Rebecca Kolsch

Rebecca is a first-year graduate student in the Biology M.A. program. Her research is focusing on native/nonnative tree congeners and how native/nonnative herbivorous insects interact with them. She has worked for multiple local organizations, primarily targeting habitat and invasive species management and plans to continue learning restoration skills. Her personal interests include spending time with her cats, exploring nature, and reading.

Allison recently graduated with a BS from Buffalo State University (BSU) in May 2025, dual majoring in Earth Sciences and Environmental Geography with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She currently interns at BSU’s Environmental Health and Safety office, mainly assisting in the monitoring and mapping of the stormwater system on campus. Her commitment to expanding her scientific knowledge led to working towards a MA in Great Lakes Environmental Science! She is currently in the process of finding her ecological interests while developing her thesis project. In her free time, she enjoys taking walks, drinking coffee, listening to music, and spending time with family. Go Bills!

Lydia is a first-year graduate student in the Biology program. Her research focuses on convergent evolution of seeds, galls, and phasmid eggs using ants as a dispersal method. She is also currently a graduate assistant in the Biology department. 

Lydia recently graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BS in Environmental Studies. She has also worked as an environmental education counselor at a summer camp which has made her more interested in perusing education. In her free time, Lydia plays rugby with Buffalo Women's RFC.

Impacts of German yellowjacket (Vespula germanica) removal on pollinator communities in Western New York

Local reduction of invasive yellowjacket abundance corresponds with increases in potential pollinators and native wasps

Non-native Vespula germanica yellowjackets dominate urban-to-rural gradient

Intra and interspecific competition via allelopathy among native and non-native plants

Intraspecific variation in Arabidopsis thaliana autotoxicity 

Intra and interspecific competition via allelopathy among native and non-native plants 

Successful allelopathic competition is not limited to nonnative plants 

The effect of Great Lake thermal gradients on pollinating Hymenoptera and Diptera

Spatial and seasonal patterns of potential orchard pollinators across a Lake Ontario gradient 

Danielle Dolan

Contrasting roles of downed wood and leaf litter in structuring Aphaenogaster ants and other forest-floor arthropod communities

1. Pollination synchrony along a Great Lakes thermal gradient

2. Spatial and seasonal patterns of potential orchard pollinators across a Lake Ontario gradient 

Amanda Jacobs

1. The Multi-Trophic Effects of Buckthorn Removal

2. Invader removal restructures multitrophic communities and triggers secondary invasion