The curiosities of the natural world caught my attention at a young age, and I still find it amazing that I can make a living studying and getting others excited about these subjects. My interests are now in animal behavior, especially questions of why group-living animals are dependant upon each other for their survival. My current research, as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota , explores whether cooperative territorial defense is the evolutionary basis of lion social behavior. The lion project is based in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, and I have traveled to east Africa several times. How did I get to do this fun project? Well, I grew up in Minneapolis and attended Marcy/Tuttle Elementary, Andersen Middle School, and South High School. As a biology major at the University of Chicago, my interest in behavioral questions grew, and a study abroad program to Tanzania piqued my interest in African mammals. I also worked for the Amboseli Baboon Research Project, which led me to a research assistant position following graduation. This work prepared me well for entering graduate school in the fall of 2001. As a graduate student I've enjoyed being a teaching assistant in General Zoology and Animal Behavior, as well as mentoring several high school and undergraduate students. When I finish my degree, I hope to continue teaching and doing research in behavior. I believe the GK-12 program will help me make the most of what I chose to do in the near future.

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I am working to develop as a conservation biologist and a teacher as part of my studies at the University of Minnesota. My research focus is landscape scale ecological impacts and the species impacted by the decisions humans make regarding management of the landscape. My M.S. work took place in the Galapagos Islands, where I was fortunate to be able to study the impact of traffic fatalities on Lava lizards, small, endemic lizards greatly impacted by accelerating human impacts in the islands. My Ph.D. project is still developing but will focus on a variety of impacts in and around Lake Nicaragua. Just a couple of the ecological impacts on native species include the introduction of tilapia and intense fishing on upper tier predators, the bull shark and sawfish. The climate in Nicaragua is especially appealing because the government is stressing the potential economic benefits of eco-tourism, as have been gained in neighboring Costa Rica, and encouraging more environmentally friendly actions from the citizens. Much of this encouragement is being channeled into the schools, where elementary and high school children are taught about the value of the environment and recycling. I would like to link into these initiatives as part of my research to connect the children of Nicaragua (most likely Granada, which is the largest community on the shore of the lake) to school children of Minnesota and will work to incorporate the lessons gained as a GK-12 fellow to accomplish this goal. My development as a teacher is an ongoing process, but I've been fortunate to work with wonderful professors at the University as a teaching assistant and co-instructor and am currently taking the Preparing Future Faculty courses, which give me valuable theory and practice to incorporate into my teaching.

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I grew up learning about the natural world from my father, who was also a U of M graduate student. I caught minnows, turned over rocks, poked at scat (to see what animals had eaten) and listened to wolves howl in some of the best places in the world: Ely, Minnesota; Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; the Snake River Plateau, Idaho. I earned my B.A. from Grinnell College, with majors in mathematics and psychology. During the summer of 1988, I was in and around Yellowstone National Park, as large portions of its forests burned. When I returned the following summer, the “ruined” park wasn't ruined at all: it was carpeted in green seedlings of many plants. Subsequent trips to Yellowstone answered some of my questions about why and how this happened, but left me with many more. My project focuses on the diversity of plants in a large area of sagebrush steppe, a type of cold grassland. I am asking whether rare plant species are added at the same rate across larger and larger pieces of land, a question that ultimately determines how successful conservation efforts will be. I am also interested in using mathematics and models to understand complex problems in ecology, such as the spread of diseases and invasive species. I have volunteered as a science classroom instructor for St. Paul Public Schools, a naturalist for local Scout troops, and have taught several graduate and undergraduate courses in ecology, biology, and biogeography. I serve as the science advisor on the Board of Directors for the Wedge Community Cooperative. And I still catch minnows and turns over rocks, on frequent hiking and camping trips with my dogs, Joey and Lucas.

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I have long had an interest in insects, the many-legged things that jumped about the grass, and rested so lightly on flowers. My interests quickly became focused on moths and butterflies, and these insects are the centerpiece of my research. I worked with butterfly populations for my Masters' research project on biodiversity indicators and became intrigued with insect diversity. The idea of reconstructing the family trees (phylogenies) of insects, and gaining insight into how species are related to each other fascinated me. My research at the University of Minnesota now focuses on tiger moths. Using both physical features and genes, I am building family trees for a group of Neotropical tiger-moths. I am interested in using these trees to examine the evolution of behavioral traits and physical characteristics such as color. My career goal is to conduct research and teach in a university setting. While research will be conducted mainly in the lab, I envision teaching in both the classroom and research lab. I have had the opportunity to work closely with undergraduate students as a teaching assistant and in my advisor's lab, on their research projects. I have found this interaction productive for all and intellectually satisfying personally. I hope to inspire students to careers in science and entomology!

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My love of science and the outdoors started when I was young. I had an excellent science teacher in seventh grade that awaken my need to explore the natural world. Even now, I am still asking questions about organisms and their environments. I am currently interested in plant systematics and plant-insect interactions. In my research at the University of Minnesota, I am examining the fig-fig wasp community. Specifically, I am exploring the species limits and cospeciation of figs and their tiny associate wasp insects.

Besides working in a research lab, I enjoy hiking through the wilderness examining plants in their native habitats. Besides racking hundreds of miles of hiking to breathtaking places, I've had close encounters with bears, moose, and crazy whistle-pigs. To date, I have been through 46 states, have visited at least 30 National Parks, and photographed countless plants in various habitats. This summer I'll visit one of the remaining states since I am traveling to Fairbanks, Alaska to present my research at the Evolution conference.

Lastly, I wish to follow in the footsteps of that science teacher who inspired me, and perhaps stir some scientific curiosity in the next generation of students. It is an awesome feeling to see that "ah-ha!" moment in a child's eyes when they first figure out a problem for themselves, or see something that they have never seen before, or made a connection for the first time between ideas. After I graduate, I wish to continue my career as a science teacher at the college level. I feel that participating in this fellowship would definitely enhance my teaching capabilities by giving me an opportunity to teach what I enjoy to students.

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Growing up in Oberlin, Ohio I spent my summers in upstate New York at my grandparent's cottage. It was a rustic place in the forest where I would spend my days discovering the gorges, lakes, animals and woods of the area. I'm sure this had a huge influence on my adult interest in the natural world and humans' connection to it. After graduating from Macalester College in 1993 I had the opportunity to learn about a variety of ecosystems by working at residential nature centers across the United States. I extended my travels even further when I moved to Costa Rica where I lived and worked for 4 years. In Costa Rica I had the opportunity to do research with sea turtles and sustainable agriculture systems as well as learn and teach about the tropical forest there. I returned to the states with my husband who hails from Minnesota and began my academic career here at the University where I now work with the citizen science program the "Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project." I am studying how to best involve children in doing real research as part of an enriching informal environmental education program.

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My first memorable encounter with nature bit me. I was probably eight or nine years old romping through the small woods by my house when I spotted something sticking its head out of a hole. Of course, I reached in grabbed hold of whatever it was only to find a small garter snake holding onto my finger with its mouth. I was hooked, literally and figuratively. Luckily, I was fortunate to have parents that let me explore my interest. It was not long afterwards that my small bedroom was filled with cages containing every sort of critter I could catch. Now the 'woods by my house' is the whole world and most of my interest is with birds. As a graduate student, I use molecular data and a variety of methods to understand how climate change during the last 2 million years, the Pleistocene, has altered the distribution and speciation rates of animals. My research has taken me to Belize, Guyana, Russia and most of western North America.


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