From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Alyssa Hakes, Heather Jackson, Amanda Accamando, Ganesh Bhattarai, Jim Cronin, Charlisa Ellis, Forrest Dillemuth and Alex Allain.

Alyssa Hakes
B.S., University of Illinois (2003)
Ph.D. candidate (2003-       )
astock4@lsu.edu

Dissertation Project
I am interested in the evolution of plant resistance and tolerance to insect herbivores. Specifically, I am examining the spatial distribution in resistance and tolerance levels within natural landscapes as well as the effect environmental variables may have on spatial defense patterns in an attempt to understand why resistance and tolerance co-occur within plant populations. This project is being conducted in mid-successional fields throughout Baton Rouge, LA using Solidago canadensis (Canadian goldenrod) as the main study organism.

More about "Plant Resistance and Tolerance at the Landscape Level"

Forrest Dillemuth
B.S., Louisiana State University (2003)
Ph.D. candidate (2004-       )
fdille1@lsu.edu

Dissertation Project
Impact of invasive plant species on community structure. Forrest is interested in the invasion and spread of brome grass (Bromus inermis) in the tall-grass prairies of the Great Plains. His research has shown that brome is rapidly displacing native grasses, and altering the dispersal behavior and increasing the extinction risk of native insect species.

More about "Impact of Invasive Plants"

Heather Jackson
B.S., Brigham Young University (2001)
M.S., Brigham Young University (2004)
Ph.D. candidate (2004-       )
hjacks1@lsu.edu

Dissertation Project
Dispersal is an integral part of population dynamics and can influence species persistence. Given that populations are increasingly isolated by habitat destruction and fragmentation, an understanding of the way in which these forces will affect dispersal limitations is imperative. My doctoral research is focused on the dispersal behavior of the passalid beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus, and the impact of passalid dispersal limitations on its distribution among habitats.

More about "Management Effects on Dead-Wood Arthropods"

For more information about Heather, see her web page

Amanda Accamando
B.S., State University of New York, Geneseo (2000)
Ph.D. candidate (2007-       )
aaccam1@lsu.edu

Dissertation Project: For many plant speices, chemical and morphological defenses against herbivory induced upon herbivore attack. A plant’s resistance to herbivory also may be influenced indirectly by its neighbors, that is, by the diversity and composition of the plant community. Amanda's objective is to examine how the efficacy of induced defenses is influenced by the context of the community. She plans to manipulate the species composition and defensive strategies (e.g., constitutive or induced defense levels) of neighboring plants and quantify their effects on the herbivory of a target plant species (soybeans) that either possess or lack the ability to induce a defense.

Ganesh Bhattarai
B.S., Prithvi Narayan Campus, Tribhuvan University (1997)
M.S., Texas Christian University (2007)
Ph.D. candidate (2008-       )
gbhatt2@lsu.edu

Dissertation Project: Ganesh is interested in the ecology and evolution of latitudinal gradients in invasive plant species. His focal species is Phragmites australis.

Luke Brown
Senior
NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduates

Kyle Haynes
Ph.D., Louisiana State University (2004)
M.S., Utah State University (1998)
B.S., University of California, Santa Barbara (1994)
hayneskj@muohio.edu

Dissertation Title: Landscape heterogeneity and the spatial ecology of a prairie planthopper. (View or download PDF File)

Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Derek Johnsont, advisor.

Allison Poff
M.S., University of North Dakota (2003)
B.S., University of Manitoba (1999)

Thesis Title: Adaptive oviposition behaviour in the goldenrod stem galler, Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Mark Williams
M.S., University of North Dakota (2000)
B.S., Missouri Southern State University (1998)
markalanwilliams@hotmail.com

Thesis Title: Response of a Gall-forming Guild (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) to Stressed and Vigorous Prairie Roses

Current Position: PhD student, University of Wyoming

More about "Host-Plant Choice by Herbivores and Their Enemies"

Kristen Baum
Ph.D., Texas A&M University (2003)
M.S., Texas A&M University (1999)
B.S., The College of William and Mary (1994)
kristen.baum@okstate.edu

Research: Kristen examined the impact of the matrix on the efficacy of corridors and stepping stones. She also played a significant role in the development of the study on dead-wood arthropods.

More about "The Matrix Affects Connectivity of Corridors and Stepping Stones"

More about "Management Effects on Dead-Wood Arthropods"

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma (webpage)