Texas State University is fortunate to have excellent facilities on campus and access to many field sites close by. Students and collaborators have utilized these facilities and sites to produce cutting-edge research.

Field Sites

Much of our field work is conducted in rivers across the region, including the Colorado, San Saba, Pedernales, Concho, Guadalupe, Red, Neches, Rio Grande, Pecos, Devils, Comal, and Llano rivers. The headwaters of the San Marcos River (Spring Lake) and the upper river are located within the Texas State University campus; the San Marcos is a spring-fed river that contains multiple threatened and endangered species. The University also owns and operates the Freeman Center, an educational and research-oriented ranch facility that contains part of the recharge area and contributes surface drainage to Spring Lake. Dr. Nowlin and other members of the TRIAGE group built the Experimental Stream Facility on the ranch, which has 36 recirculating riffle-pool stream units.

Lab and Experimental Facilities

The Nowlin lab is located within the Freeman Aquatic Biology Building (Aquatic Station) on the Texas State University campus. The lab contains two CE Elantech CN analyzers, two Dionex ion chromatographs, an Agilent Cary UV-Vis scanning spectrophotometer, a Milli-Q water system, analytical microbalances, high-quality dissection scopes, drying ovens, a muffle furnace, refrigerators/freezers, an incubator, and other pieces of analytical equipment.

The Freeman Building also contains an experimental wet lab that is fed by Edwards Aquifer water and a covered outdoor raceway facility. The Department of Biology has multiple small and medium-sized boats and a fleet of field vehicles.