Principle Investigator

Dr. Joshua Tewksbury - Associate Professor I am interested in the context of diversity - the physical and biological environment in which individuals, populations and communities exist. I think this context defines a lot of diversity, and to a large extent, determines the resilience of biological diversity in the face of change - human caused and otherwise. My research spans a wide range of traditional topics in ecology, evolution and conservation, from ecological and evolutionary studies of plant animal interactions to studies of global climate change impacts on physiology, ecology, and species interactions, and long-term studies of landscape fragmentation and connectivity. I favor experimental investigations into ecology and evolution based on an understanding of natural history - the particulars of place - and general theory. I am currently directing the Conservation of Living Systems graduate program in the UW college of the environment, and serving on a number of boards focused on increasing and sustaining basic connections between people and the natural world. For more information on my research philosophy, please click here, for more information on research in my lab, please see current research programs, and for completed work, you can download my CV. If you need to schedule a meeting, check my calendar. If you still need more information, drop me an e-mail

Post Docs

Dr. Meade Krosby - Postdoctoral Fellow My research focuses on the movement of individuals, populations and communities. I am interested in both the causes and constraints on movement (from climate change and connectivity to fragmentation and life-history) and the consequences of movement for gene flow, hybrid zone formation and movement, and community cohesion. For more information on my research, please see my webpage mkrosby@u.washington.edu (email)

Dr. Lars Brudvig - Postdoctoral Fellow My general research interests are in restoration ecology of plant communities, ranging from local scales to landscapes. Much of my work has focused on two aspects of restoration: (1) using restoration as a means for large-scale experimentation to investigate spatial processes and consequences for management and (2) placing restoration ecology into a landscape context by incorporating elements of reserve design. I enjoy working at the interface between science and management and collaborate with several government and private land management agencies. With the Corridor Research Group I work at Savannah River Site, SC. This university/U.S. Forest Service collaboration represents one of the largest and best replicated habitat fragmentation experiments in the world and is the largest experimental study of habitat corridors. Presently, we are studying the influences of habitat edges and corridors on population dynamics of longleaf pine savanna understory plants. Using experimental and observational approaches, we seek to translate findings from our experimental landscapes to the scale of operational forestry at the 80,000 ha Savannah River Site. For more information on my research, please see my current research interests or my CV brudvig@biology2.wustl.edu (email)

Graduate Students

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	Dan Evans- PhD Student We live in a fragmented world, and mitigating the effects of habitat fragmentation is one of our greatest conservation challenges. My PhD research is focused on the impact of fragmentation on plant gene flow, pollination and seed dispersal. Using molecular markers and a model species of annual herbaceous plant, Solanum americanum, I’m studying the movement of pollen and seeds within and between experimentally fragmented habitat patches at the Savannah River Site (SRS) National Environmental Research Park in South Carolina. I’m testing hypotheses designed to clarify how habitat edges and the presence or absence of habitat corridors affect plant gene flow. S. americanum can be pollinated by a variety of insects and dispersed by a variety of birds, so this study also reflects community-level responses to fragmentation. For more information on my research, please see my current research interests dmevans@u.washington.edu (email)
	David Haak- PhD Student Chemical ecology, plant physiology/biochemistry, evolutionary biology, plant-animal interactions haakd@u.washington.edu (email)
	Noelle Machnicki- PhD Student I am broadly interested in studying how coevolution, or reciprocal evolutionary change between interacting species, shapes the ecological dynamics of communities and maintains biodiversity. My research focuses on studying plant-fungal coevoluionary dynamics in a particularly charismatic plant system: chili peppers. The spiciness of chilies may serve as an adaptation to protect the fruits from microbial attack and places selective pressures on fruit-inhabiting microbes that can \destroy seeds. I’m working with fungal strains obtained from chili fruits across a broad geographic range in Bolivia to study fungal local adaptation and the potential for a “coevolutionary arms race” between chilies and fungus. noellejm@u.washington.edu (email)
	Karen Reagan- PhD Student I am currently involved with a grand scale collaborative project focused on examining the efficacy of common restoration techniques used in prairie restoration. With eleven field sites spanning from Vancouver Island to Corvallis, Oregon, I spend a good portion of my time outside checking out the plants. sphitz@u.washington.edu (email)
	Haldre Rogers- PhD student My research examines the role of frugivorous and insectivorous birds in forest systems. I am comparing forests on Guam, where the forests are functionally bird-free due to the invasive brown treesnake, to forests with intact bird communities on the nearby islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota. I am using a series of seed traps paired with seed and seedling plantings on Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Rota to measure the change in dispersal distances when birds are removed (Guam) and the repercussions for seeds and seedlings of having reduced dispersal distances. To test the impact of insectivorous birds on forest food webs, I have set up bird exclosures, where I use bird netting to keep birds out of one area of forest and pair that with a nearby control area, then plant seedlings in both places and monitor insect abundance and seedling growth and survival. I will also be investigating the impact of the loss of pest control services by insectivorous birds on agriculture in Guam. For more details, see the Ecology of Bird Loss webpage. haldre@u.washington.edu (email)
	Kimberly Sheldon- PhD Student I am interested in biogeography across latitude. My research integrates areas of ecology, physiology, and evolution, to better understand the processes governing biodiversity patterns in tropical and temperate areas. For more information on my research, please see my current research interests ksheldon@u.washington.edu (email)
	Andrew Kosydar- PhD Student The current focus of my research entails two principal elements, each of which aims to create a predictive framework for forecasting the impacts of human activity on wildlife. First to establish general trends from previous work, I conducted a meta-analysis that correlates specific life and natural history traits with species decline in fragmented habitats. Preliminary results confirm formerly observational annotations that specialist mammals are more likely to decline than generalists. The second element of my research concentrates on teasing apart the relative effects of fragmentation and hunting on mammalian populations in the tropical forests NE of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Results from the first field season revealed striking changes in populations across multiple trophic levels, and future studies will concentrate on testing specific mechanisms that explain the observed patterns. drewdogy@u.washington.edu (email)

Undergraduate Researchers and Technicians

	Cat Adams- Undergraduate Researcher I am an ecology and evolution enthusiast working with chilies in the Tewksbury lab for the summer. My interests include co-evolution, tradeoffs, cooperation, adaptive landscapes, and constantly cleaning dirt out from under my nails. I have enjoyed learning about large scale field experiments, and the planning that goes into them. In the lab, I have been working on DNA extraction, sample prep for mass spectrometry, DNA distraction (look, over there!), and the long-lost art of data entry. My thumb grows greener by the day with all the seeds I have prepped for germination. Some even call me The Germinator ocarina9@u.washington.edu (email)
	Lindsey Renae Fenner- Undergraduate Researcher My interests include conservation, recreational plant identification, pollination, soil ecology,and agricultural biology. I am an undergraduate conservationist volunteering with PhD student Dan Evans. I am studying the effects of corridors on herbivory in fragmented habitats. I plan to begin my own research on the effects of fragmentation and connectivity on pollination. Interests: Chemical Ecology, fruit-frugivore ecology. lynz1586@u.washington.edu (email)
	Rohit Dhanji Nariya- Workstudy Researcher Interests: Chemical Ecology, fruit-frugivore ecology. nariyr@u.washington.edu (email)
	Shannon Quinn- Undergrad researcher I am a volunteer undergraduate researcher working with Andrew Van Eck. I have compiled a database of his vegetative observations in Bolivia through the glorious task of data entry and am currently assisting in a meta-analysis study of habitat fragmentation’s affect on mammal abundance. My interests in biology are two fold: on the macro scale I am interested in how species interactions drive evolution by natural selection, while on the micro scale determining the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms behind the patterns observed. siquinn@u.washington.edu (email)
	Devin Muir Wilkinson- Workstudy Researcher Interests: Chemical Ecology, fruit-frugivore ecology. dwilki@u.washington.edu (email)

Former Lab Members - always with us in spirit

Post-docs

• Tomas Carlo - Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Penn State University

graduate students

• Paul Martin - Current Position: Baillie Family Chair in Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Queens University
• Shaline Jha (visting grad) - Current Position: Post-doctoral associate, UC Berkely
• Elizabeth Addis (visiting grad) - Current Position: Faculty Fellow, Department of Biology, Colby College

technicians and undergraduate lab members

• Antoinette Asemota
• Jason Borchert - now a PhD student with Michael Angilleta at Indiana State
• Robert Dobbs - now a PhD Student with Paul Martin at Queens University
• Christal Eshelman
• Elisa Heinz
• Charisse Horimoto
• Andrew Hunzinger
• Mary Beth Huzinga - now a PhD Student, Colorado State University
• Tara Kenny - currently in Ecuador working on water quality and human health issues
• Anna Kramer - noe a MS ED. Student, University of Washington
• Leslie McGinnis - PhD Student, Vandermeer Lab, University of Michigan
• Haley Morris
• Hilarie Morris
• Katie Nickels
• Lia Noges - currently in UW pharmacy school
• Corinna Pinzari
• Melissa Simon - PhD student, Washington University
• Deepti Singh
• Tara Smiley
• Meeral Solanki
• Susan Taylor - currently working in the Kerr Lab
• Nash Turley - now a PhD with Marc Johnson at North Carolina State