Adrianna Neale

Hi everyone, my name is Adrianna Neale. I am currently one of the 2025 spring interns at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I graduated in May of 2023 from Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Conservation Biology. I was born and raised in western Kentucky, and have grown up with a passion for wildlife and enjoying the outdoors. I’m excited to pursue this passion through my work at St. Mark’s and to learn from all the experiences this position has to offer.

While a student at Murray State, I had the opportunity to work as a bat field technician for the Greenheart Biodiversity Monitoring Project in Louisville, Kentucky. My primary goal was to record auditory data on bat populations at the greening sites with Louisville, whose purpose was to improve human health within the city. This was my first professional experience with data collection and population monitoring. I also had the opportunity to assist with processing arthropod samples from this project, and be involved with community outreach to teach the public of my role as a bat technician. Also in my time as an undergrad, I was able to volunteer in the Amphibian and Reptile Collection Lab where I assisted in the maintenance and handling of the collection specimens and helped out with the field work of different graduate projects in the lab.

I have primarily been interested in working within the field of herpetology, which led me to work for the University of Florida on a Burmese python research project in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem in the beginning of 2024. This project was to test if female pythons could be used as lures and to see if this method could be effective in the future for further removing this invasive species. This opportunity allowed me to work in a part of the United States that I never had before and with a species whose introduction has decimated native populations. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to learn more about this snake and to work with them on a daily basis. I learned proper handling and restraint of Burmese pythons, how to pit tag, inject medications, collect and process camera trap data, and how to work in the Everglades.

I have always had the goal of working with the USFWS, and am thankful for the opportunity to learn at such an amazing and beautiful refuge. I’m excited to see where my professional career in wildlife goes after this position, and am certain that my internship at St. Marks will provide me with the necessary skills to succeed in whatever comes next.