Grand Valley State University senior Danielle Grimm recently won a student presentation competition for a project focusing on the aquatic plant known as the hybrid watermilfoil and its ability to reproduce. She triumphed over all graduate students from several other universities at the competition, which was held at the Midwest Aquatic Plant Management Society’s annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Grimm and researcher Ryan Thum have been studying the potential for reproduction in the plant because hybrid species are often more invasive than the parent plants. Grimm’s research was conducted at GVSU’s Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon. She intends to continue her research and has applied to a graduate program at GVSU.