Rhizobia-plant-insect interactions
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My fascination since I was an undergraduate has revolved around the mysteries and gaps that remain regarding the role of biodiversity and the environment in shaping species interaction dynamics. My dissertation work at UMD with Karin Burghardt aims to understand whether biodiversity, environmental factors, or their interactions shape microbe-plant-insect dynamics.

 

The key aims of my dissertation are to understand:

 

1. If rhizobial strain genotypes differentially alter plant and herbivore responses to abiotic and biotic stress 

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2. How changes in access to rhizobial partner diversity shape plant-partner outcomes

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3. How variation and severity of abiotic stressors impact soybean production and biological communities across spatiotemporal scales

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In my first chapter, I found interactive effects between genetic variation within rhizobia strain populations and drought on soybean plant trait expression (Fig. 1) and that this has consequences for feeding by insect herbivores. Additionally, I found interactive effects between rhizobia strain identity and drought on caterpillar growth rates. This work shows that the microbial partner a plant associates with has consequences for insect feeding and growth at higher trophic levels. This work is currently being prepared for publication and will be available soon! Stay tuned for more work coming soon from my other chapters as I complete the last year and a half of my program. The goal of my research in applied contexts is to develop targeted rhizobia inoculants for growers that harness beneficial effects to plants under stress. 
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Cannibalism and Chemical Ecology
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Before graduate school, I was an undergraduate research assistant for the Wetzel lab at Michigan State University (Dr. Wetzel is now at Montana State University!) from 2019-2021. I led and completed an independent research project examining the nutritive mechanisms that govern diet switches to cannibalism in Cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni), a lepidopteran herbivore. We found caterpillars that were given unbalanced ratios of two important macronutrients, protein and carbohydrates, switched their diet to cannibalism earlier and more frequently than caterpillars given a more balanced diet (Fig. 2). We also found fitness costs to cannibalism, as survival of cannibals was extraordinarily low compared to caterpillars given a balanced diet. If you're curious about insect cannibalism or want to see some rather gruesome photos of caterpillars eating each other, check out my first first-author paper in Ecological Entomology!

 

 

In addition, I also completed a project with my mentor, Kayleigh Hauri, where we found that herbivory was reduced in tomato plants planted in diverse, clumped chemotype plots relative to monoculture and alternating diverse chemotype plots while natural enemy abundances increased in divers, clumped chemotype plots. If you're curious and want to learn more about how the spatial arrangement of chemical diversity in fields shapes herbivore pest-feeding behavior and natural enemy recruitment, check out my co-authored publication in Journal of Applied Ecology! 

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