Dr. Evan Preisser is a professor at the University of RI. His lab focuses on researching the non-lethal interactions between predator and prey as well as between herbivores and plants.

Researching non-lethal interactions between predators and prey is important because such interactions have great impact on food webs and community dynamics. Organisms that interact can alter non-heritable traits such as behaviors, morphology, and much much more! Organisms of prey can reduce their risk of being predated by changing these non-heritable traits, which can then in turn impact their fitness (the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce offspring in their environment).

In addition, predators can also impact fitness by changing non-heritable traits such as hunting modes they use on prey, which can impact the predators' fitness as well!

Second-semester freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to connect with this lab. Research is mostly working with simple tools like scissors, hammers, and sewing machines as ecologists rely heavily on field work. Other student responsibilities include processing samples and attending lab meetings.

Some major lab interests are:

The effects of predation risk on community dynamics.

Factors affecting range expansion of invasive herbivores sharing a common host.

Naturally-occurring adelgid resistance in eastern hemlock.

Best to contact through email: preisser@uri.edu