Aho lab

Chris Maienza (PhD Candidate,  FA  2022-)

Chris' research primarily aims to characterize the composition and diversity of montane, subalpine, and alpine plant communities in their early successional stage following fire. His research sites include the areas around the East Fork Fire (2020) in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah, as well as the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires (2020) within Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. These recent, large fires represent a departure from the historical fire regime, as fires begin to burn more frequently in high elevation forests across western North America. Questions concerning predictive modeling of high elevation burn severity and genetic diversity of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) in the context of fire are also being addressed. 

Spencer Roop (co-advised, PhD Candidate,  FA  2020-)

Spencer received Spencer received a Bachelors of Science in Biology at Gonzaga University, where she studied nesting behaviors of Painted turtles (Chrysemys  picta), before accepting a position at Idaho State University. Her doctoral work is part of the NSF EPSCoR GEM3 project (https://www.idahogem3.org/), focusing on the physiological differences in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), and linking phenotypic variation to genotypic variation. 

Jessica Call (MS Candidate (MS,  2024)  Bat Spatiotemporal Occurrence and Community Dynamics in Cave, Montane, and Riverine Habitats for Species of Conservation Concern in Southeastern Idaho

With the increase of threats to bat populations in North America (e.g., white nose syndrome, wind energy), understanding bat habitat use bat community composition is critical for future bat management. Jessica's MS thesis work bat documented the occurrence, in 2022 and 2023, for eight species of bats of conservation concern at 17 sites in southeastern Idaho in important habitats. Her results showed that the cave sites were most important for hibernating bats and riverine sites most important for the tree-roosting bat species. Mean peak bat activity occurred between July 8 and September 10. Bat community composition differed significantly by habitat type and was not influenced by climate or diet factors. Jessica's work provided important baselines to help inform management decisions for bat conservation efforts and multiple use projects.

Troy Tetreault (MS, SP  2022)  Pollination Ecology of the Beartooth Plateau in the 21st Century

Troy's MS thesis concerned the pollination ecology of the high alpine meadows of the Beartooth Plateau, north of Yellowstone National Park. His research framework was a combination of controlled experiments and observational data collection. Troy's controlled experiments quantified the dependence of dominant/characteristic alpine plant species on particular pollinators through the use of a novel exclosure design. Troy's observational work recorded metrics regarding the visitation rates and identities of insects that pollinate plants, which can be used to infer pollinator network structures and patterns of generalism/specialism.

Thesis publications:

• Tetreault, T., & Aho, K. (2021). An updated insect exclosure design for pollination ecology. Journal of Pollination Ecology, 29, 249-257. (link)

Aurora Bayless-Edwards (MS,  FA  2019)   Vegetation Community Classification, Mapping and Modeling on the Idaho National Laboratory 

 Aurora's MS thesis research focused on classifying plant communities in semi-arid sagebrush steppe on the Snake River Plain. Her classifications involved applications of several hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis methods evaluated by geometric and non-geometric evaluators to determine optimal community assignments. The goal of Aurora's MS project was a local scale map of plant communities. However, temporal and spatial changes in these communities allowed her to investigate interesting ecological processes in semi-arid communities, such as post-fire succession.  

Thesis publications:

• Aho, K. A., Weber, C. F., Christner, B. C., Vinatzer, B. A., Morris, C. E., Joyce, R., Bayless-Edwards, A. L. H. & Schmale III, D. G. (2020). Spatiotemporal patterns of microbial composition and diversity in precipitation. Ecological Monographs, 90(1), e01394. (link)

Stephanie Zorio (DA, FA 2019 )   Integrated Ecology: From Classroom to Alpine Summit

Stephanie's DA dissertation focused on plant communities in high-altitude environments and how they change over time, especially due to direct or indirect anthropogenic influence. Stephanie expanded her investigations of alpine plants to include microbial diversity in soil and the near-terrestrial atmosphere via Next-Gen sequencing and primarily used multivariate statistics and a suite of diversity metrics to detect ecologically meaningful patterns. 

Roy Hill (MS,  SP 2016)  Insular Biogeography and Population Genetics of Dwarf Mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) 

Lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum), is an obligate parasite of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). The patterns of genetic variation within A. americanum populations are largely unexplored, and of interest because of the poor gene flow characteristics of the species, due to limited dispersal abilities, and specificity to P. contorta (which itself is limited to montane islands). Roy's MS thesis explored the genetic diversity and phylogenies of A. americanum populations using microsatellite markers developed specifically for this species.

Thesis publications:

• Hill, R., Loxterman, J. L., & Aho, K. (2017). Insular biogeography and population genetics of dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) in the Central Rocky Mountains. Ecosphere, 8(5), e01810. (link)

Ehren Moler (MS,  SP 2015)  Fungal Ecology of Whitebark Pine Phyllospheres in the Southern Cascades 

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), a species of treeline environments in the Western US, is in rapid decline due in part to the exotic fungal pathogen whitebark pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola).  Ehren's MS thesis ascertained the effect of native endophytic (within-leaf) fungal community structure, and community assembly on C. ribicola infection.

Thesis publications:

• Moler, E. R., & Aho, K. (2018). Whitebark pine foliar fungal endophyte communities in the southern Cascade Range, USA: Host mycobiomes and white pine blister rust. Fungal Ecology, 33, 104-114. (link)

• Moler, E., Reinhardt, K., Aho, K.  (2022).   First report of fungal endophyte communities and non-defensive phytochemistry of biocontrol-inoculated whitebark pine seedlings in a restoration planting. Forests 13(6) 824. (link) 

• Moler, E. R., Zorio, S. D., & Aho, K. (2022). Bromus tectorum responses to intergenerational drought: Implications for evolvability and selection under climate warming. Weed Research, 62(3), 240-248  (link)