Alumni
Under Construction
Brian Connelly, 2012, Ph.D.
Post Doc, BEACON, Michigan State University
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Philip K. McKinley
E-mail: briandconnelly at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Ecological effects on the evolution of cooperative behaviors
Benjamin Dantzer, 2012, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Zoology, University of Cambridge
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Andrew McAdam
Co-Advisor(s): Kay E. Holekamp
E-mail: bendantzer at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Adaptive endocrine and behavioral responses of free-living red squirrels to environmental variation
Amanda Lorenz, 2012, MS
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: kaufma15
Thesis Title: The role of algae in the invasion ecology of the mosquito species Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae)
Jason Martina, 2012, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Stephen K. Hamilton
E-mail: jason.marti993 at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Invasive plant species impacts on carbon and nitrogen cycling in inland Michigan wetlands
Jeffrey Pierce, 2012, MS
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank W. Telewski
Thesis Title: The effects of increased syringyl to guaiacyl lignin monomer ratios on xylem hydraulic properties in hybrid Poplar (Populus tremula x P. alba)
Laura Planck, 2012, MS
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn M. Malmström
Thesis Title: Romote sensing to moniter monotypic weed patches in semi-arid grasslands
Allison Rober, 2012, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation Title: Regulation of algal structure and function in northern boreal wetlands
Emily Scott, 2012, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: David E. Rothstein
Dissertation Title: Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) cycling in northern hardwood forests of Michigan, USA
Kathryn Shaw, 2012, Ph.D.
Freelance Science Writer
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kay E. Holekamp
Dissertation Title: Variation among spotted hyenas in three personality traits
Anne Axel, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian A. Maurer
Dissertation Title: Lemur-environment relationships in altered and unaltered tropical dry forests in southern Madagascar
Benedicte Bachelot, 2011, MS
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: Richard K. Kobe
Thesis Title: Tropical seedling rarity versus commonness: advantage & disadvantage depends on effects of aboveground natural enemies & cospecific neighbors
Tom Baribault, 2011, Ph.D.
Forester, Forest Solutions, Paauilo, Hawaii
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: Richard K. Kobe
Dissertation Title: Revisiting soil resource limitation: resource predictors of tree growth and productivity change across ecological gradients
Sarah Benson-Amram, 2011, Ph.D.
Post Doc
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kay E. Holekamp
E-mail: ndovus at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Experimental investigations of cognitive abilities in a socially complex mammal, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Aaron Berger, 2011, Ph.D.
Fisheries Scientist, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, New Caledonia
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Michael L. Jones
E-mail: berger_aaron at hotmail.com
Dissertation Title: Models to aid in the selection of procedures used to manage Lake Erie walleye (Sander vitreus)
Grace Chen, 2011, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas W. Schemske
Dissertation Title: Experimental studies of adaptation and speciation in two neotropical costus species
Megan Fritz, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: James R. Miller
Dissertation Title: Investigations of the African malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae s.l., diptera:Culicidae): ovipositional behavior and toxicity of avermectins
Heather Goldsby, 2011, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Michigan State University
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles A. Ofria
Dissertation Title: The evolution of division of labor in digital organisms
Emily Grman, 2011, PhD
Post Doc, Michigan State University
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Katherine L. Gross
Dissertation Title: Plant-mycorrhizal interactions and the relative abundance of limiting resources
Emily Johnston, 2011, MS
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jen Owen
Thesis Title: Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in two species of passerine birds, American robins and gray catbirds: an assessment of reservoir competence and disease
Sheridan Kelley, 2011, MS
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Barbara L. Lundrigan
Thesis Title: Ecomorphological associations of feeding habits of hypercarnivores
David Knoester, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Philip K. McKinley
Dissertation Title: Evolution of distributed behavior
Justin Lawrence, 2011, MS
Doctoral Student, University of Mississippi
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Co-Advisor(s): Kelly F. Millenbah, urguhart
Thesis Title: The diversity, distribution, and conservation of a polymorphic frog (Oophaga pumilio) in Western Panama
Dan Linden, 2011, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Michigan State University
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary J. Roloff
Dissertation Title: All that you can leave behind: Impacts of structure retention on avian ecology in managed forests of the Pacific Northwest
Jeanette McGuire, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kim L. Scribner
E-mail: mcguire.jeanette at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Comparative analysis of factors influencing male reproductive success in sympatric freshwater turtles
Emily Morrison, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation Title: Avian ecology and behavior in tropical forest restoration sites
Rosa Moscarella, 2011, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Florida State University
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Barbara L. Lundrigan
Dissertation Title: Dissecting the geographical expansion of Peromyscus leucopus in the northern Great Lakes: insights from genetics, morphometrics and ecology
Todd Robinson, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn M. Malmström
Dissertation Title: Impacts of precipitation variability on plant communities
Matthew Rupp, 2011, PhD
Post Doc, Michigan State University
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles A. Ofria
E-mail: ruppmatt at gmail.com
Dissertation Title: Evolvability & Evolution
Abbie Schrotenboer, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn M. Malmström
Dissertation Title: Prairie grasses for biofuels and ecological restoration: modifications to native species and their place in human-altered landscapes
Adria Van Loan, 2011, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kelly F. Millenbah
Dissertation Title: The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and grassland conservation in Michigan
Lorna Watt, 2011, MS
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas W. Schemske
Anne Wiley, 2011, Ph.D.
Post Doc, Smithsonian Institution
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Peggy H. Ostrom
Dissertation Title: Biogeochemical functions of wetlands in southwestern Michigan
Heidi Ziegenmeyer, 2011, MS
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Mary T. Bremigan
E-mail: heidizie at gmail.com
Thesis Title: Effects of spring angling, habitat features, and guarding male attributes on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) nest survival, and implication for fall young-of-year abundance
Matthew Aardema, 2010, MS
Ph.D. Student, Princeton University
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: J. Mark Scriber
Thesis Title: The influence of female wing color variation on male mate choice in tiger swallowtail butterflies (Papilio Spp.)
Orlando Alvarez-Fuentes, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: L. Alan Prather
Dissertation Title: The systematic of genus amauropelta (pteridophyta: thelypterdaceae) in the Caribbean Islands
Joshua Booker, 2010, MS
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra S. Cheruvelil
Thesis Title: The spatial distribution of daphnia resources in shallow lakes: is food quanitity or quality for zooplankton determined by macrophytes?
Alexandra Castillo-Ruiz, 2010, PhD
Post Doc, University of Massachusetts Medical School
MSU Department: Department of Psychology
Advisor: Antonio A. Nunez
Dissertation Title: Circadian and environmental modulation of arousal and reward systems of a diurnal brain
Arthur Covert, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles A. Ofria
Dissertation Title: The beneficial effects of deleterious mutations
Yen Duong, 2010, Ph.D.
Cantho University, Vietnam
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim L. Scribner
Dissertation Title: Effects of spawning behavior and environmental factors on adult reproductive ecology and larval dispersal of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Anna Fiedler, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: Douglas A. Landis
Dissertation Title: Restoration of prairie fen plants, insects, and abiotic processes
Patrick Forsythe, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kim L. Scribner
Dissertation Title: Exogenous correlates of migration , spawning, egg deposition and egg mortality in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Sherri Goings, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles A. Ofria
Dissertation Title: Natural niching: applying ecological principles to evolutionary computation
Sarah Hamer (Yaremych), 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jean I. Tsao
Co-Advisor(s): hickling
Dissertation Title: Interactions among invading ticks, wildllife, and zoonotic pathogens
Chenin Limback, 2010, MS
Ph.D. Student, University of Vermont
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: Deborah G. McCullough
Thesis Title: Tree vigor and its relation to emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) adult host preference and larval development on green and white ash trees
Sherry Martin, 2010, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Daniel Hayes
Dissertation Title: Land-use legacy effect: combining spatial and temporal drivers in statistical and mechanistic models of lake water chemistry
Jarad Mellard, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Christopher Klausmeier
Dissertation Title: The vertical distribution of phytoplankton: observations, theory, experiments
Ryan Morgan, 2010, MS
MSU Department: Department of Geological Sciences
Advisor: Robert L. Anstey
Thesis Title: Paleobiogeographic associations among Mississippian Bryozoansy
Aaron Smith, 2010, PhD
Post Doc, Arizona State University
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: Anthony Cognato
Dissertation Title: Phylogenetic revision of the North American Asidini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Jennifer Smith, 2010, PhD
Post Doc, UCLA
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kay E. Holekamp
Dissertation Title: Evolutionary and ecological forces shaping patterns of cooperation among spotted hyenas
James Sobel, 2010, Ph.D.
Post Doc, University of Oregon
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas W. Schemske
Dissertation Title: Speciation in the western North American wildflower genus Mimulus
Lauri Torgerson (Das), 2010, MS
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Barbara L. Lundrigan
Thesis Title: Personality in Michigan's Peromyscus
John Townsend-Mehler, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Fred C. Dyer
Dissertation Title: Decision-making following shifts in reward distribution: a look at the foraging behavior of honeybees and bumblebees as they respond to shifts in resource availability
Jennifer White, 2010, MS
Doctoral Student, University of Washington
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim L. Scribner
Thesis Title: Monitoring elusive carnivores using noninvasive genetic techniques; case study of bobcats (Lynx rufus) in the northern lower peninsula, Michigan
Brook Wilke, 2010, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Crop and Soil Science
Advisor: Sieglinde S. Snapp
Dissertation Title: Challenges of developing sustainable nitrogen sources in agriculture: cover crops, nitrogen fixation and ecological principles
Kevin Wyatt, 2010, Ph.D.
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation Title: Environmental controls on algal community structure and function in boreal wetlands
Sara Wyse (Kelzer), 2010, PhD
Assistant Professor, Bethel University
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Diane Ebert-May
Dissertation Title: Breaking the mold: preparing graduate teaching assistants to teach as they are taught to teach
Alicia Bray, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: James J. Smith
Dissertation Title: AFLP, mtDNA, and microsatellite analysis of emerald ash borer population structure from Asia and North America
Stephanie Bussema, 2009, MS
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Fred C. Dyer
Jonathan Deroba, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: James R. Bence
Dissertation Title: How many are there and how many can we kill? Improving catch per effort indices of abundance and evaluating harvest control rules for lake whitefish in the Great Lakes
Jeff Evans, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: Douglas A. Landis
Dissertation Title: Developing demographic models to inform selection of Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) biological control agents
Stephen LeDuc, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: David E. Rothstein
Dissertation Title: Soil nitrogen cycling and ectomycorrhizal community composition following disturbance in Michigan jack pine forests
Megan Matonis, 2009, MS
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: Michael B. Walters
Thesis Title: Multiple gap-stand and landscape-scale factors affect northen hardwood regeneration
Terri McElhinny, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Barbara L. Lundrigan
Dissertation Title: Morphological variation in a durophagous carnivore, the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta
Mercedes Ramirez, 2009, MS
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Fred C. Dyer
Thesis Title: Vision as a sensory modality in the honey bee dance language
Lance Roberts, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian A. Maurer
Dissertation Title: Improving wildlife habitat model performance: sensitivity to scale and detail of vegetation measurements
Jessica Schrader (St. John), 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Laura Smale
Dissertation Title: Plasticity in the circadian system: changing rhythms in reproducing female rodents
Amy Schueller, 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Daniel Hayes
Dissertation Title: Interactions between demographic stochasticity and genetic integrity of lake sturgeon populations
Sara Syswerda (Parr), 2009, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Crop and Soil Science
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation Title: Ecosystem services across a management intensity gradient in southwest Michigan
Andrew Tluczek, 2009, MS
MSU Department: Department of Entomology
Advisor: Deborah G. McCullough
Thesis Title: Influences of host vigor on larval distribution, development, and mortality of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptere: Buprestidae) in North America
Gabe Hamer, 2008, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Edward D. Walker
Dissertation Title: West Nile virus transmission ecology: vector-host interactions
Eva Lewandowski, 2008, MS
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Thesis Title: The effects of pokeweed display characteristics on frugivore identity and fruit removal
Susan Spaulding, 2008, MS
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: David E. Rothstein
Thesis Title: Does clearcut harvesting emulate the effects of natural disturbance on the development of stand structure in Pinus banksiana forests of northern lower Michigan
Kevin Theis, 2008, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Kay E. Holekamp
Dissertation Title: Scent marking in a highly social mammalian species, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Lindsey Walters, 2008, PhD
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation Title: Mate quality and parental investment in the house wren
Rachel Williams, 2008, MS
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: L. Alan Prather
Jason Kilgore, 2007, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biology, Washington & Jefferson College
MSU Department: Department of Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank W. Telewski
E-mail: jkilgore at washjeff.edu
Dissertation Title: Distribution and ecophysiology of the Ponderosae in the Santa Catalina Mountains of southern Arizona
Kalina Manoylov
, 2005, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Georgia College and State University
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
E-mail: kalina.manoylov at gcsu.edu
Dissertation Title: Ecological and evolutionary strategies used by benthic diatoms to compete for nutrients
Zhanna Abramovsky, 2003, MS
Scientific Assistant, Environmental Research Division, Argonne National Laboratory
MSU Department: Department of Forestry
Advisor: David E. Rothstein
E-mail: yermakov at anl.gov
Thesis Title: Recovery of ecosystem processes after wildfire in Michigan jack pine forests
Elizabeth Capaldi Evans, 1996, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology & Animal Behavior, Bucknell University
MSU Department: Department of Zoology
Advisor: Fred C. Dyer
E-mail: ecapaldi at bucknell.edu
Dissertation Title: Acquisition of visual spatial memory on orientation and reorientation flights in the honey bee
