Program in Ecology and Evolution
Interdisciplinary Program
Debbie Swierczek, Program Coordinator
School of Graduate Education
Knight Hall 247
Phone: 307-766-4128
Email: ecology@uwyo.edu
PiEE Affiliates provides a means for participation and collaboration with other interested individuals, both on and off campus. Affiliates can include non-tenure-track faculty at Wyoming, tenure-track faculty whose research interests overlap with ecology, and ecologists from off- campus entities who work closely with PiEE faculty and students.
Research Scientist / Ecoinformaticist
Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center
E-mail: salbeke@uwyo.edu
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Recent Publications
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My primary role as the Ecoinformaticist is to support ecological research efforts through the integration of geographic information science, data acquisition and management, and quantitative modeling techniques. Thus, much of my research involves the development of relational geospatial databases and the creation custom analytical tools and/or Graphical User Interfaces to facilitate efficient and accurate analyses of collected information. As a tangent of this research, I have focused on the development of spatially-explicit Individual-based Models (IBM’s) simulating animal movements within landscape networks. Primarily, I integrate VB.NET and Program R to develop each IBM, providing a flexible, customizable framework.
Director
Wyoming Natural Diversity Database
E-mail: beauvais@uwyo.edu
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I am the Director of the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, a service and research
unit of the University of Wyoming and a member of the network of State Natural Heritage
Programs. Our mission is to develop and disseminate comprehensive information on the
distribution, natural history, and status of rare plants, rare animals, and important
vegetation communities in Wyoming. My primary research interests are the biogeography,
habitat use, and conservation of vertebrate wildlife in Wyoming and surrounding states.
Most recently I have established a program of producing predictive distribution models
and maps for several rare taxa in the region. Such maps have become very useful to
natural resource managers and conservationists, and are good examples of how large
and complicated masses of technical data can be processed into products that directly
inform and influence on-ground activities. I am interested in exploring additional
ways to help bridge the gap between ecological researchers and natural resource managers.
Senior Scientist
Climate & Global Dynamics Division
National Center for Atmospheric Research
E-mail: bonan@ucar.edu
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My research examines land-atmosphere interactions, especially the ecological, hydrological,
and biogeochemical processes by which terrestrial ecosystems affect climate. I study
natural and human changes in land cover and ecosystems functions and their effects
on climate, water resources, and biogeochemistry. I develop and use climate, hydrological,
and ecosystem models to study the influence of the biosphere on climate.
Professor, Division of Biological Sciences
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
University of Montana
Email: carol.brewer@umontana.edu | Web Page:
University of Montana: My lab group is actively involved in basic research in plant biology and science education, and I mentor graduate students in both areas. The core philosophy of my research program is that acquisition of knowledge alone will not be sufficient for improving scientific literacy unless such knowledge is disseminated and applied effectively. This is an important part of the researcher’s role in promoting scientific literacy – communicating about science in a way that captures the imagination and understanding of the communities in which we live. All of my graduate students write a chapter of their thesis or dissertation for a nonscientific audience. Modeling and practicing these skills with my students is one step towards communicating the science we do beyond our scientist peers. Recent areas of research in the lab have included topics such as the physiological ecology of dioecy in southern hemisphere conifers, exploring how film influences science literacy, developing computer games as a tool for ecological learning, and training teachers to use their schoolyards for leading ecological investigations to ensure no child is left indoors.
Director
Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research
E-mail: pmb@rmtrr.org
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I am the Director of Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, a Colorado nonprofit corporation
that I founded in 1997. For the past several semesters, I also have been teaching
classes and seminars in fire and forest ecology, dendrochronology, and global climate
change as an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University. My main research
interests revolve around how climate variation and land use affects ecosystem dynamics
over seasonal to multi-centennial time scales, and how such information can be used
in ecosystem management and ecological restoration. Current and recent projects involve
reconstructing fire history, fire climatology, and forest dynamics in forests of the
western US, the Lake States, Mexico, and Mongolia.
Director, Department of Economics and Finance
University of Wyoming
Email: finnoff@uwyo.edu | Webpage:
My research is focused around the principle of creating value through ideas. In most of my research I have focused on developing public policies to improve social welfare, taking into account the coupling between human and natural systems. My research seeks to understand (1) how coupled human and natural systems co-evolve over time and space in the presence of regime shifts, uncertainty, market failure and behavioral failures, and (2) how we can use information about the coupling between human and natural systems to construct public policies in the face of current and future threats and move society towards more sustainable outcomes.
Associate Director, CEA Center Operations
Science Institute, Science Initiative Bldg 3262
Email: cguadagn@uwyo.edu
Born and raised in Naples, Italy, I moved to Laramie in 2011 to work at UW after my PhD. Passionate about studying plant-environment interactions and phenotyping methods, I hold an academic home with the department of Botany. I consider myself fortunate to serve as the Director of the Plant Growth & Phenotyping Facility. In this role, I have the opportunity to lead the development of the strategic plan for the facility's utilization and operations while actively facilitating and contributing to research initiatives in various Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) settings. I ensure seamless operations at the facility and serve as the primary point of contact for both external and internal audiences. Driven by a commitment to dynamic scientific collaboration and excellence, I actively foster cross-disciplinary activities and partnerships in CEA, guaranteeing effective communication across campus and beyond.
If you want to know more about my research, please visit my LinkedIn.
Senior Scientist
The Institute for Integrate and Multidisciplinary Earth Studies and the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division National Center for Atmospheric Research
E-mail: guenther@ucar.edu
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I am interested in the chemical, physical and biological processes that control biosphere-atmosphere
interactions, especially the role of surface-atmosphere trace gas exchange in ecology
and atmospheric chemistry. I conduct field and greenhouse studies of the emission
and uptake of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and other trace gases and develop large-scale
models of these fluxes that can be integrated into air quality and climate models.
Current projects include comparing the relative importance of VOC emissions in tropical,
temperate and boreal landscapes; examining the ecological roles of plant signaling
compounds and determining their impact on the atmosphere; investigating atmospheric
bioaerosol production and feedbacks; and mapping plant species distributions in order
to quantify their impact on trace gas and aerosol exchange.
Associate Professor of Wildlife Biology at the University of Wyoming and
Regional Wildlife Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region
E-mail: ghay@uwyo.edu
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Greg's early research focused on the ecology of birds and mammals in subalpine forests,
with an emphasis on habitat relationships and population dynamics of boreal owls.
He is particularly interested in forest disturbance dynamics and the consequences
for vertebrates. Although he has focused on subalpine forest ecology, his research
extends from seabirds in Alaska to invasive fish dynamics in Yellowstone, to implementation
of the Endangered Species Act. Since 1995 he has collaborated with biologists in the
Russian Far East to conserve the Amur tiger and understand prey dynamics. His "day
job" with the US Forest Service, Regional Office focuses on improving methods for
assessing species viability in Forest Planning and developing wildlife monitoring
programs. He currently focuses a great deal of energy toward development of practical,
implemental approaches to climate change adaptation for conservation.
Research Meteorologist
USDA-Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
Email: wmassman@fs.fed.us
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I am an atmospheric scientist and forest micrometeorologist with broad interests in atmosphere-biosphere interactions. In the most general terms I investigate the physical and biological processes governing gas and energy exchange between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soils. Specifically my interests include the surface energy balance, trace gas exchange between the atmosphere and vegetated surfaces, evapotranspiration and CO2 and ozone fluxes using eddy covariance technology, winter respiration at snow-covered high elevation sites and the related CO2 transport through snowpacks and soils, heat flow and trace gas movement through soils, the long-term impact that extreme heating of soils during prescribed burns can have on the soil's physical properties and biological processes, and finally physically-based modeling of issues involving these research areas.
Assistant Professor of Practice
Email: bmerkle@uwyo.edu
I am interested in the integration of the arts and humanities into science education, research, and communication efforts. I am particularly fascinated by the role stories play in shaping public perspectives of science and ecology topics. I am currently conducting research on: 1) efficacy of drawing as a science learning and teaching tool, 2) mechanisms of effective training to enhance scientists’ communicationsskills, and 3) assessment and evaluation of broader impacts and outreach programs. This work is conducted with an express goal of enhancing public engagement with science and expanding access to and participation in science through the application of best practices in the science of science communication and efforts to enhance and ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in science communication and academia.
Senior Curator
Draper Museum of Natural History
Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Cody, Wyoming
E-mail: cpreston@bbhc.org
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My overarching goal is to increase understanding of relationships binding humans and
wildlife to improve conservation of native biodiversity. I am actively involved in
several intersecting lines of ecological inquiry and museum-based education in pursuit
of this goal. My long-standing research interests involve dissecting complex suites
of environmental factors to tease apart individual and combined effects on the distribution,
abundance, and behavior of vertebrates. Diurnal raptors provide particularly attractive
research models, and my current fieldwork focuses on Golden Eagles and Red-tailed
Hawks in and around Yellowstone National Park. Additionally, I have recently become
engaged with questions of social ecology, i.e., how cultural values and behaviors
affect biodiversity, especially in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Professor of Entomology and Curator of the U.W. Insect Museum
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
University of Wyoming
E-mail: braconid@uwyo.edu
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My research focuses on the systematics, ecology, and behavior of parasitoid wasps,
especially the hyper-diverse insect family Braconidae (with an estimated 50,000+ species
worldwide). Braconid wasps are among the most economically-beneficial of all insect
groups. Their larvae feed on (and kill) the larvae of other insects, especially plant-feeding
moths, beetles, and flies. The insect family Braconidae has been more successfully
utilized in classical biological control programs than any other beneficial insect
group. My research on Braconidae in Wyoming studies the systematics and ecology of
wasp species that suppress populations of caterpillars and bark beetles in western
forests. Other current research is an NSF-funded project to study the tri-trophic
interactions of plants, plant-feeding caterpillars, and caterpillar-feeding wasps
at the Yanayacu Research Station in Ecuador, a hyper-diverse cloud forest site on
the eastern slope of the Andes.
Professor of Economics and Director of the Public Utility Research and Training Institute
(PURTI) at the University of Wyoming
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
University of Wyoming
E-mail: jtsch@uwyo.edu
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My interest is to develop models that integrate economics and ecology. If ecology
is the study of the structure and function of nature (Odum, 1971), then and over time
ecologists may have less and less to study. This state of affairs is supported by
evidence in popular and scientific publications about the decline of natural systems,
and the primary cause of decline is the increasing per-capita resource consumption
of increasing numbers of Homo sapiens. Most of this consumption involves economic
activity, so an important step to reversing the decline of natural systems is to understand
how natural and economic systems interact. To date I have integrated economic models
with general equilibrium ecosystem models of marine and terrestrial systems to examine
ecosystem based management of fisheries in the Eastern Bering Sea (NMFS and EPA funded),
grazing policies on western rangelands (USDA funded), invasive species and endangered
species programs, estuary alga blooms induced by agricultural runoff in the Southeast
(EPA supported), and the worst rodent infestation in U.S. history - a house mouse
invasion in California, circa 1926. I am also on the scientific committee of DIVERSITAS,
an international organization headquartered in Paris that is devoted to the study
of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services.
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
J.E. Warren Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment
Professor, Soil and Environmental Chemistry
University of Wyoming
Email: gfv@uwyo.edu
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My research, teaching and service activities have emphasized natural resource management and environmental sciences that have contributed to an increased understanding of ecological impacts in various environments, development of regulatory guidelines, and programs supporting disturbed ecosystem reclamation. Research projects that I have worked on include: reclamation and revegetation of disturbed and altered lands; chemistry and bioavailability of waste constituents; geographical information science for land-use planning; forest nutrient cycling processes mediated by organic residues; selenium chemistry in mineland, agriculture, and military ecosystems; acid deposition impacts on soil and aquatic organic matter chemistry; sorption of hazardous anions and organics by modified-mineral surfaces; carbon sequestration in groundwater, agricultural and forested ecosystems; ground and surface water contamination by inorganic and organic constituents; pesticide and nitrogen mobility and fate in semi-arid and irrigated environments.
Program in Ecology and Evolution
Interdisciplinary Program
Debbie Swierczek, Program Coordinator
School of Graduate Education
Knight Hall 247
Phone: 307-766-4128
Email: ecology@uwyo.edu