Neal Williams – PI
Pollination biology, bee ecology evolution and behavior, agroecology
CV, Email

Postdoctoral Researchers

Lucia Weinman
Bee monitoring, population biology, participatory science
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My current research uses a combination of data from participatory science projects and museum collections to develop a list of candidate bee species to monitor visually in the field. I will then determine if we can use any candidate species to monitor bee populations non-lethally.

 

Aramee Diethelm
Tritrophic interactions, phenology, environmental gradients, pollinator conservation
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I am broadly interested in plant-insect-predator dynamics, with a focus on chemical ecology and conservation biology. My PhD thesis examined how environmental gradients shape tritrophic interactions, using monarch butterflies and their milkweed host plant as a model system . I am now building on this work by researching pollinator communities in collaboration with the National Park Service, applying a landscape-scale perspective to understand bumblebee and monarch population dynamics, phenology, and habitat use in northern California.

Graduate Students

Elizabeth Reyes-Gallegos
Community ecology, functional traits, plant-pollinator interaction networks
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My current research involves measuring plant-pollinator functional traits to better understand their interaction patterns. Further investigation of the ecological niche of native bee species using network and response-effect trait frameworks will help inform strategies to promote pollinator diversity, especially in the context of agricultural sustainability.

Sylvie Finn
Bee ecology, bumble bees, phenology, life history evolution, conservation
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I am broadly interested in how organisms time their life cycle events in the context of changing environments. I am particularly interested in investigating these questions in bumble bees, as many elements of the bumble bee life cycle remain a mystery. My current research focuses on exploring the variation in timing of colony activity, reproduction, and dormancy in the yellow faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) across its range. Ultimately, I hope to use natural history and ecological research to inform conservation. Prior to coming to UC Davis, I began my graduate work with Elizabeth Crone at Tufts University and I am now co-advised in the Crone and Williams labs.

Abigail Lehner
Landscape ecology, pollinator conservation, solitary bees, global change
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I am interested in how global change impacts solitary bees. For my dissertation work, I aim to understand how blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria) populations, are affected by the introduction of an invasive kleptoparasite, the Houdini fly (Cacoxenus indagator). I will also assess how the Houdini fly may establish throughout North America. My previous research was primarily focused on bee community ecology. Throughout my master’s, I studied how bee diversity and community composition changed over time at Pinnacles National Park. During my bachelor’s, I monitored and compared bee communities in native and restored habitats at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

Emily Pearson
Community ecology, agroecology, biodiversity, native bee conservation
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Broadly, I am interested in how land management choices impact pollinator communities and the steps that can be taken to better support robust communities, especially in agricultural settings. In my undergraduate thesis, I explored the impacts of local and landscape resources on bee biodiversity in semi-arid Texas pumpkin agroecosystems. I hope to investigate similar questions in California agroecosystems.

Undergraduate Researchers

Past Members

Lab Manager

Kimiora Ward, Plant Ecology Program Manager, NPS Yosemite

Postdoctoral Scholars

Claire Brittain, Environmental Safety group, Syngenta
Jessica Forrest, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa
Jochen Fründ, Professor, University of Hamburg
Sandra Gillespie, Associate Professor, University of the Fraser Valley
Ola Lundin, Researcher, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
Rosemary Malfi, Director of Conservation Policy, Xerces Society
Maj Rundlof, Researcher, Lund University
Tina Harrison, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Louisiana
Charlie Nicholson, Postdoctoral Scholar, Lund University
Uta Müller, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Minnesota
Jeremy Hemberger, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Clara Stuligross, Assistant Professor, Kalamazoo College

Graduate Students

Nick Rosenberger, (PhD) 2024, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Freiburg
Clara Stuligross, (PhD) 2022, Assistant Professor, Kalamazoo College
Maureen Page, (PhD) 2022, Postdoctoral Scholar, Cornell University. Maureen's website
Ross Brennan, (PhD) 2022, Director, UC Davis Quail Ridge Reserve
John Mola, (PhD) 2019, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
Jennifer VanWyk, (PhD) 2018, Assistant Professor, Hampshire College
Leslie Saul-Gershenz, (PhD) 2017, Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Davis
Rei Scampavia, (PhD) 2017, Consulting in the San Francisco Bay Area
Katharina Ullmann, (PhD) 2014, Director of UC Davis Student Farm
Ryder Diaz, (MS) 2012
Felix Klaus, (Fulbright Scholar) 2014, Current PhD student in Teja Tschartnke’s group at Georg-August-University Göttingen
Arvid Lindh, (MS supervised through Lund University) 2017, Current PhD student at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Visiting Researchers

Valerie Fournier, Université Laval, Canada
Annie Ouin, Université de Toulouse, France
Youhong Peng, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Aleksandra Splitt, National Institute of Horticultural Research, Poland

Junior Specialists and Lab Assistants

Grace Milburn, Lab Technician, Danforth Plant Science Center
Kitty Bolte, Horticulturist, UC Davis Arboretum
Kate Borchardt, Postdoctoral Researcher, UMass Amherst
Anna Britzman, US Forest Service Botany Technician
Andrew Buderi, pursuing PhD at University of Louisiana Lafayette
Staci Cibotti, Pesticide Program Specialist, Xerces Society
Mike Epperly, US Forest Service Consulting Utility Forester
Colin Fagan, Sacramento Tree Foundation
Nate Pope, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Entomology at Penn State University
Logan Rowe, Conservation Associate, Michigan Natural Features Inventory
Heather Spaulding, Field Safety Professional, UC Davis Environmental Health & Safety

Undergraduates

Sarah Caso (2024)
Serra Perry (2021)
Li Wang (2021) Imperial College, UK
Gigi Melone (2020) University of Wisconsin
Anna Britzmann (2019) USFS Oregon
Kate Borchardt (2018) Iowa State University
Beth Beyer (2017) CDFW
Jessica Drost (2017)
Sonja Glasser (2015) UMass Amherst
Mira Parekh (2013)
Alexi Haack (2013)
Sarah Bolm (2012)

Emily McGlynn (Bryn Mawr College 2009) – Native bee benefits for agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic
Kristen Jenkins (Bryn Mawr College 2009) – Functional Compensation and biodiversity loss
Sarah Allard (Haverford College 2009) – Functional Compensation and biodiversity loss
Cecily Moyer (Haverford College 2009) – The role of floral morphology and reward in structuring pollinator plant networks
Rosemary Malfi (Bryn Mawr College 2007) – The effect of urban development on Bombus communities in the Delaware Valley, PA
Daniela Miteva (Bryn Mawr College 2007) – Pollinator communities and pollination in eastern old fields, Pollinator and pollen deposition webs in restored meadows
Amanda Rahi (Bryn Mawr College 2007) – The contributions of specialist and generalist bees to reproductive success of desert mallow