Research
- My research aims to understand how anthropogenic land-use change and land management decisions influence biodiversity, specifically concerning arthropoda.
Disease
Butterflies, especially monarch butterflies, can have high prevalence of parasites and parasitoids. This research is investigating butterfly health trends in urban areas.
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Urban ecology
Pollinator garden programs are often promoted as conservation solutions to widespread habitat loss. This project focuses on how a network of gardens can influence the broader pollinator community within a rural-to-urban interface.
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Zooscapes
Zoos are a unique landscape that serve as both homes for collection animals and spaces where free-ranging wildlife co-exist. This project is investigating how butterfly communities are utilizing these urban green spaces.
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Behavior
Animals can behave differently depending on their surroundings and environment. This project is investigating how a rural to urban gradient can affect butterfly behavior.
This project is part of a collaborative project with K-12 students and teachers. |
Community science
Community scientist data is found throughout various levels of ecological research, but other disciplines, such as businesses, can also benefit from this data to inform best practices and reach sustainability goals.
This project is part of a multidisciplinary project with sustainable tourism researchers. |
Land use intensity
As land use intensification increases, specialist species tend to be replaced by generalist species in a community. This project investigates if similar patterns are found in the southern Great Plains.
This work comprised the 2nd chap of my dissertation, in prep |
Disease & Health Ecology
Determining how parasites, parasitoids, and pathogens affect species of conservation concern is key to developing conservation strategies that can prevent or mitigate the impacts of disease. I have been part of amazing teams of scientists that have found:
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Landscape & Urban Ecology
Grassland pollinators have undergone population declines due to habitat loss and degradation. Understanding how land management decisions impact grassland insects is necessary to helping conserve species of concern. Through this line of research, we have found that:
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Nature Connectedness & Human Ecology
Nature connectedness is how nature and human identity intertwine. This line of research involves multiple multidisciplinary teams comprised of outreach educators, social scientists, and marketing experts. Within these unique collaborative teams, we have found that:
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