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Ph.D. University of California Riverside, Department of Botany and Plant Science 2000
Master of Science, University of California Santa Barbara Department of Biology, 1994
B.A. Environmental Biology and Conservation, Humboldt State University 1985

mneel@umd.edu

Early signs of interest in plant dispersal

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Organismic and Evolutionary Biology May 2004
Master of Environmental Studies, Yale University Conservation Biology Science May 1995
B.A. Vassar College Psychology May 1990

The goal of Joanna's research is to predict the consequences of using reserve selection algorithms to select nature reserves when only poor biological data are available. Reserve selection algorithms represent a significant improvement over ad-hoc reserve selection methods; however, they are extremely data-intensive. Many regions most in need of conservation effort lack the economic resources necessary to obtain the extensive data these algorithms require. In collaboration with Dr. Mike Cummings (University of Maryland) and Dr. Taylor Ricketts (World Wildlife Fund) she is evaluating the effects of poor and biased data on species representation in reserves by subsampling well-known species distributions to reflect realistic sampling in data-poor areas.

Her previous research includes demographic modeling to predict the effects of a combination of conservation strategies on threatened loggerhead sea turtle populations; multi-scaled variance partitioning of species-environment relationships in threatened bird and moth communities; using landscape associations to predict the distribution of bird and moth rarity hotspots in a pine barrens community to inform conservation priority setting; and comparing fine and coarse-filter conservation prioritization methods.

Curriculm vitae

PhD Florida State University Department of Biological Science September 2005
B.S. University of New Orleans Biological Sciences May 1997

Joe's research goal is to understand how populations respond to natural selection. In the past he has used methods such as field-based evolutionary ecology, quantitative and population genetics as well as meta-analysis to address basic questions about natural selection, adaptation, and speciation. His specific research goal is to understand how microevolutionary processes lead to complex adaptations. We know that there is strong selection on trait means and variances, but how does this selection translate into the spectacular array of adaptations that we see in nature? One adaptation that can provide a model of how these complex adaptations evolves is C4 photosynthesis. There have been multiple origins of this mode of photosynthesis, and Joe is working with a species that occurs under a wide climatic range, and is intermediate in characteristics between C4 and the ancestral C3 modes. In the Neel lab he is developing molecular tools to study the ecological genetics of this species.

Ph.D. North Carolina State University, Department of Zoology, 2009
M.S. Stanford University, Department of Biological Sciences, 2003
B.S. Stanford University, Department of Biological Sciences, 2002

Allison is broadly interested in the conservation of rare and endangered species. At the University of Maryland, she will be using bioinformatic approaches to develop scientifically defensible recovery goals for threatened and endangered species in the United States. Allison’s dissertation research examined how urban and agricultural fragmentation affected butterfly communities, and particularly focused on conservation strategies to ameliorate the effects of habitat fragmentation.

In addition to the biological aspects of conservation, she is interested in the intersection of science and policy, and promoting communication between scientists, policy-makers, and the general public.

M.S. Biology, Towson State University May 2007
B.S. Loyola College in Maryland 2005

Michael is studying the role of genetic diversity in restoration success of the submerged aquatic plant species Vallisneria americana. This project is a collaborative effort with the lab of Dr. Katia Engelhardt at the University of Maryland Appalachian Lab that is funded by SeaGrant Maryland.

Mike comes to the lab with an experience studying local adaptation in plant species using a combination of molecular and common garden techniques.

M.S. Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro May 2003
B.A. Biology, Earlham College May 1999

Jamie is examining phylogenetic relationships among a number of closely related Agalinis species in the section Erectae using a combination of molecular (microsatellites and anonymous nuclear sequences) and morphological data. This section of the genus includes a number of state-rare species as well as the federally-listed Agalinis acuta. Understanding levels of distinctiveness among the putative taxa in this section is critical to setting conservation priorities.

As for hobbies, Jamie is all about cycling (USCF Category 2 and races collegiate A's for the University of Maryland Cycling Team), music, politics, and soccer (Div III All-American).

Master of Environmental Management, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University 2000
B.S., Cornell University 1997

Christina's research examines how patterns of land conversion in the tropics affect species diversity and persistence. In particular she investigates how habitat mosaics and fragmentation patterns interact with species' traits and interspecific relationships to affect the vulnerability and response of birds to land use change in Jamaica. Ultimately this will help us understand how life history traits relate to patterns of species persistence and abundance in fragmented landscapes with the goal of improving their potential to support native biodiversity.

Christina is co-advised by Dr. William Fagan and her research is conducted in conjunction with UMD and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (Dr. Peter Marra's lab). Support is provided by by U.S. Fulbright Student Fellows Program, Smithsonian James Bond Trust Fund, the NASA Earth System Science Fellowship, the Cosmos Club, and the Explorers Club Washington Exploration & Field Research Grant.

Prior to the University of Maryland, Christina worked for three years as the Science & Policy Analyst for the Environmental Law Institute, as a Spatial Analyst for the Avian Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and in various research positions for the University of Hawaii, the State Department of Land & Natural Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii.

Curriculum Vitae

Robert finished his B.S. in Environmental Science & Policy with a concentration in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology in Fall 2007. He began working in the lab as an undergrad and he was simply to awesome to let him go when he graduated. He developed microsatellite loci to use for to gauging the amount and distribution of genetic diversity present in populations of the submerged aquatic plant Vallisneria americana. Genetic data gathered from the microsatellite screening process is being used in field experiments to see the effects of genetic diversity on survival and growth in restoration efforts. Ultimately, information gathered from this project will guide restoration using V. americana in the Chesapeake Bay.

Robert spent the summer of 2006 and winter break of ’06-’07 at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, MD as an intern in the Plant Ecology Lab studying the relationship between a native orchid, Tipularia discolor, and its mycorrhizal symbionts, many of which have not yet even been desrcribed taxonomically.

Also a former music student at UMD, Robert is an avid musician who plays violin in both classical ensembles and local bands and jams/open mics.

Sara is a Ph.D. student in the Geography Department. She is evaluating the importance of integrating spatial data in population viability modeling. For her dissertation research she is working with Ruth DeFries and Bill Fagan but we have adopted her and she has an RAship in the lab working on endangered species recovery. Prior to starting the Ph.D. program she graduated from the UMD Conservation and Sustainability program.

In the small amount of spare time she has, Sara also races for University of Maryland Cycling Team and is USCF Cat 3 for ABRT-Latitude

Eric was a Ph.D. student in the Behavior Ecology and Systematics (BEES) program and he was affiliated with the Entomology Department where he worked with Pedro Barbosa. He was been adopted into the lab through an RAship working on endangered species recovery.

For his dissertation research Eric used theoretical and empirical tools of community ecology to examine the structure of an assemblage of forest macrolepidopteran larvae (moth caterpillars) sharing a single host plant (Acer negundo). He examined life history differences between abundant and scarce species at a local scale using a phylogenetically controlled approach. He also examined the macroecological patterns produced in a long-term survey dataset, comparing different theoretical models and their predictions against this intensively sampled assemblage abundance information. In addition he is interested in the spatial variance of the assemblage depending on landscape features such as isolation, and in the effect of plants other than the host on the composition of the focal assemblage. He is otherwise generally fond of caterpillar behavior and ecology but he is not as fond of wearing skin tight lycra as many of the rest of us. In May 2008 Eric obtained a Post Doctoral Fellowship through the Smithsonian Institution.

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. Ohio State University Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) 2007
Master of Science, University of Guelph, Integrative Biology 2001
B.Sc. Plant Biology, University of Guelph 1998

Lesley's primary research interests center around mechanisms driving population dynamics of both rare and invasive species. For her dissertation, she worked with Dr. Allison Snow on NSF and USDA-sponsored projects to test the general hypothesis that hybridization stimulates the evolution of invasive weeds, using the Raphanus crop-weed complex. Her work produced several important insights for the fields of evolutionary ecology and crop- wild hybridization. For instance, local selection gradients can significantly alter rates of crop allele introgression. Further, phenotypic evolution via selection occurs more rapidly in hybrid populations than non-hybrid populations.

Her M.S. research with Dr. Brian Husband (University of Guelph, Canada) focused on the relative importance of evolutionary and ecological factors in pollen limitation of natural plant populations (Hymenoxys herbacea) over a range of population sizes. This work generated conservation recommendations to the Canadian government and made key advances in understanding how functional genetic diversity and clonality may limit the reproductive success of a rare plant.

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D.University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill May 2008
B.S. University of Oregon at Eugene December 1995

David is interested in terrestrial vertebrate species, primarily in ecology of tropical bird species. He is especially interested in research questions at the interface of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution, and conservation applications.

He was involved with data collection to examine the life history traits of federally listed threatened and endangered species as described in their recovery plans to find correlations between life history traits, abundanance, and threats that may allow us to set defensible recovery objectives for these species.

Ali was a Research Assistant in the lab working on effects of habitat fragmentation on pollination, reproductive success and gene flow in the endangered plant species Agalinis acuta. She is now at University of Toronto doing a Ph.D. in the lab of James Thompson.

M.S. University of Cincinnati Aerospace Engineering April 1995
B.S. Pennsylvania State University Aerospace Engineering April 1993

Joe evaluated the behavior of graph theory metrics across gradients in habitat area. He used forested habitats in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed for this evaluation. Graph theory holds great promise for quantifying habitat connectivity based on gap crossing abilities of particular organisms. This evaluation will allow greater understanding results from species and landscape specific analyses.

In addition to doing his research Joe was a TA in Woody Plants for Mid-Atlantic Landscapes fall semester 2004.

Joe is now working for Todd Lookingbill at the Appalachian Lab in Frostburg, Maryland.

http://john.fuetsch.org/

John is the "resident" expert database designer/programmer and Web designer. He developed the lab Website and is working on several database projects. He does all of this from his current home in Claremont, California where until recently he was a student at Pomona College.

Marcy was in the undergraduate Honors Program at University of Maryland. In addition to keeping up with her heavy course loads Marcy does DNA extractions and PCR to help keep research in the lab progressing. She was the first person to join the lab when I arrived at UMD.

Laura did an independent study project investigating the role of genetic data in conservation decision making and examining the threats to endangered plant species from invasive species. She finished her B.S. in Plant Science in in spring 2008.