Past Members
Ethan Reibsome
Ethhan built a population model of the rare Lassics lupine to evaluate the impact of fire and climate warming on population viability.
Andres Rodriguez
Andres used an exclosure experiment to assess the role of rabbit herbivory on dune vegetation.
Matt Reilly
Matt was a Postdoctoral Researcher in our lab; he's now at the Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Joseph Saler
Joseph assessed the impacts of woody plant encroachment on a coastal fen (Big Lagoon Bog). He also created a monitoring system that can be utilized over many decades to track changes in plant communities and populations of several rare taxa. Joseph is currently working as a Senior Botanist and Wetland Ecologist for SHN in Arcata developing several restoration projects and monitoring programs as well as assessing wetland impacts from several large projects. Email: jls1011 at humboldt dot edu
Laura Morgan
Laura studied the spread of Sudden Oak Death in Redwood National Park. For her thesis, she developed a spatially explicity model to predict the risk of spread based on host adundance and abiotic site characterisitcs. She used the model to explore the efficacy of several management strategies.Email: lam89 at humboldt dot edu
Drew Bost
Drew quantified an unusual red fir mortality event in the Russian Wildernesss. He used both field-based and remote sensing data to understand the factors contributing to mortality. Previously, as an undergraduate working in our lab, Drew has already worked in the Russian Wilderness for two full summers. Drew now works at an environmental consulting firm in the Bay Area doing water resource management and environmental remediation.Email: Drew.Bost at humboldt dot edu
Jenell Jackson
My thesis focused on whitebark pine populations of the southern Cascades. In particular, I studied mortality caused by white pine blister rust and mountain pine beetle in Crater Lake and Lassen National Parks. Jenell is currently a Senior Scientist/Biologist with Area West Environmental and provides recommendations to ensure the protection of biological resources for public and private development or maintenance projects. Email: jjackson02 at ugf dot edu
Erin Alvey
Erin studied the effect of multiple wildfires on plant communities of the northern Sierra Nevada. She also studied the influence of wildfires on subsequent fire behavior and effects. This project utilized the 2012 Chips Fire and was done in a collaborative effort with the US Forest Service. Erin is now an applied forest ecologist, senior project manager, and GIS lead for an environmental consulting firm. She enjoys working with a diverse array of clients-- including tribes, land trusts, and TIMOs-- to integrate multiple objectives in forest management, such as wildfire resilience and nature-based climate solutions. Email: ealvey1 AT gmail.com
Elizabeth Wu
Elizabeth conducted research on the community genetics of willows and arthropods. She was primarily interested in how intraspecific variation could potentially affect interspecific interactions. In her study at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, she assessed how a host plant (Salix hookeriana) might structure its arthropod community -- based on the willow's genotypic variation, gender, and environment. Elizabeth currently works for the NPS (National Park Service: Inventory & Monitoring: Rocky Mountain Network) surveying plants, wetlands, and streams in and around the Rocky Mountains (Rocky Mountain NP, Great Sand Dunes NPP, Florissant Fossil Beds NM, and Little Bighorn Battlefield NM). Email: etw@uchicago.edu
Melissa DeSiervo
Melissa conducted a study on post-fire plant responses on serpentine soils of California for her thesis. She used the Rich Fire, which burned a portion of the Plumas National Forest, to test the hypothesis that the effects of burning on plant communityes are less pronounced on serpentine than on non-serpentine. She is also involved in a project resurveying 1969 vegetation plots in the Russian Wilderness. Melissa is currently a PhD student at Dartmouth College.Email: mhd64 at humboldt dot edu
Helen Kurkjian
For my masters thesis, I conducted a population viability analysis on a rare plant, the Lassics lupine. I am currently pursuing a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Graduated HSU in 2012. Helen is currently a Postdoc Researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.Email: hmkurkjian at gmail dot com
April Sahara
For my thesis, I studied the loss of a rare habitat type in northern California: serpentine Jeffrey pine woodlands. In particular, I studied the loss of these woodlands in Redwood National Park, where I used historical aerial photos and dendrochronology techniques to reconstruct the loss of open, savannah-like habitat. Graduated HSU in 2012. Current position: Forestry Consultant and GIS Analyst, BBW Associates, Inc.Email: eapril.sahara@gmail.com
Marcus Jones
I graduated with my bachelors degree from HSU in May 2008 and promptly began working on a masters. For my masters, I conducted a large experiment assessing the potential impacts of climate warming on salt marsh vegetation. Graduated HSU in 2011. Present position: Consulting Utility Forester with ACRT Inc.Email: mdj15@humboldt.edu
Sheilah Lillie
My masters thesis examined the potential effects of wild fire on native bee communities in southwestern Oregon. I worked in two habitats that were burned in the Biscuit fire of 2002, Darlingtonia fens and adjacent forest habitats. Graduated HSU in 2011. Present position: Sr. Environmental Health Specialist, Tolumne County, CA.
David Franklin
David described the nitrogen dynamics of unique serpentine Darlingtonia fens and their adjacent upland habitats in response to the Biscuit Fire of 2002. Current position: Director, Special Projects Norcal SBDC (Small Business Development Center).Email: dbf10@humboldt.edu
Allyson Carroll
I began working in the field of dendrochronology in 1999 at the Tree Ring Lab of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, NY, where I was a technician working on climate reconstructions. In 2000, I joined Erik Jules at Humboldt State University to use crossdating techniques to model disease spread in Port Orford cedar. I currently work with Dr. Steve Sillett of HSU, primarily on redwood dendrochronology projects.Email: allyson.carroll@gmail.com
Jen Palladini
For my masters thesis, I investigated how ant communities are affected by logging and whether these changes could play a role in limiting the recruitment of western trillium (Trillium ovatum) seedlings, whose seeds are adapted for ant dispersal. Graduated HSU in 2004. Current position: PhD candidate at the Univeristy of Montana.Email: Jennifer.Palladini@grizmail.umt.edu
Jane Cipra
Jane's thesis was on the invasion ecology of the yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus) in Humboldt Bay's coastal dunes. Jane investigated the mechanisms by which lupines facilitate the further spread of non-natives by artificially reproducing the lupines' physical effects: shade, wind absorption, and nitrogen enrichment of the dune soil. After graduating, Jane was the Botanist for Death Valley National Monument.Email: yana AT xmission DOT com
Jason Nuckols
Thesis title: Assessing the role of seed banks and fire in the restoration of coastal prairie. Graduated HSU in 2002. Current Position: Biologist, The Nature Conservancy (Willamette Valley Preserve Manager). Email: jasonnuckols@hotmail.com
David Loya
Thesis title: Timber harvest effects on redwood understory plant communities: implications of sampling efficacy and richness estimators. David's thesis was the first to apply measures of sampling efficacy toward questions regarding the effects of logging on understory plant species. Graduated HSU in 2004. He is currently a City Planner in Arcata, CA. Email: dloya1@yahoo.com