Zach Aanderud
Ajay Bhardwaj
Alex Eilts
Mary Anne Evans
Ilia Gelfand
Poonam Jasrotia
Stuart Jones
Neville Millar
Jonathan O'Brien
Bruce Robertson
Donald Schoolmaster
Maayke Stomp
Robin Tinghitella

Past KBS Research Associates

Name: Zach Aanderud (aanderud@msu.edu)
Department: Kellogg Biological Station
Lab: Jay Lennon
Research Interests:
Research Location: Kellogg Biological Station
Degrees Held: Ph.D. 2006, University of California - Davis; M.S. 2003, University of California - Davis
Statement: Precipitation events induce temporal variability in soil moisture and create rapid and dramatic physiological responses by soil bacteria.  My research focuses on how fluctuations in soil moisture via precipitation influences belowground ecosystem processes, microbial stress physiology, and the linkages between these two fields.  Presently, I am evaluating how intra-annual precipitation variability influences CO2 flux from agricultural and natural ecosystems through field precipitation manipulations and real-time CO2 and soil moisture measurements.  This research will determine how intra-annual variability in soil moisture mediates fine-grain temporal changes in CO2 flux and assess the role of land use practices in inluencing this interaction.  In these same field preciptation manipulations, I am using "heavy" water (H218O) stable isotope probing to determine which individual strains of bacteria are predominantly responsible for the immense fluxes of CO2 following soil rewetting.  In addition to advancing our collective understanding of microbial water stress physiology, this research will help predict if future changes in precipitation, induced by rising global temperatures, will have a positive or negative feedback on global warming.

Name:  Ajay Bhardwaj (ajaykbhardwaj@gmail.com)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station/GLBRC
Lab:  Hamilton
Research Location:  Kellogg Biological Station

Name:  Alex Eilts (eilts@kbs.msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Kay Gross, Gary Mittelbach
Research Interests:  Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in plant communities, physiological responses of plants to non-trophic interactions, and impacts of shifts in species abundance and composition within plant communities
Degrees Held: Ph.D. 2007, University of Arizona; B.S. 2001, University of Maryland – College Park
Statement: Changes in both the biotic and abiotic environment can alter the patterns of species abundance and diversity in communities.  My research utilizes ecophysiology to mechanistically address the processes of coexistence in plant communities, with implications for how species attain abundance and why rare species persist.  I have applied these general questions to studies of exotic species invasions, the mechanisms of their numerical success as well as their impacts on the native flora.  I am currently involved in a project investigating the interactions between soil resource heterogeneity and clonality in an experimental plant community.  My focus, within the larger scope of the project is on how clonal integration may alter the interactions between clonal and unitary plants, and between species of neighboring unitary species.  I will continue to use my ecophysiological background to work toward uncovering the mechanisms which are the drivers of change within these experimental communities.

Name:  Mary Anne Evans (evansm27@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Litchman
Research Interests:  Theoretical and empirical phytoplankton ecology
Research Location:  Kellogg Biological Station
Degrees Held:  Ph.D. 2007, University of Michigan; M.S. 2001, University of Michigan
Statement: My research focuses on the controls of phytoplankton productivity and community composition. Currently I am investigating the controls on abundance of Microcystis, a toxin producing cyanobacteria known to cause harmful algal blooms.  Over the next two years, I will be developing a predictive theory of Microcystis dominance in lakes of different trophic status, food web structure, and morphometry. This theory builds on the work of Huisman et al. (2004) which links turbulence and water clarity to forecast Microcystis blooms.  New work will also incorporate the effects of nutrient levels and filter feeders on Microcystis and phytoplankton competitive interactions.  Incorporating these interactions into the predictive theory is needed because the spread of zebra mussels has been observed to decrease the nutrient levels needed to support Microcystis blooms. The expanded theory will be tested by simultaneously measuring turbulence levels, nutrient concentrations, water clarity, and Microcystis abundance in multiple lakes in Michigan representing a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological conditions as well as lake sizes. My research focuses on the controls of phytoplankton productivity and community composition. Currently I am investigating the controls on abundance of Microcystis, a toxin producing cyanobacteria known to cause harmful algal blooms. Over the next two years, I will be developing a predictive theory of Microcystis dominance in lakes of different trophic status, food web structure, and morphometry. This theory builds on the work of Huisman et al. (2004) which links turbulence and water clarity to forecast Microcystis blooms.  New work will also incorporate the effects of nutrient levels and filter feeders on Microcystis and phytoplankton competitive interactions. Incorporating these interactions into the predictive theory is needed because the spread of zebra mussels has been observed to decrease the nutrient levels needed to support Microcystis blooms.  The expanded theory will be tested by simultaneously measuring turbulence levels, nutrient concentrations, water clarity, and Microcystis abundance in multiple lakes in Michigan representing a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological conditions as well as lake sizes.

Name:  Ilia Gelfand (igelfand@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station/GLBRC
Lab:  Robertson
Research Interests:  Biogeochemistry, biosphere atmosphere interactions
Degrees Held:  M.S. 2002, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Ph.D. 2008, Weizmann Institute of Science

Name:  Poonam Jasrotia (poonamjasrotia@gmail.com)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station/GLBRC
Lab:  Robertson

Name:  Stuart Jones (stujones@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Lennon
Degrees Held:  B.S. in Biology 2003, University of Wisconsin-Madison; PhD. in Limnology and Marine Sciences 2008, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Name: Neville Millar (millarn@msu.edu)
Department: Kellogg Biological Station
Lab: Phil Robertson (EPRI)
Research Interests: Ecosystem Sustainability, Greenhouse Gases, Carbon and Nitrogen Biogeochemistry
Research Location: KBS
Degrees Held: B.Sc. 1994. University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK; M.Sc. 1996. University of London, UK; Ph.D. 2002. Imperial College London, UK.
Statement: My research focuses on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry, with the aim of utilizing various land management strategies to mitigate these emissions, reduce nutrient loss and promote ecosystem sustainability. My past work has looked at agroforestry practices on smallholder farms in East Africa, and the effects of elevated carbon dioxide (FACE) on crop yield and microbial communities in European grasslands.

Name:  Jon O'Brien (obrien97@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Hamilton
Research Location:  KBS
Degrees Held: Ph.D., 2006, Kansas State University; M.S., 2002, Southern Illinois University

Name:  Bruce Robertson (roberba1@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Schemske
Research Interests: Maladaptation, habitat selection, ecological and evolutionary traps, spatial and landscape ecology, behavioral ecology, conservation biology, ornithology sensory ecology, fire ecology
Research Location:  KBS
Degrees Held: Ph.D. 2007, University of Montana; B.S. 1996, University of Notre Dame
Statement: My current research focuses on assessing the value of contemporary and potential biofuel crops (corn, switchgrass monoculture and mixed-grass prairie) to avian and arthropod biodiversity. Increasing demand for energy coupled with reduced oil availability has resulted in rapid and dramatic increases in the price of petroleum and spurred increased interest in the development of alternative fuel sources. Cellulosic ethanol production promises greatly increased energy efficiency and could be a win–win for farmers, soil and water conservation, wildlife, and the environment. To date, there is limited published scientific information available linking changes in biodiversity to agricultural land-use associated with corn or switchgrass production. This research weds sensory and landscape-ecology approaches/perspectives. Specific projects will 1) quantify the abundance and diversity of bird species associated with corn, switchgrass, and native mixed-grass prairie experimentally and statistically controlling for scale-dependence in habitat structure; 2) formally review extant data on the this subject within a meta-analytical approach; 3) test the relative importance of area- and edge-effects in shaping distributions of grassland birds within these habitat types; and 4) test among mechanistic hypotheses explaining area/edge sensitivity in grassland birds.

The evolution and ecology of maladaptation is a particular fascination of mine, and I have a deep interest in ecological and evolutionary traps—cases in which rapid environmental change has uncoupled the proximate cues organisms use to make decisions from the expected evolutionary outcomes of responding to those cues. I strive to investigate these fascinating cases empirically and theoretically, using conceptual and modeling approaches. I am currently working with colleagues to draw attention to the role of polarized light pollution in triggering ecological traps and other maladaptive behaviors and to model the potential population consequences of ecological traps under difficult ecological and evolutionary scenarios. Other topics I write on include: the role of temperature in microhabitat selection in birds, nest predation vs. food in shaping laying decisions, and how fire severity can shape post-fire biodiversity.

Name: Donald Schoolmaster (schoolm4@msu.edu)
Department: Kellogg Biological Station
Lab: Kay Gross
Research Interests: Theoretical ecology,  plant population and community ecology
Research Location: Kellogg Biological Station
Degrees Held: Ph.D. 2004, University of Michigan; M.S. 1998, University of Michigan
Statement:

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Name:  Maayke Stomp (mstomp@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab:  Chris Klausmeier
Degrees Held:  M.S. in Aquatic Ecology and Theoretical Biology, University of Amsterdam, 2001; Ph.D. pending (2008)

Name:  Robin Tinghitella (hibbsr@msu.edu)
Department:  Kellogg Biological Station
Lab: Getty/GK-12
Degrees Held:  B.S. in Biology, 2002, University of Portland; Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, 2008, University of California-Riverside