About the Author

    Hello there!  My name is Julianne Merkes.  Currently, I am a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and loving it!  I am majoring in Biology with a Biomedical Sciences concentration, which will give me a chemistry minor by default.  I am also working toward a nutrition minor.  I’ve always been interested in how the body works.  It’s truly amazing and has the wonderful innate ability to heal itself, given the opportunity.  I would love to help people live long healthy, drug and surgery free lives, so my end goal of all of this is to become a chiropractor.  I would also love to help other athletes like myself!

    Along with the rigorous class load, I am a member of the Women’s Track and Field team.  My events are shot put, the weight throw (indoors), hammer throw and javelin (outdoors).  It’s so much fun and I could not ask for a more wonderful team!  We are currently defending Conference Champions.  Some other things I am involved with on campus are the Pre-Chiropractic Club and Eta Phi Alpha Honors Society.  I am also currently working as a Desk Assistant at one of the residence halls here on campus.  

    Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my friends.  We do basically anything outdoors, hiking (especially in the beautiful bluffs of La Crosse), fishing, camping, boating and just sitting out by the campfire.  I also love cooking!  My family has always owned restaurants, so it comes pretty naturally.  

    I am from Port Edwards, a tiny town in central Wisconsin.  I have a wonderful family with a younger brother.  We also have two dogs and a turtle.  It makes for a lively household, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  My family has always been my greatest source of support and always to what they can to help me out.  

    This web page was made for and Organismal Biology course here at UWL.  I was excited when I heard that our theme for the semester was spooky organisms.  I had no idea which organism I would choose though.   I wanted to do something out of the box.  So, I went to work searching for spooky organisms, when I stumbled upon Pistol Shrimp.  They were something I’ve never heard of, so I wanted to learn more!! 

    I really hope you enjoyed learning about Alpheus randalli.  It has been fascinating for me!  It’s just one of the millions of organisms out there that adds to the complexity of our beautiful planet.

    If you have time, don’t forget to see my other classmates’ web pages at MultipleOrganisms.net!  Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite animal!  

    If you have any questions, please contact me at merkes.juli@uwlax.edu, or either of my professors, Dr. Anita Baines at abaines@uwlax.edu or Dr. Gretchen Gerrish at ggerrish@uwlax.edu.