GPS Scholarship Recipient Justin Greenfield, TXST
Aug 13, 2025
Justin Greenfield grew up in Kyle, Texas where he graduated from Lehman high school. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Zoology with a minor in Chemistry from Mars Hill University in North Carolina. After spending three years with professional biking, he started working at the Schwalb Stream Ecology Lab at Texas State University as field assistant in the fall of 2023 and started his MS studies in Aquatic Resources the following spring. His long-term goal is to get a PhD degree and continue doing research.
For his MS research he studies the distribution of native freshwater mussels in the San Saba River and how different factors may drive their distribution. Freshwater mussels provide important ecosystem services by filtering the water and providing habitat for other aquatic organisms. Unfortunately, the extensive drought in Central Texas is a major threat for many mussel species including three endangered species in the river he is working in, the Texas Fatmucket, the Balcones Spike, and Texas Pimpleback. These species only occur in Central Texas and nowhere else in the world. Justin hopes that his research will help inform conservation efforts of these mussels.
