Seventeen UW Researchers to Make Presentations at Ecological Society of America Meeting

Seventeen University of Wyoming faculty, staff and students will present their research findings at the 103rd annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America Aug. 5-10 in New Orleans, La.

A number of the research topics are relevant to Wyoming, including ungulate migration patterns; species distribution models of the Western bumble bee; how stock fishing history drives variable hybrid outcomes in Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbow trout; the effects on soil microbes after spruce beetle infestation; sagebrush reproduction; ant and beetle recolonization on reclaimed oil and gas well pads in the Pinedale Anticline; and ponderosa pine forest restoration after wildfires in the Laramie Mountains.

About 5,000 people are scheduled to attend the annual meeting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. For more information, go to www.esa.org/neworleans/.

Here are the UW researchers scheduled to give oral and poster presentations, along with their topics:

-- Emily Bean, a master’s student in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, “Quantifying Short-Term Soil, Biological and Vegetation Feedback from High-Intensity, Short-Duration Grazing Versus Conventional Grazing.” Poster presentation.

-- Christine Bell, a graduate student in the Department of Zoology and Physiology, “Species Distribution Models of the Western Bumble Bee, Bombus Occidentalis, in Wyoming Using Historic and Current Data.”

-- Loic Chalmandrier, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Botany, “Using Functional Traits to Fit Community Mechanistic Models.”

-- Madison Crawford, an undergraduate student in the Department of Botany, “Investigating Potential Effects of Wind Turbine Color on Attracting Pollinating Insects.” Poster presentation.

-- Gordon Custer, a graduate assistant in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, “Structural and Functional Dynamics of Soil Microbes Following Spruce Beetle Infestation.”

-- Roderick Gagne, a former postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Veterinary Sciences, “Comparative Landscape Genomics of Southern California Mountain Lion Populations Across an Urban Landscape.”

-- Daniel Laughlin, associate professor in the Department of Botany, “The Integration of Environmental Filtering and Species Interaction.”

-- Liana Boggs Lynch, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant Sciences, “Influence of Soil Nutrients, Microbial Diversity and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi on Seeding Recruitment After Bark Beetle Infestation.” Poster presentation. 

-- Elizabeth Mandeville, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Botany and the Department of Zoology and Physiology, “History of Fish Stocking Drives Variable Hybridization Outcomes in Yellowstone Cutthroat x Rainbow Trout.”

-- Bethann Merkle, communication and engagement section chairperson, Wyoming Migration Initiative, “Navigating the Could-be Politicized Landscape of Migration Corridor Research and Conservation.”

-- Kyle Palmquist, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Botany, “Herbarium Specimens Reveal Shifts in the Timing of Big Sagebrush Reproduction Over the Last Two Centuries.”

-- Bryan Shuman, professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, “Abrupt Changes Over the Long Term: Forest Declines in the Paleoecological Record the Last 11,000 Years.”

-- Bryan Shuman, professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, “Constraining the Role of Climate Change as an Essential Ecological Process.”

-- Melanie Torres, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, “Assessing Bird Community Dynamics Along a Degraded Stream System.” Poster presentation.

-- Elizabeth Traver, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and the Surface and Sub-Surface Laboratory manager, “East Versus West Aspect Influences the Microbial Community and Soil Development on an Exposed Rig in Wyoming.” Poster presentation.

-- Megan Wilson, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, “Ant and Beetle Recolonization on Reclaimed Oil and Gas Well Pads in the Pinedale Anticline, Wyoming.”

-- Stephanie Winters, a graduate student in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, “Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration Treatments Post High-Severity Wildfire in the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming.” Poster presentation.

-- Tamara Zelikova, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Botany, “How to Have a Fun Discussion About the End of the World.”