Erin Hotchkiss
banner
fluvialbenthos.bsky.social
Erin Hotchkiss
@fluvialbenthos.bsky.social
I am a scientist who works (& plays) in waterways to understand their health & function.

Associate Professor in Biological Sciences & Global Change Center Faculty Affiliate @ Virginia Tech. UWYO/Emory alum. she/her. Posts=my opinions. www.hotchkisslab.com
Happy to share a recently accepted, co-authored paper led by @shantanubhide.bsky.social in Water Research: 'Transit times link pollution sources to drinking water quality in a “One Water” system' www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 💧🌎
October 1, 2025 at 1:18 PM
In case you're also up for a quick distraction (I was) - we have black swallowtails in the garden!

Pictured: an adult butterfly on purple ironweed flowers & a caterpillar (1 of 3!) crawling down a dill plant stem 🌱
September 20, 2025 at 1:13 AM
We may not have pets or kids (literally the first two questions everyone asked when we were moving in 😒), but..."FREE #PAWPAWS" helped us (re)connect with several folks in the neighborhood this weekend! 🌱💚
September 14, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Views from Foster Falls, New River Trail State Park (VA, USA) 💧
July 29, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Mom's been reminiscing about how much time she's spent keeping them out of her lake/nature photos in the family text this AM.

"except one time I got a moonrise exactly on top"

RIP to that "you're almost home" landmark, even if it's long overdue!
June 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Definitely feels like summer! I'm enjoying spending more time with the New River this year.

Pembroke -> Bluff City (Hale's Landing), Virginia, USA
June 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Enjoyed being back on the New River in southwest Virginia. First float of the year after full leaf out & first time floating this section (Whitehorne -> Eggleston) after hurricane Helene.
June 7, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Somehow managed to have more than an hour exploring this incredible river without any other humans nearby. Plenty of freshwater shrimp, birds, & anoles to keep me company!

💧Río Espíritu Santo, Bosque Nacional El Yunque, Puerto Rico
May 26, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Congrats to this year's @freshwaterscience.bsky.social Hynes Awardee, Dr. Laurel Genzoli! Laurel received this award for her recent paper, "Benthic cyanobacterial proliferations drive anatoxin production throughout the Klamath River watershed": www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.... 👩‍🔬🌎🧪💧
May 20, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Got to nerd out about beautiful coastal Puerto Rican #wetlands yesterday with @carlalopezpr.bsky.social ! Carla is studying #freshwater wetland #carbon emissions & testing how those emissions may change with sea level rise. 💧🧪🌎👩‍🔬 #2025SFS @globalchangevt.bsky.social
May 18, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Had a great time meeting with ~80 scientists, managers, & community organizers during the 7th Symposium on Urban Stream Ecology in San Juan, PR this week. Excited about next steps from our urban metabolism workshop w/@jonnybehrens.bsky.social + future collabs! 💧🌎🧪 www.urbanstreamecology.org #SUSE7
May 17, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Virginia -> Puerto Rico for the 7th Symposium on Urban Stream Ecology & 2025 annual meeting of @freshwaterscience.bsky.social! Looking forward to nerding out & catching up with new & old freshwater friends. Please reach out if you'd like to connect at #SUSE7 or #2025SFS!
May 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
I managed to not fly at all in 2024 (attended 2 conferences by train!), so it was strange & wonderful to be back in a window seat for a cross-country flight (IAD-SFO). Mostly cloudy, a few good views. Looking forward to catching up with an old friend & finding sabbatical inspiration in a new place.
April 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Nice float on the James River near Buchanan, VA today. Bluebells are looking great & trees are starting to leaf out.
March 30, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Today, Virginia Tech's board of visitors voted to end all DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs, dissolving the Office for Inclusive Strategy & Excellence, InclusiveVT, student centers (e.g., Black, LGBTQ+, Indigenous), DEI committees, etc...🤬 Was glad to stand w/ friends & see a big turnout.
March 25, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Back in VA for a week & enjoying the many signs of spring: daffodils, trillium, & blueberries in the garden + protests (Sunday was for standing up against privatization of our federal mail service with USPS union & community members)
March 24, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Had a fun morning visit to East Fork Poplar Creek today to test methods & plan storm sampling with @jonnybehrens.bsky.social! Still a surprising amount of algae after a big storm / high flows over the weekend. 🧪💧🌎
March 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
My research sabbatical time at ORNL continues to be a treat. Amazing people & scientists ++ today I got to visit Walker Branch, an important long-term study site for our understanding of how streams function (IYKYK & are a biogeochemistry/ecology nerd)! 💧🧪🌎
March 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Took the long way to my destination to spend a bit of time in Great Smoky Mountains National Park today. No regrets. (And yes, of course I spent as much time as possible along streams & rivers!)
March 7, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Today's backyard springtime phenology updates: bees started visiting the snowdrops & crocus flowers + the first yellow crocuses-in-the-grass started blooming. Nice little break from all of the horrible news. Now back to reality....
March 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
And now for...spring? Today's lunchtime walk around the garden brought the first backyard crocus sightings of the year + other early spring plants emerging from the melting snow & ice.
February 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
2nd snow day (VT classes were cancelled but I'm on a research sabbatical & not teaching) came with more ice/rain/sleet & and new views from the garden
February 12, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Found some peace & sunlight today - it was a much needed recharge. The science will continue. The fight for human rights, equity, democracy, & a better future goes on.
February 4, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Season's greetings from Tennessee (& Mom's army of nutcrackers!)
December 25, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Very ready to relax at home after a busy but fun week of connecting w/ amazing earth scientists at #AGU24. A favorite part of conferences now is meeting new early career colleagues, so thanks to all who reached out & shared your work! (Bonus: I got to travel by train for 2/2 meetings in 2024!) 🌎🧪👩‍🔬💧🚆
December 14, 2024 at 11:28 PM