Laura Murray, '15

On a warm summer day, a boat zips west on the Pamunkey River. At a brief stop along the banks, Laura Murray, ’15, and biology professor Carrie Wu step into thigh-high waders and sink into the soft ground. The dense phragmites, a grass-like plant measuring more than six feet high, quickly masks the pair as Kevin Heffernan, a biologist with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, guides them inland. They pluck a few leaves, place them delicately in plastic bags, and climb back aboard. Bags are labeled and GPS coordinates noted while the group travels back east, stopping every few minutes to collect more samples.

With the help of a UR Summer Fellowship and the guidance of Wu, Murray is working to address a longstanding problem facing the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers. An invasive species of phragmites grows rapidly along the banks, crowding out the native flora and fauna — but they’re surrounded by a large population of the native species. It takes a DNA test to accurately tell the difference.

After collecting samples along the riverbanks, Wu and Murray return to Gottwald Center for the Sciences to conduct the genetic testing and provide data to DCR for targeted removal of the invasive plant.