Tewksbury Lab

University of Washington
Biology Department

Principle Investigator

Dr. Joshua Tewksbury - Walker Professor of Natural History
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. John Herrmann - Postdoctoral Fellow
I would consider myself as a broadly interested community ecologist who looks beyond the end of his nose. Throughout my scientific career, I investigated trophic interactions which were mainly focused on arthropods. These interactions were either based on pollination or herbivory and predation. All studies were based on human caused habitat alterations, either on small scales, like habitat management, or larger scales including different aspects of habitat fragmentation and habitat loss. I will continue on this path during my postdoctoral studies in “The Corridor Project”, thereby investigating the effects of habitat corridors on the dispersal of arthropods and plants. I am eager to conduct research with an outcome that is applicable in real life instead of conducting research in an ivory tower.

john-herrmann@gmx.de (email)
Dr. Jennifer Duggan - Postdoctoral Fellow
I am interested in using both field and quantitative methods to address applied questions in the conservation and management of biodiversity. Thus far, my research has focused on the responses of rare species to habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation at multiple spatial scales. As part of my Ph.D. research, I combined radio telemetry experiments with occupancy and least cost models to assess the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on movement and habitat use by rare Franklin’s ground squirrels in the Midwestern. U.S. Now, as a post-doctoral researcher working jointly through the Biology Department and School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington, I am collaborating with a Natural Capital Project team on a project in which I am using terrestrial InVEST models to assess biodiversity on Department of Defense sites under varied land-use scenarios to inform their resource management and land-use policy. For more information, please see my webpage (soon to come).

jduggan@u.washington.edu (email)

Graduate Students

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)
Noelle Machnicki- PhD Student
I am broadly interested in studying how coevolution, or reciprocalevolutionary change between interacting species, shapes the ecological dynamics of communities and maintains biodiversity. My research focuses on studying the evolutionary ecology of plant-fungal dynamics in a particularly charismatic plant system: chili peppers. The spiciness in chilies may serve as an adaptation to protect the fruits from microbial attack and places selective pressures on fruit-inhabiting microbes that 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. For more info, check out my webpage.

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)
Evan Fricke - PhD Student
I am interested in the ways species’ ecology has shaped the evolution of plant-animal interactions. I find these interactions particularly important when they underlie organisms’ vulnerability – or resilience – to environmental change. In the case of the loss of seed dispersal mutualisms on Guam, I am interested in factors underlying species-specific impacts of bird loss across Guam’s tree species. By determining specific benefits and costs of bird dispersal and its loss, I hope to develop a framework for predicting the severity of bird declines in other systems.
ecfricke@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)
Caitlin Forster - Undergraduate Volunteer
I am generally interested in plants, animals and evolution. I love looking at the big picture to learn how the world interacts and works together. My favorite place to be is in the greenhouse (especially when it’s snowing outside), where I help pollinate, prune and take care of the chili plants. I also help out with lab projects where I get to learn something cool about science almost every day.

caitlinforster7@gmail.com (email)
 

 

Former Lab Members - always with us in spirit

Post-docs

graduate students

technicians and undergraduate lab members

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