Aquatic Ecologist
RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc
22796 County Highway 6
Detroit Lakes, MN 56501
218-846-1465
kaira.kamke@rmbel.info
Education
B.S. Water Resources, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 2017
Specialized Skills
Certified by the Society for Freshwater Science in EPT-East to genus (2018)
Proficient in the identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates to genus, 2017 – present
Proficient in Zebra mussel veliger identification (verified by 2 independent parties)
Bio
Kaira spent much of her childhood surrounded by water, from touring the Wisconsin River on the Wisconsin Dells Duck rides to going deep-sea fishing on Lake Superior with her family. She began to explore stream ecology in high school when she got involved with a monitoring program, which marked the beginning of her fascination with the insects and other critters that live in aquatic systems.
She continued her interest in college at UW – Stevens Point by taking courses such as Aquatic Insects, Aquatic Invertebrate Zoology, GIS in Fisheries and Water Resources, and Biological Assessment of Water Quality. Kaira then became interested in expanding her knowledge from stream habitats to wetland ecosystems. She designed research projects to explore what kinds of insects could be found in these areas, and how they interact with the plants and wildlife that live around them. She advanced to a taxonomy position in the Aquatic Biomonitoring Laboratory in Stevens Point to further learn about these bugs and the role they play in the world of water.
After graduation, Kaira came to RMB to continue working as a taxonomist and expanded into the areas of zebra mussel veligers and zooplankton. In April 2018, she became certified by the Society of Freshwater Science in EPT East genera. She lives in Detroit Lakes with her dog.