik is majoring in both biology and environmental science, with a minor in environmental writing.

The work that Balik presented at the ESA’s centennial meeting was preliminary data from his Senior Project, titled “Effects of climate-induced distributional shifts in caddisfly larvae on detritus processing and ecosystem function in high-elevation ponds and wetlands.”

He presented his paper to an audience mainly of Ph.Ds and graduate students, since few undergraduates attend the ESA’s national meetings. “A lot of people assumed this was my master’s thesis,” Balik notes.

Balik researched his project at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Crested Butte, Colorado, where he spent two summers working with Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Scott Wissinger.

The research was physically challenging: Balik’s typical work day started with a drive to the base of a mountain and then a hike to 12,080 feet in elevation to collect the insects and other organisms that live along the shores of alpine ponds.

“It’s hard work, but it’s a lot of fun at the same time,” Balik says. “It’s hard to remember that you’re working, because the nature around you is so beautiful. Just looking up, there was supreme beauty. There are no words to describe it.”

Balik also benefited from being a member of a community of scientists and getting a working sense of what it’s like to work in science today. “It’s like a little family up there at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab,” he says. “Science in general is becoming more collaborative.”

Balik’s research goals received a boost in 2014 when he was named a Beckman Scholar. The Beckman Scholars Program supports students as they conduct research in chemistry, biochemistry and biology. Selected as sophomores or juniors, the students conduct research with faculty members full time during two summers and part time during the intervening school year.

In addition to providing stipends for the students, the award also includes funding for related supplies and travel.

Balik, who is co-president of Students for Environmental Action at Allegheny College, is also doing an independent study on pond hydrology this semester, organizing and analyzing data on ponds around the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab.

After graduation Balik plans to attend graduate school to study the consequences of human alterations on aquatic ecosystems and their animal communities. He hopes eventually to teach at a small liberal arts college or to do ecological research in a federal lab.