Biography and education
Received BA in Biology from Austin College, MS in Biology from Texas Christian University, and PhD from University of Victoria (Canada).
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Nowlin, Weston Hugh, Schwartz, Benjamin F, Nice, Chris. Population Genetics of the Endangered Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle (Stygoparnus comalensis), Texas Parks and Wildlife/US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal, $59598. (Submitted: October 2018, Funded: January 2019 - December 2021). Grant.
- Nowlin, Weston Hugh (Principal), Schwartz, B (Co-Principal), Sansom, A (Co-Principal). Spring Lake Nutrient Sources Identification and Nutrient Management Plan, $293689. (Funded: March 2009). Grant.
- Siciliano-Martina, Leila Marie (Principal), Riggins, Chris (Co-Principal), Nowlin, Weston Hugh (Co-Principal). Controlling Invasive Armored Catfish: Growth, Reproduction, and Spearfishing Effects, Texas Parks and Wildlife, State, $91313. (Submitted: 2025, Funded: August 2025 - August 2027). Grant.
- Schwalb, A N (Principal), Nowlin, Weston Hugh (Co-Principal), Schwartz, Benjamin F (Co-Principal). Integrating Long Term Datasets with Next Generation Ecological Models to Quantify Ecological Response in Aquatic Systems, US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal, $4244320. (Funded: 2023 - 2026). Grant.
- Nowlin, Weston Hugh (Principal), Percent Contribution: %33.3, Schwalb, Astrid Nadine, Percent Contribution: %33.3, Schwartz, Benjamin F, Percent Contribution: %33.3. Quantifying drivers of native and non-native aquatic species abundance and distribution in drought- and flood-prone Texas basins, U.S. Army Crop of Engineers, Federal, $2253674. (Funded: 2022 - 2025). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Coleman, W., Bell, K. L., Gibson, J. R., Schwartz, B. F., Nowlin, W. H., & Nice, C. (2025). Evolutionary isolation and ecological stasis in the endangered Comal Springs Dryopid beetle (Stygoparnus comalensis). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
- Frandsen, E., Schwartz, B. F., Hutchins, B., Nowlin, W. H., Sams, M. D., Determan, K., … Herman, B. (2026). Relationships between benthic and hyporheic insect communities across environmental gradients in Texas Rivers.
- Riggins, C., Perkin, J., Nowlin, W. H., & Smith, K. (2025). Population ecology and life history of Macrobrachium carcinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae), in a spring‐fed, headwaters river of Central Texas, USA. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 45, 1–10.
- Wright, K. L., Nair, P., Swannack, T. M., & Nowlin, W. H. (2025). Assessing drivers of spatial variation in macroinvertebrate community structure in spring-fed subtropical rivers. Aquatic Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-025-10224-8, 1–22.
- Frandsen, E., Schwartz, B. F., Hutchins, B., Nowlin, W. H., Swannack, T. M., Sams, M. D., … Cline, C. (2025). Relationships between benthic and hyporheic insect communities across environmental gradients in Texas rivers.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Foundations of Excellence Award, Texas State University Student Foundation. October 2020
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Award for Scholarly/Creative Activities, Texas State University. 2008
- Award / Honor Recipient: Student Travel Award, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. 2000
- Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Graduate Student of 1998, Texas Christian University, Department of Biology. 1998
Featured service activities
- Editorial Review Board Member
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
- Member
Radiation and Laser Safety Committee
- Co-Chair
Texas Research Institute for Aquatic and Groundwater Ecology (TRIAGE)
- Speaker
Highland Lakes Master Naturalists
- Member
Space Committee
- Speaker
Goodwater Master Naturalists - Class Leader