Dr. Melinda D. Smith
Principal Investigator
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Colorado State University
melinda.smith@colostate.edu
I am a plant community ecologist interested in understanding patterns, determinants, and dynamics of diversity and species abundance and how these relate to ecosystem function. I conduct most of my research in the field; however, I also conduct lab work. I focus on grassland ecosystems, in particular tallgrass prairies in the Central Great Plains of the U.S., but I am also initiating research locally in New England old field and salt marsh communities.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Jesse Gray
PhD Candidate
Jesse is a PhD candidate from Salt Lake City, Utah, where he received his bachelor’s in Biology, with an emphasis in organismal and environmental biology. He uses experimental approaches to study mechanisms resulting in plant species codominance in grassland ecosystems, and how such relationships may affect community assembly and ecosystem function using the model tallgrass species Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans. Jesse is further interested in the effects that environmental factors such as warming, drought, and increased variability in rainfall patterns will have on these mechanisms, and thus whether the stability of codominant relationships may be vulnerable to climate change.
Mary Linabury
PhD Student
Mary is interested in how climate change influences plant communities and how it will shape future ecosystems. She has particular interest in plant species composition and wants to understand how changes to composition will affect the surrounding ecosystem, including functionality, stability, and interaction networks. Her research aims to enhance our ability to predict ecological response to climate change. In addition to these research goals, Mary also has interests in science communication with the goal of improving scientific literacy.
Nico Matallana
Master’s Student
Nico received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Montana, where he studied restoration ecology and plant biology. After several years of traveling and working seasonally as a botanist, he started his current research in Montana’s Glacier National Park. He is collaborating with park managers and CSU researchers to study how bison reintroduction may affect the park’s ecology after more than 120 years of their exclusion. Through his research, he hopes to answer questions that will help guide management and answer pertinent ecological questions.
Maggie Ross
Master’s Student
Maggie is interested in the impact of global change on plant community structure and function. For her graduate research, Maggie’s work explores the mechanisms that explain differences in how plant communities recover after a multi-year drought. Her project will focus on recovery of shortgrass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairie ecosystems across the Great Plains as part of the Extreme Drought in Grasslands Experiment (EDGE). Maggie received a Bachelor’s in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2014. After graduation, she moved to Montana where she spent the summers as a field botanist/research technician and the winters working with the University of Montana Herbarium.
Leena Vilonen
PhD Candidate
Leena studies how belowground processes respond to disturbances in grassland ecosystems. Specifically, her research assesses soil microbial community response to drought and invasive, non-native grasses (e.g. Bluestems). Leena also studies how functioning in these microbial communities influences soil nitrogen and carbon cycling. Through her research, Leena seeks to understand short-term and legacy effects of disturbances on soil microbial community composition and functioning.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
Kate Wilkins, PhD
Website | Twitter: @CubanKate
kate.wilkins@colostate.edu
Kate is a conservation scientist and community ecologist who uses ecology and science communication to address major environmental challenges. As a postdoc, Kate manages various projects that assess how drought affects grasslands in the US (EDGE) and globally (DroughtNet). Kate would also like to explore the combined effects of grazing and drought in grassland ecosystems. In addition to her research pursuits, Kate is committed to encouraging underrepresented groups to pursue careers in the ecological sciences and interested in finding ways to retain these groups. *Photo panels [left to right]: Shortgrass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairies (photos taken at US project sites in August 2020)
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Susan Baden | Natasha Daney | Thany Dykson | Inés Marti Devolx | Ben Miller | Sarah Perryman | Conner Wilson
LAB ALUMNI
Post-Docs
Deron Burkepile, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at The University of California, Santa Barbara
Catherine E. Burns, Ph.D. works with The Nature Conservancy, California Chapter and is Associate Director, Water and Habitat for Nature
Stephanie Eby, Ph.D. is a visiting lecturer at Assumption College, Framingham State University, and Northeastern University
Sally Koerner, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina- Greensboro
Nathan Lemoine, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Marquette University
Wei Mao, P.h.D. is an Associate Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qiang Yu, Ph.D. is a Professor at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Graduate Students
Francis Chavez (Ph.D. 2020), e-mail: fachaves@rams.colostate.edu
Andrew Felton (Ph.D. 2018) is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Utah State University
Lauren Baur (M.S. 2016) is a Research Associate with the EDGE Project
Beth Forrestel (Ph.D. 2015) is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis
John Dietrich (M.S. 2015)
Ava Hoffman (P.h.D. 2019) is a Data Scientist with the Boston Consulting Group
Kimberly (Kim) La Pierre (Ph.D. 2013) is a Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Meghan Avolio (Ph.D. 2012) is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University
Cynthia Chang (Ph.D. 2011) is an Assistant Professor at University of Washington, Bothell
Undergraduate Students
Lauren Hallett
Daniel Robotham
Lab Associates
Jeff Carroll
Melissa Johnston
Victoria (Tory) Nelson
Tadj Schreck