USFWS Miranda Plumb, -ScienceWoman (16458948877)

March is Women’s History month, and we want to highlight some of the amazing women here at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on our social media sites.
Name: Miranda Plumb
Title: Fish & Wildlife Biologist
Duty station: Washington Fish & Wildlife Office
Female Conservation Hero or Mentor: Jane Goodall
Where did you go to school: University of Alaska Fairbanks (M.S. Fisheries); University of Montana (B.S. Wildlife Biology)
How did you get interested in conservation? Simply by living in the rural country-side while growing up and having parents who appreciate the outdoors and natural world. My family didn’t take big, extravagant trips when I was growing up; instead my parents took us to state parks in Vermont and New Hampshire. We camped out a lot, went fishing, and definitely looked all around for wildlife.
What’s your favorite species and why? pygmy whitefish (Prosopium coulteri) – relative to other species, little is known about pygmy whitefish, at least in the Arctic where I studied them. In one lake system there can be multiple sympatric morphotypes.

Northern pygmy owl – their automimicry (false eyes) mislead predators and/or mobbing small birds – very cool adaptation!