Alumni
Since 1989, EEB has graduated more than 500 PhD and MS students with dual degrees with their home department. Control F will allow searching through all class years.
2024
Hazel Anderson, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Phoebe Zarnetske
Thesis: Investigating the scale-dependent relationship of plant-frugivore biodiversity
using big data in a biodiversity hotspot
Charlotte Anker, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeff Conner
Dissertation: Measuring the effects of selection and pleiotropy on short stamen number
in Arabidopsis thaliana
Isabela Lima Borges, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Sarah Fitzpatrick
Dissertation: The effects of dispersal, inbreeding, and mutualisms on the fitness
of fragmented populations
Emily Conway, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Dissertation: A study of plant community assembly dynamics in urban systems through
the lens of restoration ecology
Kayla Davis, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elise Zipkin
Dissertation: From data to dynamics: Data integration to estimate avian population
and community dynamics
Austin Ferguson, PhD
Computer Science
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: An empirical analysis of historical contingency in evolution
Brianna Foster, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Marianna Szucs
Dissertation: Evolutionary and applied approaches for the management of invasive swallow-wort
vines (Vincetoxicum spp.): biological control, ecosystem restoration and consequences
for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus)
Veronica Frans, PhD
Fisheries & Wildlife
Advisor: Jianguo “Jack” Liu
Dissertation: Advancing ecological niche theory for global sustainability: A coupled
human and natural systems perspective
Abby Grieb, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Ashley Shade
Dissertation: Understanding the microbiome of common bean plants (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS
L.): Drought stress, microbiome transmissions and assembly, and outlooks for agricultural
applications
Anthony Grigsby, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Eric Benbow
Thesis: Seasonal dynamics of decomposition Ecology
Sara Hugentobler, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Mariah Meek
Dissertation: Informing conservation actions: Genetic approaches to Chinook salmon
management in the Sacramento River of California
Brandon Latorre, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Dissertation: The effect of seed mix design on plant productive output in an experimental
prairie system
Bruce Martin, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Marjorie Weber
Dissertation: New phylogenetic comparative approaches for studying variation in rates
of continuous trout evolution
Olivia Spagnuolo, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Spatial ecology methods and applications to large carnivore conservation
in Kenya
Daniel Turner, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Issacs
Dissertation: Time and terpenoids: Experimental and data-intensive investigations
into temporal ecology and phytochemistry
Jenna Walters, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Effects of extreme heat on northern highbush blueberry pollen and the
native pollinator osmia lignana
Nicole Watson, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Daniel Hayes
Dissertation: Answering key uncertainties to successful reintroduction of Arctic Grayling
to Michigan streams
Katherine Wood, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Tree seedling mycorrhizal type and functional traits interact with light
availability to mediate plant-soil feedbacks
Katherine Wynne, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lauren Sullivan
Dissertation: The effect of seed dispersal and recruitment on tallgrass prairie community
assembly
2023
Elizeth Cinto Mejia, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Will Wetzel
Dissertation: The effect of the timing of extreme climatic events on plant communities
Marcella Domka, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Dissertation: Comparing measures of water quality and waterfowl populations between
natural lakes and reservoirs
Skye Fissette, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: The evolution and function of Sea Lamprey pheromone components
Beth Gerstner, PhD
Fisheries & Wildlife
Advisor: Phoebe Zarnetski
Dissertation: Towards improving biodiversity assessments for mammals and birds within
the Neotropics
Jose Hernandez, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Beyond benchmarks suites: Engineering diagnostic tools to characterize
selection schemes
Emily Liljestrand, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jim Bence
Dissertation: Evaluating the performance and applicability of state-space stock assessment
models
Danielle Matuszak, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Dissertation: Lake type and connectivity predict zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
presence
Mathew Moreno, PhD
Computer Science Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Engineering scalable digital models to study major transitions in evolution
Andrea Morrow, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Dissertation: Comparative analysis of investment in sensory brain tissue in diurnal,
nocturnal, and cathemeral rodents
Kota Nakasato, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Non-thesis degree
Olivia Ruppert, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: John Robinson
Thesis: Use of eDNA metabarcoding to characterize diversity and occupancy of wetland
herpetofauna in the GreatLakes region
Michael Ryskamp, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Dissertation: Wild virus impacts on fitness of Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) and
the genetic architecture of disease expression
Olivia Utley, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Thesis: Raptor foraging ecology and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes
Miranda Wade, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Mariah Meek
Dissertation: Of microplastics and milkweed: Using ‘omics to address biodiversity
challenges in the Anthropocene
Nicole Wonderlin, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Peter White and Will Wetzel
Dissertation: Ecology of moth pollinators in urban environments
Ali Zahorec, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Doug Landis
Dissertation: Microarthropod-microbe interactions on soil carbon dynamics in bioenergy
cropping systems
2022
Acacia Ackles, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elise Zipkin
Dissertation: Computations models to investigate connectivity in evolvable systems
Kevin Bird, PhD
Horticulture
Advisor: Patrick Edger
Dissertation: Subgenome dominance and genome evolution in allopolyploids
Melissa Brady, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Birds and berries: The costs and benefits of agricultural ecosystems
Ava Garrison, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeff Conner
Dissertation: Adaptation to agriculture in a serious crop weed, Weedy Radish, (Raphanus
raphanistrum
Zoe Hansen, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Ashley Shade
Dissertation: Characterization of the human gut resistome, microbiome, and metabolome
during enteric infection
Catherine Henry, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Michael Walters
Dissertation: Pattern and process of regeneration and recruitment dynamics in managed
northern hardwood forests
Lindsey Kemmerling, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Nick Haddad
Dissertation: Diversification of agricultural landscapes for biodiversity and ecosystem
services
Viviana Ortiz Londono, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Martin Chilvers
Dissertation:Evolutionary genomic analysis of the charcoal rot fungus Macrophomina
phaseolina for improved disease management under climate change
Kevin McCormick, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Agonistic behavior of spotted hyenas (Crocuta Crocuta): Effects on fitness
and dominance
Rachel Osborn, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Anthony Cognato
Dissertation: Diversity of South American ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae:
Xyleborini) and their fungal partners
Joseph Riedy, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Field and experimental studies find variation in levels of larval lake
sturgeon predation is associate with behavior and environmental conditions
Elizabeth Stebbins, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jim Bence
Thesis: Modeling individual variability in growth and its importance: An application
for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Superior
2021
Jaron Adkins, PhD
Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Jessica Miesel
Dissertation: Wildfire impacts on soil carbon pools and microbial communities in mixed-conifer
forests of California
Jason Bundy, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Rich Lenski
Dissertation: Replaying life's virtual tape: Examining the role of history in experiments
with digital organisms
Nikki (Cybil) Cavalieri, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Dissertation: Geographical variation in skull morphology of the bone cracking hyenas,
Crocuta Crocuta and Hyaena Hyaena
Savvas Constantinou, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Jason Gallant
Dissertation: Developing reverse genetic tools in weakly electric fish: Investigating
electric organ IN VIVO SCN4AA function through CRISPR knockouts and morpholino knockouts
Andrew Dennhardt, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Dissertation: Spatiotemporal dynamics of wild populations in human-dominated landscapes
and aquascapes: Multiple scales and modes for inference
Jeffrey Doser, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Andrew Finley
Dissertation: Development and application of hierarchical models for monitoring avian
soundscapes, populations, and communities
Clarice Esch, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Mature trees effects on seedling regeneration: Plant-soil feedbacks,
their legacies, and restoration
Matt Farr, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elise Zipkin
Dissertation: Data integration in population and community ecology using hierarchical
modeling
Darren Incorvaia, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: Social modulation of individual decision-making in foraging bumblebees:
Mechanisms and evolution
Heather Kitteredge, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Sarah Evans
Dissertation: Environmental drivers and evolutionary consequences of horizontal gene
transfer in soil bacteria
Cory Kohn, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: James Smith
Dissertation: Digital evolution in experimental phylogenetics and evolution education
Lauren Koenig, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Tom Getty
Dissertation: Model behavior of non-model organisms: The use of non-model systems
to evaluate adaptive behavior
Alex Lalejini, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Evolving phenotypically plastic digital organisms
Mauricio Locilla, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Jason Gallant
Dissertation: Genomic basis of electric signal variation in African weakly electric
fish
James Robert Logan, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Sarah Evans
Dissertation: Dynamic deserts: The synergistic effects of fungi, sunlight, and non-rainfall
moisture on plant litter decomposition in drylands
Anselmo Pontes, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: The evolutionary origins of cognition: Understanding the early evolution
of biological control systems and general intelligence
Ravi Ranjan, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Christopher Klausmeier
Dissertation: Two is company, more is a crowd: Untangling the complexity of multi-species
competition
Joseph Receveur, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Eric Benbow
Dissertation: Influence of aquatic microbes on mosquito oviposition behavior and life
history
Connie Rojas, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Socioecological predictors of microbiome variation in wild populations
of African mammals
Seth Smith, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: The genetic basis for fitness and ecomorphological variation in recovering
populations of lake trout (Salvelinus Namaycush) in the Great Lakes
Zinan Wang, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Henry Chung
Dissertation: Mechanisms underlying desiccaion resistance in Drosophila species
Christopher Warneke, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Dissertation: Plant population responses following reintroduction to human-modified
landscapes
Scott Warner, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Telewski
Dissertation: Tree rings and climate in the Great Lakes Region – past, present, and
future
Alex Wright, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elise Zipkin
Dissertation: Quantifying, monitoring, and managing biodiversity across multiple spatial
scales
Allison Young, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: Comparative and experimental studies on the foraging and exploratory
behavior of four honey bee species
2020
Kyle Card, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: The effects of genetic background on the evolution of antibiotic resistance
and its fitness costs
Michael Foisy, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Marjorie Weber
Thesis: Do latex and resin canals spur plant diversification? Re-examining a classic
example of escape and radiate coevolution
Nkrumah Grant, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Deconstructing the correlated nature of ancient and emergent traits:
An evolutionary investigation of metabolism, morphology, and mortality
Kayleigh Hauri, MS
Entomology
Advisor: William Wetzel
Thesis: Effects of plant chemical diversity on predator-prey interactions in an agroecosystem
Lily Johnson-Ulrich, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Intraspecific variation in behavioral flexibility in spotted hyenas
Erika LaPlante, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Marjorie Weber
Thesis: Genome-wide association study reveals genes associated with mite recruitment
phenotypes in the domesticated grapevine (Vitis vinifera)
Courtney Larson, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Eric Benbow
Dissertation: Diverse allochthonous resource quality effects on headwater stream communities
through insect-microbe interactions
Kenna Lehmann, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Communication and cooperation in silico and in nature
Robert Mobley, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Janette Boughman
Dissertation: Multimodal ecology of stickleback sensing
Tracy Montgomery, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Physiological mediation of social behavior in group-living carnivores
Toby Petrice, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: William Ravlin
Dissertation: Effects of temperature and photoperiod on host-parasitoid synchrony
and evaluation of sampling methods for Oobius agrili: An introduced egg parasitoid
of emerald ash borer
Gabriela Quinlan, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Influence of landscape composition, landscape diversity, and conservation
management on bee health via a pollen nutrition mechanism
Alexandra Rafalski, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Scott Peacor
Dissertation: Contingency of predation risk-induced trait responses in a model fish-zooplankton
community
Sean Sultaire, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Dissertation: Biodiversity responses to alternative green tree retentions practices
in the Pacific Northwest: A regional forestry experiment
Laura Twardochleb, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Phoebe Zarnetske
Dissertation: Climate effects on freshwater ecological communities: From local species
interactions to continental biodiversity patterns
Lydia Wassink, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Investigation into effects of environmental stressors on Lake Sturgeon
physiology, behavior, and survival during early ontogeny
Nathaniel Yost, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Scott Winterstein
Thesis: A critical review of Michigan's spring waterfowl survey
Meredith Zettlemoyer, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: Phenological and demographic plant responses to global change
2019
Sara Ali (Herman), PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Doug Landis
Dissertation: Impact of predation risk on the behavior and physiology of insects in
agricultural systems
Andrew Carlson, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Taylor
Dissertation: Michigan stream salmonid growth and survival in a changing climate:
Predictions and implications for resilience-based management
Thomas Connor, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jianguo (Jack) Liu
Dissertation: Assessing species distributions and the effects of habitat fragmentation:
The case of the giant panda
Emily Dolson, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: On the constructive power of ecology in open-ended evolving systems
Steven Gray, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Dissertation: Invasive species, spatial ecology, and human-wildlife conflict: Exploration
of wildlife sciences in the present
Sarah Jones, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Androgen and serotonin concentrations in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta):
physiological predictors and relationships with the social environment
Zachary Laubach, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Developmental plasticity: Early life environment, DNA methylation,
and later life phenotype in spotted hyenas
Di Liang, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation: Microbial sources of nitrous oxide emissions from diverse cropping systems
Christine McTavish, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Thesis: Spruce decline and Diaporthe: Incidence, taxonomy, virulence and tree susceptibility
Andrew Meyers, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: The interacting influences of habitat context and predators on monarch
butterfly (Danaus plexippus) oviposition and survival in agricultural landscapes
Bethany Moore (Johnson), PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Shin-Han Shiu
Dissertation: Specialized metabolism and stress response: Studies in predicting gene
function and regulation
Zachary Noel, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Martin Chilvers
Dissertation: Effect of soybean seed treatments on oomycete evolution and diversity
for improved seedling disease management
Genevieve Pang , PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jean Tsao
Dissertation: The effect of genetic and abiotic factors on the geographic variation
in life cycle processes of Ixodes scapularis in the eastern United States
Klara Scharnagl, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Dissertation: Biogeography of an obligate symbiont: Following established patterns
or an exception to the rule?
Eli Strauss, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Social inequality and its dynamics in spotted hyenas
Patric Vaelli, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Heather Eisthen
Dissertation: Mechanisms of tetrodotoxin production and resistance in the poisonous
rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa)
2018
Carina Baskett, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Marjorie Weber and Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: Testing hypothesized latitudinal patterns in plant-insect interactions
from tropical to north-temperate regions
Caitlyn Byron, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: David Lowry
Non-thesis degree
Anna Funk-Groves, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Dissertation: Planting year conditions shape community assembly in restored prairie
communities
Sara Garnett, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Fitness effects of kinship depend on ecological context in the American
Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
Knute Gundersen, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Implications of habitat restoration for bumble bee population dynamics,
foraging ecology, and epidemiology
Malcolm Itter, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Andrew Finley
Dissertation: The development and application of spatio-temporal methods to understand
and predict broad-scale patterns of forest change
Joshua James, MS
Forestry
Advisor: Jessica Meisel
Thesis: Short and long-term effects of prescribed fire on soil properties in a Pinus
resinosa forest in Northern Minnesota
Dustin Kinkaid, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: Revealing the biogeochemistry and hydrodynamic exchange processes of
flocculent sediments in shallow freshwater
Matthew Kolp, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Dissertation: Fungal community succession and interactions in chestnut blight cankers
in Michigan and Indiana
Thomas LaBar, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Christoph Adami
Dissertation: The evolution of the complexity and robustness in small populations
Susan Magnoli, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: The role of rapid adaptation in plant population establishment
Daniel ODonnell, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elena Litchman
Dissertation: Sea change phytoplankton change too? Thermal adaptation of the marine
diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana: An evolutionary scenario
Shujun Ou, PhD
Horticulture
Advisor: Ning Jiang
Dissertation: Identification of LTR retrotransposons, evaluation of genome assembly,
and modeling rice domestication
Abhijna Parigi, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Ashlee Rowe
Dissertation: Mechanisms of southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) muscle
resistant to paralytic and lethal toxins in Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus)
venom
Damian Popovic, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: David Lowry
Thesis: Evaluating the role of oceanic salt spray and herbivory on the evolution of
locally adapted populations of the Seep Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus)
Steven Roels, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Recovery of insectivorous bird ecology function in tropical forest restorations
Anne Scott, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: Characterization and disruption of sea lamprey sex pheromone communication
Nicholas Skaff, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Dissertation: Blood in the water: Wetlands, wet spells, and drought regulate mosquito-borne
disease transmission at multiple scales
Julie Turner, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Social development and its influence on adult traits in the spotted
hyena
Paul Wilburn, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elena Litchman
Dissertation: The taxonomic and functional microbial diversity in Lake Baikal and
other north temperate lakes
Chad Zirbel, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Dissertation: Interpreting variation in restoration outcomes: Functional traits shape
community assembly and ecosystem functioning
2017
Shairah Abdu Razak, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Dissertation: Biotic and abiotic factors influence formation and ontogenic dynamics
of molecularly defined gastro-intestinal microbial communities in Lake Sturgeon and
Channel Catfish
Tyler Bassett, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: The role of biodiversity in prairie restoration tests of theory and
implications for management
Alita Burmeiseter, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Coevolutionary implications of envelope-mediated resistance to phage
Rosangela Canino-Koning, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Evolution and evolvability in changing environments
Leslie Cieplechowicz, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Richard Snider
Thesis: Asian Wild Horse (Equus ferus) care manual
Andrew Crosby, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Porter
Dissertation: Conserving avian biodiversity on managed forest landscapes: The importance
of pattern and scale
Micaleila Desotelle, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: The impacts of algal subsidies from a run-of-river reservoir on downstream
food webs and nutrient availability, and the implications of a diluted bitumen spill
on the Kalamazoo River
Garret Dettman, MS
Forestry
Advisor: David MacFarlane
Thesis: Evaluating inter- and intra-specific variation in leaf mass and area
Emily Dittmar, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: Local adaptation and fitness trade-offs
Julia Greenberg, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Developmental flexibility in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta): The role
of maternal and anthropogenic effects
Patrick Hanly, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: The maintenance and generation of freshwater diversity from the local
to the global scale
Wendy Johnson, PhD
Teacher Education
Advisors: Charles Anderson and Robert Pennock
Dissertation: Supporting three-dimensional science learning: The role of curiosity-driven
classroom discourse
Nora Lewin, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Mechanisms mediating life history traits in the spotted hyena
Tracy Melvin (Swem), MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Thesis: Prescribed fire effects on Eastern Box Turtles in Southwest Michigan
Jorden Schossau, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Christoph Adami
Dissertation: Evolution of decision-making systems
Megan Shave, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Evaluating the conservation and agricultural applications of orchard
nest boxes
Allison Sussman, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Elise Zipkin
Thesis: Assessing waterbird hotspots for conservation and management in the Great
Lakes
Anya Vostinar (Johnson) , PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Suicide, signals, and symbionts: Evolving cooperation in agent-based
systems
Justin Waraniak, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Barcoding, metabarcoding, and experimental analyses of community dynamics
and environmental conditions affecting predation of larval lake sturgeon in the Black
River, Michigan
Sarah Beth Wegener, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Heather Eisthen
Thesis: Transmissibility and localization of tetrodotoxin in the rough-skinned newt
Taricha granulosa
Kileigh Welshofer (Browning), MS
Forestry
Advisor: Phoebe Zarnetske
Thesis: Examining exotic plant success in a warmer world
Sean Williams, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Behavioral ecology of Amazonian mixed-species flocks
Jing Zhou, MS
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Richard Snider
Thesis: Captive welfare design of Red Pandas (Ailurus fulgens)
2016
Erica Bruger, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Christopher Waters
Dissertation: Quorum sensing and the stabilization of cooperative behavior in Vibrio
bacteria
Andrea Dechner, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian Maurer
Dissertation: Ecology of a carnivore community in an agricultural landscape in the
northeast of Brazil
Rachael Eaton, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Avian use of cultivated orchards: Influences of diet, scale, and sociality
on foraging
Carol Fergus, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Patricia Soranno
Dissertation: Using a landscape limnology framework to examine spatial patterns and
processes that influence lake nutrients and productivity at macroscales
Ellen Holste, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: The role of mycorrhizal fungi and soil nutrients in tropical reforestation
Lindsay Hunt, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Thesis: Effects of pasture dairy farming on grassland bird species in southwest Michigan
Cara Kreig, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: The form and function of competitive traits in female house wrens (Troglodytes
aedon)
Michael Kuczynski, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Individual and ecological sources of variation in sexual signals and
mate choice
Rohan Maddamsetti, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Population genomics of Escherichia coli in nature and the laboratory
Lucas Michelotti, MS
Forestry
Advisor: Jessica Miesel
Non-thesis degree
Elizabeth Miller, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Christopher Klausmeier
Dissertation: Community composition and coexistence: The effects of temporal variation
and environmental forcing on community trait distributions and diversity
Jakob Nalley, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Elena Litchman
Dissertation: Optimizing the productivity and sustainability of algae biofuel systems:
Investigating the benefits of algal diversity and utilizing brewery wastewater for
cultivation
Sifa Ephraim Ngasala, PhD
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Michael Gottfried
Dissertation: The biogeography of lungfishes with a description of new fossil taxa
from East Africa
Alejandro Rojas Flechas, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Martin Chilvers
Dissertation: Diversity of oomycetes associated with soybean seedling diseases
Marissa Schuh, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Thesis: Influence of switchgrass ecotype, cultivar, and planted stand diversity on
herbivores, natural enemy communities, and biological control in bioenergy cropping
systems
Tomomi Suwa, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: The role of resource mutualism in plant response and adaptation to abiotic
environments
Nick Testa, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Alexander Shingleton
Dissertation: The development and molecular-genetic mechanisms of sexual size and
shape dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster
Jie Wang, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Martin Chilvers
Dissertation: Molecular diagnostics, epidemiology, and population genetics of the
soybean sudden death syndrome pathogen, Fusarium virguliforme
2015
Isis Arsnoe (Kuczaj), PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jean Tsao
Dissertation: Variation in blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis questing behavior has
implications for human Lyme disease risk in the eastern United States
Briana Brady, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Julie Wade
Thesis: Characterization of co-expression of scamp 1, BDNf and ERÉ» in the juvenile
zebra finch telencephalic vocal motor pathway
Tyler Buchinger, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: Evolution of sea lamprey mating pheromones
Jessica Caton, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jennifer Owen
Thesis: Migratory behavior of captive Blue-Winged Teals (Anas discors)
Kari Dammerman, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting adult reproductive biology
and early life stage development of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Angela De Palma-Dow, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Thesis: The relative roles of dispersal and establishment for shaping aquatic macrophyte
diversity and community structure among the inland lakes of Isle Royale National Park
Lisette Delgado Aquije, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Impact of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella on the intestinal microbiota
of white-tailed deer and cattle sharing an agroecosystem
Hope Draheim, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Landscape genetics of black bears (Ursus americanus) in the northern
lower peninsula of Michigan, USA
Danielle Fegan, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Lars Brudvig
Non-thesis degree
David Green , PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Anthropogenic disturbance, ecological change, and wildlife conservation
at the edge of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem
Joshua Haslun, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Nathaniel Ostrom
Dissertation: Identification of local adaptation in Porites astreoides inhabiting
the Florida reef tract: Biotic stress, a disregarded force of change affecting coral
reefs
Briana Hauff Salas, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Margaret (Peggy) Ostrom
Dissertation: The response of symbiotic zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium spp.) diversity and gene expression to stress in geographically distinct reefs
Kane Keller, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: Context-dependent effects of mutualisms on communities
Melissa Kjelvik, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: The ecological consequences of foraging boldness in juvenile bluegill
sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Raffica La Rosa, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: Floral evolution in milkweeds: Evidence for selection past and present
Emily May, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Thesis: Wild bee community responses to farm management practices, wildflower restorations,
and landscape composition
Masoud Mirmomeni, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Christoph Adami
Dissertation: Evolution of cooperation in the light of information theory
Randy Olson, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Christoph Adami
Dissertation: Elucidating the evolutionary origins of collective animal behavior
Anuraag Pakanati, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Structure and evolutionary dynamics in fitness landscapes
Claire Patterson Moore, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Non-thesis degree
Ben Roller, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Thomas Schmidt
Dissertation: Life histories of bacteria: Genomic foundations and ecological implications
Elizabeth Schultheis, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jennifer Lau
Dissertation: The role of biotic interactions in biological invasions
Christine Sprunger, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Sieglinde Snapp
Dissertation: Root production and soil carbon accumulation in annual, perennial and
diverse cropping systems
Elizabeth Stelzner, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Non-thesis degree
Caroline Turner, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Experimental evolution and ecological consequences: New niches and changing
stoichiometry
Erin Walaszczyk, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: Pheromone modulation of locomotor rhythmicity in adult female sea lamprey
Emily Weigel, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Janette Boughman
Dissertation: The effects of social experience on sexual selection in Threespine Sticklebacks
(Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Jeff White, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Orlando Sarnelle
Dissertation: Trait and environmental variation mediate the interaction between a
harmful phytoplanker and an invasive grazer
Michael Wiser, PhD
Integrative Biology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: An analysis of fitness in long-term asexual evolution experiments
2014
Nicholas Ballew, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Fitness tradeoffs can contribute to the maintenance of variation in
personality traits in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Andrea Bowling, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Porter
Dissertation: Landscape-level effects of weather and land cover on wild turkey abundance,
productivity, and regional harvest potential
Sudarshan Chari, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Ian Dworkin
Dissertation: Understanding the role of standing genetic variation in functional genetics
and compensatory evolution
Michael DeNieu, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Ian Dworkin
Dissertation: Using experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to test predictions
about the adaptation of prey to a novel predator
Austin Dreyer, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Alexander Shingleton
Dissertation: The causes and effects of genital hypoallometry in Drosophila
Paige Howell, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Genetic and phenotypic variation in the American marten (Martes americana)
in the upper peninsula of Michigan
Marta Jarzyna, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Porter
Dissertation: Macroecology of breeding birds of New York state: Influences of climate
change, landscape matrix, and spatial scale
Colin Kremer, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Christopher Klausmeier
Dissertation: Coexistence in temporally variable environments: Eco-evolutionary perspectives
David Minor, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Thesis: The effects of tree size, nutrient availability, competition, and masting
synchrony on fruit production in tropical and temperate forests
Robert Morrison, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Zsofia Szendrei
Dissertation: Investigation of the tritrophic interactions of the asparagus miner
(Ophiomyia simplex Loew; Diptera: Agromyzidae) and the influence of temperature on
its population dynamics
Kristen Nolting, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Nathan Swenson
Thesis: The role of phylogeny and niche differentiation in structuring species co-occurrence
in the New Zealand Pittosporum (Pittospraceae)
Sam Rossman, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Margaret (Peggy) Ostrom
Dissertation: The foraging ecology of bottlenose dolphins: Insights into temporal,
demographic, and individual variation
Anne Royer, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: Mating system and the evolution of stamen morphology in the Brassicaceae
Nathan Snow, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Porter
Dissertation: Hotspots, underreporting, and dynamic space-time influences of wildlife-vehicle
collisions
John Willis, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Michael Walters
Dissertation: Substrate effects on seedling dynamics in managed northern hardwood
forests
Luis Zaman, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Host-symbiont coevolution in digital and microbial systems
2013
Carlos Anderson, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Barry Williams
Dissertation: Mechanisms of adaptation and speciation: An experimental study in artificial
life
Brett Blaauw, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Composition, size, and effectiveness of native plant conservation plantings
for supporting beneficial insects
Katy Califf, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: A genetic approach to understanding the evolutionary ecology of two hyena
species
Brendan Carson, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Thesis: The biological control of spotted knapweed and conservation of associated
pollinator communities
Mike Grillo, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: Mechanisms of adaptation in Oryza and Arabidopsis
Goeffrey Horst, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Orlando Sarnelle
Dissertation: Eco-physiology of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa across
nutrient gradients
Nikhil Jaikumar, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Sieglinde Snapp
Dissertation: Perennial cereal crops for the cold temperate zone: Agronomy, physiology,
sink regulation and disease resistance
Anna Kirk Blanton, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Varying strategies of managed pollinator investment to optimize highbush
blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) crop pollination and yield
Mitchell Lettow, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Thesis: Oak savanna restoration: Effects of variable methods on habitat, flowering
forbs and pollinator communities
Matthew Lundquist, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Michael Kaufman
Thesis: The effect of nitrogen on the larval growth of the invasive mosquito Aedes
japonicus japonicus (Theobald)
Abby Lynch, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Taylor
Dissertation: Designing a decision-support tool for harvest management of Great Lakes
lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeafornis) in a changing climate
Andrea Maguire, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Thesis: Depletion of non-structural carbohydrate reserves in temperate tree seedlings
under stress
Robert McCann, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Edward Walker
Dissertation: Determinants of malaria vector habitat use, spatial distribution, and
community composition with a focus on environmental factors and insecticide-treated
bed nets
Melissa McDonald, PhD
Psychology
Advisor: Carlos Navarrete
Dissertation: Motivations for mate choice discrimination in an intergroup dating context
Emily Norton Henry, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Dissertation: From turtle populations to property values: The effects of lakeshore
residential development and the invasive zebra mussel
Alycia Reynolds (Lackey), PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Janette Boughman
Dissertation: Speciation in stickleback fish: Interactions between sexual selection
and ecology can make or break species
Lurii Shcherbak, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Philip Robertson
Dissertation: Production and movement of N2O in the full soil profile
Joshua Springer, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Dissertation: Influence of mycoviruses on the population structure of the chestnut
blight pathogen, Cryphonectria parasitica and recovery of American chestnuts, Castanea
dentata
Eli Swanson, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Evolution and development of body size in the spotted hyena
Mark Tran, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Hill
Dissertation: The use of olfactory foraging cues by intertidal hermit crabs
Nathaniel Walton, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Matthew Grieshop
Dissertation: The role of natural enemies in pest management of codling moth (Cydia
pomonella) in organic apple orchards in Michigan
J. Megan Woltz, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: Relationships between landscape structure, coccinellid activity density,
and soybean aphid suppression in soybean
2012
Jameel Al-Haddad, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Telewski
Dissertation: Influence of syringyl to guaiacyl ratio and gravity on growth responses
and physical properties in genetically altered poplars (Populus tremula x P. alba)
Kali Bird, MS
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Jay Lennon
Thesis: Generalist and specialist strategies of phosphorus acquisition by aquatic
bacteria
David Bryson, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: The evolutionary potential of populations on complex fitness landscapes
Stephen Burr, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Thesis: Evaluating emerald ash borer populations and the ash resources at three stages
of infestation
Brian Connelly, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Philip McKinley
Dissertation: Ecological effects on the evolution of cooperative behaviors
Leslie Curren, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Competition and cooperation among males in a sex role-reversed mammal,
the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Ben Dantzer, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Andrew McAdam
Dissertation: Adaptive endocrine and behavioral responses of free-living red squirrels
to environmental variation
Andy Flies, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Ecology and immune function in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta
Masanori Fujimoto, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Terence Marsh
Dissertation: Microbial succession on the lake sturgeon egg surface: Mechanisms shaping
the microbial community assembly during succession and the effect of microbial successional
processes on host life history traits
Chris Hamm, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: Natural history and conservation genetics of the federally endangered
Mitchell's Satyr butterfly, Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii
Lauren Kinsman-Costello, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: Effects of water level fluctuations on phosphorus, iron, sulfur, and
nitrogen cycling in shallow freshwater ecosystems
Amanda Lorenz, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Michael Kaufman
Thesis: The role of algae in the invasion ecology of the mosquito species Aedes japonicus
japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae)
Jason Martina, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: Invasive plant species impacts on carbon and nitrogen cycling in inland
Michigan wetlands
Justin Meyer, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Coevolution of bacterial-phage interactions
Andrea Miehls, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisors: Andrew McAdam and Scott Peacor
Dissertation: Preventing predation: Evolution and adaptive plasticity in morphological
defense of an invasive species
Clint Otto, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Dissertation: The impact of timber harvest on wildlife distribution patterns and population
vital rates: Does structural retention ameliorate the negative effects of clearcutting?
Jeffrey Pierce, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Telewski
Thesis: The effects of increased syringyl to guaiacyl lignin monomer ratios on xylem
hydraulic properties in hybrid poplar (Polulus tremula x P. alba)
Laura Plank, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Thesis: Remote sensing to monitor monotypic weed patches in semi-arid grasslands
Emily Scott, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Davis Rothstein
Dissertation: Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) cycling in northern hardwood forests
of Michigan, USA
Kathryn Shaw Yoshida, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Variation among spotted hyenas in three personality traits
Katherine Steensma, MS
Animal Science
Advisor: Santiago Utsumi
Thesis: Foraging behavior of dairy cattle in a pasture-based system with automated
milking
Ryan Taylor, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Quantitative genetics, selection, mate choice and red squirrel behavior
in a fluctuating environment
Bess Walker, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: The evolution of digital communities under limited resources
Zhonglei Wang, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: David MacFarlane
Dissertation: An integrative theory of bio-energetic growth, mortality and evolutionary
optimization
Allison Wyatt (Rober), PhD
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation: Regulation of algal structure and function in northern boreal wetlands
Liu Yang, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Anthony Cognato
Thesis: Genetic structure of pinyon pine beetle (Isp confurus) during an outbreak
2011
Anne Axel, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian Maurer
Dissertation: Lemur-environment relationships in altered and unaltered tropical dry
forests in southern Madagascar
Benedicte Bachelot, MS
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Thesis: Tropical seedling rarity versus commonness: Advantage and disadvantage depends
on effects of aboveground natural enemies and conspecific neighbors
Thomas Baribault, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Revisiting soil resource limitation: Resource predictors of tree growth
and productivity change across ecological gradients
Sarah Benson-Amram, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Experimental investigations of cognitive abilities in a socially complex
mammal, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Aaron Berger, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Michael Jones
Dissertation: Models to aid in the selection of procedures used to manage Lake Erie
walleye (Sander vitreus)
Grace Chen, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: Experimental studies of adaptation and speciation in two neotropical
costus species
Megan Fritz, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: James Miller
Dissertation: Investigations of the African malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae s.l.,
diptera: Culicidae): Ovipositional behavior and toxicity of avermectins
Heather Goldsby, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: The evolution of division of labor in digital organisms
Emily Gorman, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Plant-mycorrhizal interactions and the relative abundance of limiting
resources
Emily Johnston, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jennifer Owen
Thesis: Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in two species of passerine birds, American
robins and gray catbirds: An assessment of reservoir competence and disease
Sheridan Kelley, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Thesis: Ecomorphological associations of feeding habits of hypercarnivores
David Knoester, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Philip McKinley
Dissertation: Evolution of distributed behavior
Justin Lawrence, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kelly Millenbah
Thesis: The diversity, distribution, and conservation of a polymorphic frog (Oophaga
pumilio) in Western Panama
Daniel Linden, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Gary Roloff
Dissertation: All that you can leave behind: Impacts of structure retention on avian
ecology in managed forests of the Pacific Northwest
Jeanette Mcguire, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Comparative analysis of factors influencing male reproductive success
in sympatric freshwater turtles
Emily Morrison, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Dissertation: Avian ecology and behavior in tropical forest restoration sites
Rosa Moscarella, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Dissertation: Dissecting the geographical expansion of Peromyscus leucopus in the
northern Great Lakes: Insights from genetics, morphometrics and ecology
Todd Robinson, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Impacts of precipitation variability on plant communities
Matthew Rupp, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria and Eric Torng
Dissertation: Evolvability and evolution
Abbie Schrotenboer, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Dissertation: Prairie grasses for biofuels and ecological restoration: Modifications
to native species and their place in human-altered landscapes
Adria VanLoan, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kelly Millenbah
Dissertation: The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and grassland conservation
in Michigan
Anne Wiley, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Margaret (Peggy) Ostrom
Dissertation: Biogeochemical functions of wetlands in southwestern Michigan
Heidi Ziegenmeyer, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Mary Bremigan
Thesis: 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
2010
Matthew Aardema, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Thesis: The influence of female wing color variation on male mate choice in tiger
swallowtail butterflies (Papilio Spp.)
Orlando Alvarez-Fuentes, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Dissertation: The systematic of genus Amauropelta (pteridophyta: thelypterdaceae)
in the Caribbean Islands
Joshua Booker, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kendra Cheruvelil
Thesis: The spatial distribution of daphnia resources in shallow lakes: is food quantity
or quality for zooplankton determined by macrophytes?
Alexandra Castillo-Ruiz, PhD
Psychology
Advisor: Antonio Nunez
Dissertation: Circadian and environmental modulation of arousal and reward systems
of a diurnal brain
Arthur Covert, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: The beneficial effects of deleterious mutations
Yen Thuy Duong, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Effects of spawning behavior and environmental factors on adult reproductive
ecology and larval dispersal of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Anna Fiedler, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: Restoration of prairie fen plants, insects, and abiotic processes
Patrick Forsythe, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Exogenous correlates of migration , spawning, egg deposition and egg
mortality in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Sherri Goings, PhD
Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Charles Ofria
Dissertation: Natural niching: applying ecological principles to evolutionary computation
Sarah Hamer, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisors: Graham Hickling and Jean Tsao
Dissertation: Interactions among invading ticks, wildlife, and zoonotic pathogens
Chenin Limback, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Thesis: 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, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Daniel Hayes
Dissertation: Land-use legacy effect: Combining spatial and temporal drivers in statistical
and mechanistic models of lake water chemistry
Jarad Mellard, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Christopher Klausmeier
Dissertation: The vertical distribution of phytoplankton: observations, theory, experiments
Ryan Morgan, MS
Geology
Advisor: Robert Anstey
Thesis: Paleobiogeographic associations among Mississippian Bryozoansy
Aaron Smith, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Anthony Cognato
Dissertation: Phylogenetic revision of the North American Asidini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Jennifer Smith, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Evolutionary and ecological forces shaping patterns of cooperation among
spotted hyenas
Jay Sobel, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: Speciation in the western North American wildflower genus Mimulus
Lauri Torgerson-White, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Thesis: Personality in Michigan's Peromyscus
John Townsend-Mehler, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: 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, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Monitoring elusive carnivores using noninvasive genetic techniques; case study
of bobcats (Lynx rufus) in the northern lower peninsula, Michigan
Brook Wilke, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Sieglinde Snapp
Dissertation: Challenges of developing sustainable nitrogen sources in agriculture:
Cover crops, nitrogen fixation and ecological principles
Kevin Wyatt, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation: Environmental controls on algal community structure and function in
boreal wetlands
Sara Wyse, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Diane Ebert-May
Dissertation: Breaking the mold: Preparing graduate teaching assistants to teach as
they are taught to teach
2009
Alicia Bray, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: James Smith
Dissertation: AFLP, mtDNA, and microsatellite analysis of emerald ash borer population
structure from Asia and North America
Stephanie Bussema, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Non-thesis degree
Jonathan Deroba, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: James Bence
Dissertation: 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
Jeffrey Evans, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: Developing demographic models to inform selection of Alliaria petiolata
(garlic mustard) biological control agents
Stephen LeDuc, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: David Rothstein
Dissertation: Soil nitrogen cycling and ectomycorrhizal community composition following
disturbance in Michigan jack pine forests
Megan Matonis, MS
Forestry
Advisor: Michael Walters
Thesis: Multiple gap-stand and landscape-scale factors affect northern hardwood regeneration
Terri McElhinny, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Dissertation: Morphological variation in a durophagous carnivore, the spotted hyena,
Crocuta crocuta
Mercedes Ramirez, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Thesis: Vision as a sensory modality in the honey bee dance language
Lance Jay Roberts, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian Maurer
Dissertation: Improving wildlife habitat model performance: Sensitivity to scale and
detail of vegetation measurements
Jessica Schrader, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Laura Smale
Dissertation: Plasticity in the circadian system: Changing rhythms in reproducing
female rodents
Amy Schueller, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Daniel Hayes
Dissertation: Interactions between demographic stochasticity and genetic integrity
of lake sturgeon populations
Sarah Smith, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Anthony Cognato
Thesis: Revision of Camptocerus dejean (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) with
notes on its biology
Sara Syswerda, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation: Ecosystem services across a management intensity gradient in southwest
Michigan
Andrew Tluczek, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Thesis: Influence of host vigor on larval distribution, development and mortality
of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in North America
Nathaniel Walton, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Habitat management using native flowering perennials to increase beneficial
insects in Michigan highbush blueberry
Shailendra Adhikary, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Donald Dickmann
Dissertation: The long-term effects of low-intensity fires in a mature red pine (Pinus
resinosa Ait.) plantation
Elizabeth Ball, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Andrew McAdam
Thesis: Preferences and harvest intentions of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
hunters in Michigan: Insights into harvesting behaviors and their outcomes
2008
Katie Button-Simons, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Scott Peacor
Thesis: Environmental dependence of non-consumptive effects in predator-prey interactions
Molly Conlin, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Merritt Turetsky
Thesis: Soil hydroclimate, vegetation, and substrate controls on carbon flux in an
Alaskan fen
Adam Goble, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Thesis: Signature signals in the territorial vocalizations of red squirrels and their
use in kin recognition
Gabriel Hamer, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Edward Walker
Dissertation: West Nile virus transmission ecology: Vector-host interactions
Anna Jacobsen, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Dissertation: Woody plant adaptations to water stress in arid shrub communities
Nicholas Johnson, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: In-stream behavioral responses of female sea lampreys to pheromone components
Sarah LeSage, MS
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Special project: Nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen in western
Michigan streams
Eva Lewandowski, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Thesis: The effects of pokeweed display characteristics on frugivore identity and
fruit removal
Rodrigo Mercader, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Climate change, species boundaries, and hybridization: how climate change
may be leading to host use divergence in a native butterfly system
Sarah Neumann, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Plant-soil feedbacks in temperate and tropical forests
Kevin Pangle, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Scott Peacor
Dissertation: The role of non-consumptive effects in the net effect of an invasive
predator in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Wiline Pangle, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Threat-sensitive behaviors and its ontogenetic development in top mammalian
carnivores
Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, PhD
Entomology
Advisors: Michael Kaufman and Edward Walker
Dissertation: Mosquito production and microbial diversity in container habitats
Susan Spaulding, MS
Forestry
Advisor: David Rothstein
Thesis: 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, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Scent marking in a highly social mammalian species, the spotted hyena
(Crocuta crocuta)
Lindsey Walters, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Mate quality and parental investment in the house wren
Kathryn Wharton Boes, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Queen and worker influence on sex allocation patterns in the honeybee,
Apis mellifera
Rachel Williams, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Non-thesis degree
2007
Lauren Bailey, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kelly Millenbah
Thesis: Brown-Headed Cowbird response to Kirtland's Warbler habitat management and
Cowbird trapping in Michigan
Amy Burgin, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Scott Hamilton
Dissertation: Novel microbial pathways of nitrate removal from freshwater ecosystems
Heather Dawson, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Michael Jones
Dissertation: Recruitment variation in Great Lakes sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
populations and implications for integrated pest management
Tracy Grazia, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kelly Mittelbach
Thesis: Evaluating the ecological contributions of differing land ownership types
in the context of a human-dominated landscape
Sarah Hodgson, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Non-thesis degree
Jason Kilgore, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Telewski
Dissertation: Distribution and ecophysiology of the Ponderosae in the Santa Catalina
Mountains of southern Arizona
Frances Knapczyk, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: The evolution of population differentiation of autogamous selfing ability
in Collinsia verna
Joseph Kolowski, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Anthropogenic influences on the behavior of large carnivores in the
northern Serengeti ecosystem
Andrew Kramer, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Orlando Sarnelle
Dissertation: Copepodology in Alpine Lakes: Limitations to recovery of Hesperodiaptomus
shosone after exotic fish eradication
Katherine Lander, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Thesis: The effects of the parasitic plant Cuscuta gronovii on the mating system of
its host plant Impatiens capensis
Brian Linton, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: James Bence
Dissertation: Model selection and data weighting methods in statistical catch-at-age
analysis: Application to 1836 treaty water stock assessments
Wendy Mahaney, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Soil processes and plant species: Does the reintroduction of native
grasses alter soil carbon and nitrogen cycling?
Nathan Miller, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Hill
Dissertation: Multiphase transport processes in sea turtle nesting beaches
Angela Roles, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: Novel studies of spontaneous mutations: Measurements of fitness in the
field and gene expression in the lab
Carrie Scheele Kissman, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Dissertation: The effects of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on inland lake ecosystems
Jaime Tanner, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Behavioral and morphological development in a female-dominated species,
the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Julianna Tuell, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Dissertation: Ecology and conservation of wild bees associated with highbush blueberry
farms in Michigan
Seth Walk, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Whittham
Dissertation: Population genetic analyses of Salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis
and Escherichia coli from biotic and abiotic sources
Heather Watts, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Social and ecological influences on survival and reproduction in the
spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta
Gabriel Yedid, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Exploring consequences of mass extinction and recovery in digital organisms
2006
Gretchen Anderson, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Michael Jones
Thesis: Optimizing assessment of larval sea lampreys in the Great Lakes
Kristin Bott, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Genetic analyses of dispersal, harvest mortality, and recruitment for remnant
populations of Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, in open-water and riverine habitats
of Lake Michigan
Scott Butterfield, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Carolyn Malmstrom
Dissertation: Enhancing rangeland sustainability with remote sensing and collaborative
information exchange
Alejandro Costamagna, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Douglas Landis
Dissertation: Do varying natural enemy assemblages impact Aphis glycines population
dynamics?
Meghan Duffy, PhD
Zoology
Advisors: Alan Tessier and Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: Evolutionary and community ecology of parasitism in Daphnia
Erica Garcia, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Regional coexistence and local dominance in Chaoborus: Species sorting
along a predation gradient
Merritt Gillilland, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: James Atkinson
Dissertation: Dispersal ecology and control of the invasive land snail Cepaea menoralis
(L. 1758), from Ingham County, Michigan
Meera Iyer, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Root carbohydrate storage in temperate and tropical forest tree seedlings:
Implications for species coexistence
Amy Lark, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Heather Eisthen
Non-thesis degree
Dusan Misevic, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Digital sex: Causes and consequences of recombination
William Paddock, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Thesis: Explaining patterns of mortality following severe drought in a chaparral shrub
community
Brenda Pracheil, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Patrick Muzzall
Thesis: Parasites of juvenile bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus and young-of-the-year
largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides from Three Lakes II and Gull Lake, Michigan
Heather Sahli, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: Generalization in plant pollination systems and its effect on floral
evolution within and among populations of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)
Bronwyn Williams, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Applications of genetic methods in furbearer management and ecology: Case
studies of fishers, American martens and bobcats
Ann Winters, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Graham Hickling
Thesis: Rodenticide use and secondary poisoning risks to non-target wildlife in Central
Mongolia
2005
Amy Angert, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: The ecology and evolution of altitude range limits in monkey flowers
Kosha Baxi, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Heather Eisthen
Thesis: What does the vomeronasal system do? A critical analysis of the data
Doug Bruggeman, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Michael Jones
Dissertation: Development of landscape equivalency analysis
Sarah Emery, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Population and community approaches to understanding invasion in grasslands
A. Stuart Grandy, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation: Ecosystem consequences of aggregation following soil disturbance
Cheng-Yu Lee, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Bryan Epperson
Dissertation: Space-time modeling and application to emerging infectious diseases
Kalina Manoylov, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation: Ecological and evolutionary strategies used by benthic diatoms to compete
for nutrients
Laura Marx, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Michael Walters
Dissertation: Substrate limitations to Tsuga canadensis and Betula alleghaniensis
seedling establishment
Laura McKinnon, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Female sociality in the common eider (Somateria mollissima)
Shawna Meyer, MS
Forestry
Advisor: David MacFarlane
Non-thesis degree
Anita Morzillo, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Jianguo (Jack) Liu
Dissertation: Integrating ecology and socio-economics for species restoration: Feasibility
of a Louisiana black bear reintroduction in and around Big Thicket National Preserve,
TX
Eva-Maria Muecke, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Determinants of age at dispersal & settlement patterns in the Belding's
ground squirrel, Spermophilus beldingi
Margaret Murphy, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: John Giesy
Dissertation: Atrazine exposure and reproductive function of ranid frog species collected
in Michigan
Genevieve Nesslage, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian Maurer
Dissertation: Spatial structure and invasion success of populations undergoing range
expansion: Effects of dispersal strategy and landscape heterogeneity
Joshua Nixon, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Laura Smale
Dissertation: Anatomy and function of orexin-containing neurons in day- and night-active
animals
Elizabeth Ostrowski, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Adaptation and specialization in biological and digital organisms
Charlotte Reemts, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Thesis: Temperate deciduous forest fragments: Edge effects, invasion by non-native
plants, and long-term change in mature forest structure
Nancy Seefelt, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Dissertation: Foraging ecology, bioenergetics and predatory impact of breeding double-crested
cormorant (Pholacrocorax auritus) in the Beaver Archipelago, Northern Lake Michigan
Rainy Shorey, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Phylogeographies of Snow, Ross's, Canada, and Cackling Geese: Defining
spatial structure of biological diversity
Jennifer Skillen, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Brian Maurer
Dissertation: Landscape structure and the biological diversity of the North America
avifauna
Robert Skillen, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Barbara Lundrigan
Thesis: Changes in the distribution of Michigan's flying squirrels
Richard Smith, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Agroecosystem diversity: Impacts on weed communities and crop yield
2004
Cindy Adkins, MS
Anthropology
Advisor: Jodie O'Gorman
Thesis: Introduction of Zea Mays into southwestern Michigan: A microenvironmental
study of plant/human relationships
Mara Bryan, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: Unusual sex steroids in lampreys
Kendra Cheruvelil, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Patricia Soranno
Dissertation: Examining lakes at multiple spatial scales: Predicting fish growth,
macrophyte cover and lake physio-chemical variables
Jessica Cook, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Thesis: Effects of pollen limitation, resource limitation, and disease on the reproductive
biology and growing season of Arisaema triphllum
Tara Darcy-Hall, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Linking gradients of predators and productivity to the composition and
limitation of benthic algal communities
Leslie Dethlefsen, PhD
Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology
Advisor: Thomas Schmidt
Dissertation: Translational power differs between bacteria pursuing different ecological
strategies
Stephanie Dloniak, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Socioendocrinology of spotted hyenas: Patterns of androgen and glucocorticoid
excretion in a unique social system
Natalie Dubois, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Opportunities for polygymy and reproductive investment decisions in
house wrens
Erik Foster, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Edward Walker
Thesis: Ixodes scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi in Southwest Michigan: Population
ecology and verification of a geographic risk model
Kristen Genet, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Status and distribution of frogs and toads in southern Michigan: Population
trends and the influence of habitat and landscape characteristics
Gregory Houseman, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Local and regional effects on plant diversity: The influence of species
pools, colonizer traits and productivity
Sara Kaiser, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Thesis: Effect of proximity to forest edges on nestling growth and nest survival of
wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) in Southwestern Michigan
Kathleen Kay, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Dissertation: The evolution of floral characters and reproductive isolation in neotropical
Costus (Costaceae)
Jessie Keith, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Thesis: Monarda section Cheilyctis: Patterns of speciation, endemism and implications
on conservation
Lesley Knoll, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Orlando Sarnelle
Thesis: Understanding zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) impacts on autotrophic and
heterotrophic plankton in inland lake ecosystems
Ann Krause, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Taylor
Dissertation: The role of compartments in food-web structure and changes following
biological invasions in southeast Lake Michigan
Ian Ramjohn, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Dissertation: The role of disturbed Caribbean dry forest fragments in the survival
of native plant diversity
Nathan Siegert, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Dissertation: Meteorological factors affecting the success of the gypsy moth fungal
pathogen Entomophaga maimaiga (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) in Michigan
Michelle Smith, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Thesis: Edge effects on avian and mammalian nest predator relative abundance and species
richness
Skip Van Bloem, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Dissertation: Multiple scale patterns in growth and structure of subtropical dry forests:
soils, trees, and hurricanes
Sofia Wahaj, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Cooperative, competitive and kin relationships in the social lives of
spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta)
Cynthia Wei, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: Investing in learning: Studies of learning flights in honeybees, Apil
mellifera
Jeremy Wojdak, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Species interactions and the functioning of pond ecosystems
2003
Zhanna Abramovsky, MS
Forestry
Advisor: David Rothstein
Thesis: Recovery of ecosystem processes after wildfire in Michigan jack pine forests
Meredith Bartron, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Assessment of historical and contemporary genetic diversity of steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Lake Michigan basin
Julie Blanchong, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Dissertation: Genealogical relationships influence the probability of infection with
bovine tuberculosis and microgeographic genetic structure in free-ranging white-tail
deer
Katherine Coady, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: John Giesy
Dissertation: An investigation into the mechanism of action of atrazine and its effects
on developing Rana clamitans and Xenopus leavis
Patrick DeHaan, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Demographic and life history characteristics of remnant lake sturgeon populations
in the upper Great Lakes basin: Inferences based on genetic analyses
Norine Dobiesz, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: James Bence
Dissertation: An evaluation of the role of top piscivores in the fish community of
the main basin of Lake Huron
Nathan Dorn, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Effects of omnivorous crayfish on fish populations and the structure
of littoral communities
Khara Greiger, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Thesis: Spatial and temporal patterns of Pinus nigra spread in four Lake Michigan
sand dune habitats
Joseph Harsh, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Non-thesis degree
Robert Hollister, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Patrick Webber
Dissertation: Response of tundra vegetation to temperature: Implications for forecasting
vegetation change
Kristine Kern, MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Thesis: The effect of mechanical perturbation on the conductivity, mechanical strength,
and above ground biomass of seven hybrid poplars
Laura Lazarus, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Thesis: Suitability of four conifer species for female oviposition and larval development
of the white-spotted pine sawyer, Monochamus scutellatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Ceryambycidae)
Megan Mahoney, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Laura Smale
Dissertation: Sex, surges, and circadian rhythms: The timing of reproductive events
in a diurnal rodent
Erica McConnell, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Non-thesis degree
Charles McKeown, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Stuart Gage
Thesis: Quantifying the roles of competition and niche separation in native and exotic
coccinellids, and their response to an exotic prey species
Anna Monfils, PhD
Plant Biology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Dissertation: Phenotypes and floral variation: A phylogenetic approach
Sharon Schapel, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Thomas Coon
Dissertation: Relationships between coastal wetland habitat and young of the year
fish community characteristics, distribution, and growth
Michael Siefkes, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Li
Dissertation: Characterization of a male sea lamprey sex pheromone
Craig Stricker, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Natural lake level declines in a Great Lakes coastal marsh: Effects
on hydrochemistry, resource availability, and invertebrates
Emily Szalai, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: James Bence
Dissertation: Uncertainty in alewife (Alosa psuedoharengus) and bloater (coregonus
hoyi) population dynamics and its effects on salmonine stocking strategies in Lake
Michigan
Stacy Umstatter, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: James Tiedje
Dissertation: Accelerated microbial degradation of carbofuran in soils
Russell Van Horn, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Behavioral and genetic consequences of dispersal in the spotted hyena
(Crocuta crocuta)
Corine Vriesendorp, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Dissertation: Maintenance of diversity in a neotropical seedling community
Yi-Kuang Wang, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation: Ecological assessment of human disturbance on stream ecosystems with
algae
Stefanie Whitmire, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: Biogeochemical functions of wetlands in southwestern Michigan
Lei Zheng, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: R. Jan Stevenson
Dissertation: Assessing wetlands and their restoration using algae
2002
Puja Batra, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: Foraging ecology of giant honey bees, Apis dorsata, in an Indian Forest
Anne Engh, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: The causes and consequences of social rank in the spotted hyena, Crocuta
crocuta
Merritt Gillilland, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Thesis: Microhabitat analysis of bass tapeworm, Proteocephalus ambloplitis, infrapopulations
in four species of centrarchids from Gull Lake, Michigan
Heather Hallen-Adams, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Gerald Adams
Dissertation: Studies in amatoxin-producing genera of fungi: Phylogenetics and toxin
distribution
Brian Keas, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Influence of water level on coastal wet meadow snail communities
Jason Kilgore, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Frank Telewski
Thesis: A dendroecological analysis of a long-term reforestation experiment in Grayling,
Michigan
Christopher Lepczyk, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Weiming Liu
Dissertation: Effects of human activities on birds across landscapes in the Midwest
Rodrigo Mercader, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Rufus Isaacs
Thesis: Phenophase dependent tolerance to foliar herbivory in grape vines, Vitis labrusca
(L.) var. 'Niagara'
David Raikow, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Stephen Hamilton
Dissertation: How the feeding ecology of native and exotic mussels affects freshwater
ecosystems
Laura Schreeg, MS
Forestry
Advisor: Richard Kobe
Thesis: Do differences in soil resource availability affect forest composition in
northern lower Michigan? A field investigation of seedling growth, survival and morphology
Todd Wills, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Mary Bremigan
Thesis: Evaluation of habitat enhancement structures in four reservoirs of the Au
Sable River, Michigan
Jeff Winston, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Non-thesis degree
Carrie Woodrum, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Thesis: Hydraulic, biomechanical and anatomical study of xylem from five tree species
of Acer
2001
Chris Blackwood, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: Elder Paul
Dissertation: Spatial organization in soil bacterial communities
Erin Boydston, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Socio-ecological determinants of space utilization patterns in the spotted
hyena
Laura Broughton, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Linking plant communities to soil microbial communities and processes
in old-fields
Andery Calkins, MS
Geology
Advisor: Michael Gottfried
Thesis: Paleoecology of Hawaiian sub-fossil geese: Stable isotope analysis
Vesna Gavrilovic, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: James Smith
Dissertation: Documenting the history of speciation in Rhagoletis zephyria (Diptera:
Tephritidae) using molecular markers
Dina Grayson, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Thesis: The role of optic versus metabolic odometry in honey bee foraging energetics
Colleen Masterson, MS
Geology
Advisor: Nathaniel Ostrom
Thesis: A seasonal investigation of energy transfer and food web structure of the
deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) in Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan
Angela McMellen, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Catherine Lindell
Thesis: Nest-site selection and nesting ecology of the orange-billed nightingale-thrush
(Catharus aurantiirostris) in southern Costa Rica
Robert Olendorf, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Cooperation in red-winged blackbirds: Niceness, cheating, grudges in
"dear enemy" relationships
Gabriel Ording, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Kim Scriber
Thesis: Island populations and trait comparisons of tiger swallowtail butterflies,
P. canadensis, in the Great Lakes region
Kevin Page, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Kim Scribner
Thesis: Genetic diversity and interrelationships of wild and hatchery lake trout in
the upper Great Lakes: Inferences for broodstock management and development of restoration
strategies
Amanda Posto, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Alan Prather
Thesis: The reproductive biology and taxanomic origin of Michigan monkey-flower, Minulus
glabratus var. michiganensis
Chris Steiner, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Seasonal succession and variable Daphnia dominance in fishless ponds:
Ecological determinants and ecosystem consequences
Micaela Szykman Gunther, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Holekamp
Dissertation: Sexual behavior and male mate choice in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta
Steven Vieira, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Beaver
Dissertation: The interaction of nest predation and brood parasitism: Factors and
consequences of re-nesting in songbirds
Lorna Watt , MS
Plant Biology
Advisor: Douglas Schemske
Non-thesis degree
Alan Wilson, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Orlando Sarnelle
Thesis: Complex interactions between zebra mussels and their planktonic prey
2000
Jeff Benefiel, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Non-thesis degree
Timothy Bergsma, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation: The relationship between denitrification and nitrous oxide flux from
soil
Brian Black, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
Dissertation: The evolution of phenotypic plasticity in a natural wildflower population
Vaughn Cooper, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Consequences of ecological specialization in long-term evolving populations
of Escherichia coli
Joseph Gathman, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Abiotic and biotic influences on aquatic invertebrate community in a
Lake Huron coastal wetland
Mike Higgins, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Richard Merritt
Dissertation: Invertebrate trophic relationships in temporary woodland ponds in Michigan
Carl Kloock, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: Aggressive mimicry in the pirate spider, Minetus notius
Dylan Parry, PhD
Entomology
Advisors: Daniel Herms/Kim Scriber
Dissertation: Induced responses of poplars to defoliation and their effects on leaf-feeding
Lepidoptera
Danny Rozen, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: The evolution of a balanced polymorphism in a long-term laboratory population
of Escherichia coli
Gary Schott, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisors: Andrew Jarosz and James Hancock
Dissertation: The nature of infertility and response to inbreeding in blueberries
Kristin Sherfinski, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Thesis: The ecology of interdunal wetpannes and the potential effects of the introduced
Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) on their hydrology and vegetation
Ed Siuda, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Heather Eisthen
Non-thesis degree
Kurt Stanley, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Dissertation: The structure, composition, and hydrology of wet meadow plant communities
fringing Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron)
Aram Stump, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Kim Scriber
Thesis: Lack of cryptic reproductive isolation between Papilio canadensis and Papilio
glaucus; and population genetics near their hybrid zone
David Tank, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Tao Sang
Thesis: Evolution and phylogenetic utility of low-copy nuclear genes: Examples from
conifers and peonies
Timothy Tibbetts, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Dissertation: Ecology of Celastrus orbiculatus (oriental bittersweet)
Ray Valley, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Mary Bremigan
Thesis: The indirect effects of herbicide control of Eurasian watermilfoil on largemouth
bass recruitment
Farida Vasi Attar, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Population growth, dynamics and evolution in Escherichia coli: Theoretical
and experimental studies
1999
Julie Blanchong, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Laura Smale
Thesis: Nocturnal and diurnal rhythms in the unstriped Nile grass rat, Arvicanthis
niloticus
Anita Davelos Baines, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Dissertation: Double-stranded RNA mediated recovery of the American chestnut population:
A demographic analysis
Jeff Dudycha, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Alan Tessier
Dissertation: The evolutionary ecology of senescence in Daphnia
John Genet, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Thesis: The diversity and abundance of termites (Isoptera) in a fragmented subtropical
dry forest landscape
Loren Hayes, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Hill
Thesis: House mouse (Mus domesticus) habitat use and response to repeated harvests
in the agricultural landscape
Theresa Lauber, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Thesis: Can the big bayou be saved? Water quality assessment and management recommendations
for spring lake watershed, Ottawa and Muskegon counties, Michigan
Christy Lewis, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Thesis: Natural history, behavior and species composition of whirligig beetles (Coleoptera:
Gyrinidae) in fish and fishless ponds
Melissa McCormick, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Spatial environmental variation: Within and among population effects
in Danthonia spicata
Brian Noyle, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Patrick Webber
Thesis: The vegetation and a landsat assisted land cover map of the Barrow region,
northern Alaska
Jessica Rettig, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Interactions in a stage-structured species: Impacts of adult bluegill
on larval growth and survival
Jeff Taylor, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Hill
Thesis: Roost-site and habitat selection of the long-legged Myotis in a managed landscape
on the east slopes of the Cascade range
Stacy Umstatter, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Beaver
Non-thesis degree
Don Uzarski, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Community metabolism in Michigan rivers: Effects of including hyporheic
sediments in estimates of production/respiration (P/R) ratios
Jeff White, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Tao Sang
Dissertation: Rarity and the phylogeography of the large-flowered Piptolobi of Astragalus
L. (Fabaceae)
1998
Jeff Birdsley, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Getty
Dissertation: The evolution of ecological specialization in the tyrant flycatchers
(Aves: tyrannidae)
Michel Cavigelli, PhD
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Advisor: G. Philip Robertson
Dissertation: Ecosystem consequences and spatial distribution of soil microbial community
structure
Andrea Corbett, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Root responses to nutrient heterogeneity: A comparison of dominant and
subordinate species from old-fields
PhilIP Gerrish, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Dynamics of mutation and selection in asexual populations
Piera Giroux, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Thesis: Testing the "cold pocket" hypothesis: Oviposition preference of the Canadian
tiger swallowtail
Heather Govenor, MS
Entomology
Advisors: Daniel Herms and Mark Scriber
Thesis: Light, nutrient availability, and defoliation effects on resource acquisition,
resource allocation, and herbivore resistance in paper birch and sugar maple
Christine Jarzomski, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Frank Ewers
Thesis: Liana distribution and host relationships in some temperate versus tropical
forest sites
Heather Rowe, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Catherine Bristow
Thesis: Effects of habitat succession on population and reproduction of the Allegheny
mound ant
1997
Randy DeJong, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Patrick Muzzall
Thesis: Hemosporid parasite communities of waterfowl (Anatidae) from Kellogg Biological
Station and Douglas Lake, Michigan
Alex Hernandez, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Patrick Muzzall
Thesis: Seasonal patterns in the biology of Eubothrium salvelini infecting brook trout
and slimy sculpin from Sweetwater Creek, Michigan
Lissa Leege, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Dissertation: The ecological impact of Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) on the sand dunes
of Lake Michigan: An introduced species becomes an invader
John Wallace, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Richard Merritt
Dissertation: Larval feeding ecology of Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Say) and An. Punctipennis
(Say) in south central Michigan ponds
1996
Valerie Brady, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in a great lakes coastal marsh:
Population dynamics and effects on the invertebrates
Elizabeth Capaldi Evans, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: Acquisition of visual spatial memory on orientation and reorientation
flights in the honey bee
M. Sean Clark, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Stuart Gage
Dissertation: An evaluation of domestic chickens and geese as biological control agents
for insect pests and weeds
Beth Dankert, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Daniel Herms
Thesis: Effects of defoliation, drought, and fertilization on the expression of paper
birch and sugar maple resistance to insect folivores
Jeff Dickinson, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Fred Dyer
Dissertation: How do bees compute the position of the sun? Alternative representations
Brian Dunphy, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Peter Murphy
Thesis: The multiple-stemmed growth form of trees in a subtropical dry forest
Cathy Flegel, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Harold Prince
Dissertation: Genetic heterogeneity and differentiation resulting from sichuan pheasant
(Phasianus colchicus strauchi) introduction in southern Michigan
Bryan Foster, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Plant competition and diversity in relation to productivity in old-field
plant communities
Kevin Geedey, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Alan Tessier
Dissertation: Seasonal clonal succession in Daphnia pulicaria populations
Casey Huckins, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Interpreting the functional relationships between morphology, feeding
performance, diet and competitive ability in mollusciouvous sunfish
John Jenkins, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Guy Bush
Dissertation: Systematic studies of Rhagoletis and related genera (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Yining Luo, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Straney
Dissertation: A systematic and biogeographic study of the bat genus Rhinolophus (chiroptera:
Rhinolophadae)
Emily Lyons, MS
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Andrew Jarosz
Thesis: Geographic distribution of Silene latifolia and its anther-smut pathogen Microbotrym
Violaceum in the eastern United States
Paco Moore, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Steven Tonsor
Dissertation: Assessing the viability of the shifting balance process
Roger Strand, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Richard Merritt
Dissertation: Landscape alteration effects on lotic invertebrate ecology
Brad White, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Hill
Thesis: The ontogeny of brown adipose tissue in Microtus ochrogaster in various thermal
and social environments
Timothy Work, MS
Entomology
Advisor: Deborah McCullough
Thesis: The impact of severe gypsy moth defoliation on native insects in two northern
Michigan ecosystems
1995
Paola Ferreri, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Taylor
Dissertation: Role of compensatory mechanisms in the population dynamics of lake trout
(Salvelinus namaycush) in the U.S. waters of Lake Superior
Stan Hokanson, PhD
Horticulture
Advisor: James Hancock
Dissertation: Risk assessment of transgenic plants: Evaluation of border rows as a
containment strategy for transgenic pollen and a comparison of pollen dispersal patterns
for native and transgenes
Karen Hokanson, PhD
Horticulture
Advisor: James Hancock
Dissertation: The consequences of polyploidy on inbreeding depression in Vaccinium
(blueberry) species
Yue Ming, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Guy Bush
Dissertation: Characterization of the Ribosomal DNA of the genus Rhagoletis (diptera:
Tephritidae)
Douglas Novinger, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Thomas Coon
Thesis: Behavioral, physiological and morphological similarity among populations of
redside dace, a threatened species in Michigan
Alison Pearks Wilkerson, MS
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: Scott Winterstein
Thesis: The effect of habitat manipulation on avian populations and vegetation composition
on conservation reserve program fields in Gratiot County, Michigan
Paul Turner, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Associations between bacteria and conjugative plasmids: Model systems
for testing evolutionary theory
1994
Michael Berney, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: George Bird
Dissertation: Studies on the population and community ecology of Heterodera corotae
in Michigan
Russell Brown, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: William Taylor
Dissertation: Reproduction, early life history, and recruitment of rainbow smelt (Osmerus
mordaz) in St. Martin Bay, Lake Huron
Lisa Huberty, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: Kay Gross
Dissertation: Dominance, diversity, and resource competition in old-field plant communities
1993
Janice Bossart, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Dissertation: Differential selection and adaptation in different host environments:
Genotypic and phenotypic variation in host use traits in the tiger swallowtail butterfly,
Papilio glaucus
William Bowerman, PhD
Fisheries and Wildlife
Advisor: John Giesy
Dissertation: Regulation of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) productivity in
the great lakes basin: An ecological and toxicological approach
Martha Case, PhD
Botany and Plant Pathology
Advisor: John Beaman
Dissertation: Genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships within and among five
Cypripedium (Orchidaceae) species: Inference from allozyme electrophoresis
Shixi Hu, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Alan Tessier
Dissertation: Competition in a seasonal environment: Daphnia population dynamics and
coexistence
Kelly Johnson, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Dissertation: Physiological adaptations associated with host specialization: Ecological
implications
for generalist and specialist Saturniid silkmoths
Mark Olson, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Gary Mittelbach
Dissertation: Mixed competition/predation interactions in size-structured fish communities
Michael Travisano, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Richard Lenski
Dissertation: Adaptation and divergence in experimental populations of the bacterium
Escherichia coli: The roles of environment, phylogeny and chance
1992
Steven Fradkin, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Thesis: Induced interference and exploitative competition upon rotifer community structure
Michael Rondinelli, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Donald Hall
Thesis: Predation by three dominant macroinvertebrates in a southcentral Michigan
marsh
Peter Smith, MS
Zoology
Advisor: Susan Kalisz
Non-thesis degree
1991
Matthew Ayres, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: Mark Scriber
Dissertation: Adaptation and constraint in Papilio canadensis: Geographic variation
in nutritional physiology and temperature
Daniel Herms, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: William Mattson
Dissertation: Variation in resource allocation patterns of paper birch: Evidence of
physiological trade-offs among growth, reproduction and defense
Dennis Mullen, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: Thomas Burton
Dissertation: Size related habitat use in a riffle dwelling fish: The longnose dace
(Rhinicthys cataractae)
1990
Richard Cowles, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: James Miller
Dissertation: Manipulating oviposition of Delia antiqua (Meigen): A stimulo-deterrent
diversionary approach
Robert Lawrence, PhD
Entomology
Advisor: William Mattson
Dissertation: Phenological variation in the susceptibility of white spruce to the
spruce budworm
1989
Jonathan Brown, PhD
Zoology
Advisor: David Wilson
Dissertation: Specialization in Poecilochirus carabi, a phoretic mite
Mark McPeek, PhD
Zoology
Advisors: Donald Hall and Earl Werner
Dissertation: The determination of species composition in the Enallagma assemblages
(Odonata: Coenagrionidae) of permanent lakes
Rose-Marie Muzika, PhD
Forestry
Advisor: Kurt Pregitzer
Dissertation: Carbon allocation and secondary metabolites in Abies grandis as influenced
by nitrogen fertilization and seed source