Phoebe Lehmann Zarnetske
Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Integrative Biology and EEB
plz (at) msu.edu
@PLZarnetske
PhD 2011 Oregon State University
MS 2006 Utah State University
BA 2001 Colby College
CV
she.her.hers
Research Interests:
I am a community ecologist in the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University. I also hold an adjunct appointment in the Department of Plant Biology and am affiliated with the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) Program, Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP), and Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER. I initiated the Spatial Ecology Graduate Certificate Program.
My research program uses a combination of observational data, experiments, and modeling to connect observed patterns of biodiversity and community composition with underlying mechanisms. Specifically, I am interested in how the composition and geographic distribution of species and ecological communities are affected by biotic interactions, species invasions, biophysical feedbacks, geodiversity, climate change, land use change, and geoengineering. A central goal of my research program is to understand which species and ecological communities are most sensitive and/or resilient to climate change. In turn, some of these species may act as "biotic multipliers" of climate change through their outsized impacts on other species, ecological communities, and ecosystem functions. My research is often interdisciplinary, with collaborators in remote sensing, climate science, geomorphology, mathematics, statistics, and engineering.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking, cooking, gardening, photography, and traveling with my family.
Background: My prior appointments include: Assistant Professor, MSU Forestry, and Fisheries & Wildlife; and a Yale Climate and Energy Institute Postdoctoral Fellow in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. As a graduate student I conducted habitat modeling on Utah forests (Utah State University), and invasive species and ecosystem service research on the US Pacific Northwest Coast and New Zealand (Oregon State University). As an undergraduate, my research included wildlife population monitoring in Patagonia, Chile (Colby College/University of Connecticut), and sustainable development of coffee in Costa Rica (School for Field Studies).
Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Integrative Biology and EEB
plz (at) msu.edu
@PLZarnetske
PhD 2011 Oregon State University
MS 2006 Utah State University
BA 2001 Colby College
CV
she.her.hers
Research Interests:
I am a community ecologist in the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University. I also hold an adjunct appointment in the Department of Plant Biology and am affiliated with the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) Program, Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP), and Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER. I initiated the Spatial Ecology Graduate Certificate Program.
My research program uses a combination of observational data, experiments, and modeling to connect observed patterns of biodiversity and community composition with underlying mechanisms. Specifically, I am interested in how the composition and geographic distribution of species and ecological communities are affected by biotic interactions, species invasions, biophysical feedbacks, geodiversity, climate change, land use change, and geoengineering. A central goal of my research program is to understand which species and ecological communities are most sensitive and/or resilient to climate change. In turn, some of these species may act as "biotic multipliers" of climate change through their outsized impacts on other species, ecological communities, and ecosystem functions. My research is often interdisciplinary, with collaborators in remote sensing, climate science, geomorphology, mathematics, statistics, and engineering.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking, cooking, gardening, photography, and traveling with my family.
Background: My prior appointments include: Assistant Professor, MSU Forestry, and Fisheries & Wildlife; and a Yale Climate and Energy Institute Postdoctoral Fellow in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. As a graduate student I conducted habitat modeling on Utah forests (Utah State University), and invasive species and ecosystem service research on the US Pacific Northwest Coast and New Zealand (Oregon State University). As an undergraduate, my research included wildlife population monitoring in Patagonia, Chile (Colby College/University of Connecticut), and sustainable development of coffee in Costa Rica (School for Field Studies).
Postdocs
Funding: NSF DEB Macrosystems Biology MRA #1926567
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Jasper Van doninck
Postdoctoral Associate, MSU Integrative Biology & EEBB vandonin (at) msu.edu PhD 2013 Applied Biological Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium MSc 2008 Advanced MSc in Earth Observation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium / Purdue University MSc 2002 Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium website CV Research Interests: My research interests cover various aspects of the use of remote sensing in biodiversity studies. In addition, I like to focus on more technical aspects of remote sensing such as image processing and time series analysis. At the SpaCE Lab, I am studying how disturbance regime across NEON domains can be extracted from Landsat time series. With this information we can then investigate how disturbance regime is explained by climate, geodiversity, land cover and past land use across different scales, and how relationships between all these factors affect intraspecific trait variability and biodiversity. Background: My past research covers a wide range of applications of remote sensing. During my MSc research (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) I studied how very high and medium resolution satellite data could be combined to estimate impervious surface fraction in cities at sub-pixel resolution using neural networks. Later thesis research for an advanced MSc (KU Leuven and Purdue University) focussed on food security and cropped areas in Ethiopia. My PhD research (Ghent University) explored ways to measure soil moisture at medium to high spatial resolution using active and passive sensors, and to include these in species distribution modelling of a bluetongue virus vector. After completing my PhD I was briefly at Université catholique de Louvain working on a project that studied the relationship between afforestation, detected using Landsat time series, and increases in ticks and tick-borne diseases in Southern Norway. In between, I also worked in municipal urban planning, advising the city council on building permits and providing assistance to citizens and architects. Before joining MSU, I was part of the Amazon Research Team at University of Turku where I linked Landsat surface reflectance with understory species composition and distribution and with soil properties, and dynamics in bamboo-dominated forests. |
Graduate Students
Funding: NASA FINESST (Future Investigator & Space Science Technology), MSU University Fellowship, Kellogg Biological Station
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Beth Gerstner
PhD candidate, Fisheries & Wildlife and EEBB gerstn11 (at) msu.edu BS 2012 Biology, Stony Brook University MS 2016 Biology, The City College of New York, CUNY CV Research Interests: The key objective of my research is to generate better range maps for data-poor species of conservation concern in Central and South American cloud forests, regions of high biodiversity. Specifically, I will be evaluating the utility of high-resolution satellite remotely-sensed data and mammal and bird species’ functional traits (traits that allow a species to exist and reproduce in a given environment) to model geographic distributions for data-poor species, and to generate maps of different aspects of biodiversity (i.e., species richness and the distribution of species having unique roles and functions in an ecosystem). The workflow I generate will help conservation practitioners make informed decisions about what satellite data to use for generating their own species range maps/biodiversity assessments and where conservation efforts should be concentrated. Background: During my Master’s work at the City College of New York, I studied both the distribution and conservation status of the "Olinguito", a recently discovered carnivoran endemic to Colombia and Ecuador. This research addressed concerns about the generation of good distribution models with small sample sizes by supplementing museum based locality data with records from citizen scientists, and using modeling methods shown to work well with small datasets. To wrap up this study, I am currently investigating how climate change and deforestation will affect the distribution of this species and possibly alter their conservation status as part of a revised IUCN assessment. |
Funding: NSF GRFP (National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship), Michigan State University DFI
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Moriah Young
PhD student, Integrative Biology and EEBB youngmor (at) msu.edu BS 2015 Environmental Science, University of Michigan website CV Research Interests: My PhD research seeks to understand the effects of climate change on soil biota, plant, and herbivore interactions. Using a combination of field and greenhouse studies, my research works to address the ways in which the composition and structure of soil microbial communities respond to warming and drought, as well as describing the role that the soil microbial community has on plant traits, stress responses, and insect preferences in the presence of warming and drought. Ultimately, this knowledge will advance our ability to forecast climate change effects on ecological communities. Background: Several years of field research experiences led me, in a rather nontraditional way, to pursue my own research and a PhD. After graduating from my bachelor’s at UM, I worked seasonally in the field for five years on a range of ecological projects and gained experience in both the private and public sectors. From Michigan to the Northwest and back again to Michigan, I worked to restore ecosystems through an environmental non-profit, collected forestry data for the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and performed plant surveys for several projects at different universities. |
Funding: MSU College of Natural Science Graduate Fellowship
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Kara Dobson
PhD student, Integrative Biology and EEBB dobsonk2 (at) msu.edu BS 2020 BS Biology, Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA website CV Research Interests: My research interests involve how plant communities respond to environmental climate change stressors. I am mainly interested in how plants alter their molecular physiology in response to changes in the climate, such as increased drought or salinity. Plants experiencing a climate change stressor may release volatile compounds that can alter neighboring plant communities through plant-plant communication. These stressed plants may also be a catalyst for changes in plant-insect interactions, as well as plant-soil interactions. Background: My research experience at Penn State Behrend includes climate change modeling and molecular biology. For climate change modeling, I studied how the Lake Erie microclimate affects the changing climate by modeling how temperatures and frost dates over the past 70 years have changed between the lake’s inland and coastal regions. For molecular biology, I studied how chemical compounds hinder fungal growth on potatoes, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. I also examined and identified fungal diseases on chestnut trees. |
Visiting Scholars
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Tori Donovan
PhD 2020, University if Nebraska-Lincoln donovanv (at) msu.edu victoria.donovan (at) huskers.unl.edu BS 2012 Biology, Queen’s University MS 2015 Biology, Laurentian University website CV Research Interests: My research draws from systems and landscape ecology to understand how system processes shape system structure, function, and resilience. In particular, I am interested in how processes that drive what is viewed as damage and destruction at one scale, can boost adaptability and resilience at another scale. My current research focuses primarily on fire. I utilize remote sensing products in combination with field data to assess spatial and temporal patterns and outcomes of wildfire across multiple scales. |
Data Scientist & Data Engineer
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Pat Bills (MSU IT Analytics & Data Solutions)
billspat (at) msu.edu Pat is the MSU SpaCE Lab's Data Scientist & Data Engineer extraordinaire. Pat has worked for IT in research for over 25 yrs in various capacities in many labs and departments on campus. He's trained or consulted with dozens of faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduates for programming high performance computing system, cloud computing, analysis and data management, research database design, web application design and development, scientific programming (R, Python, Fortran, shell script). His current appointment is with the Data Science Team in the Analytics and Data Solutions unit of MSU's IT Services. He luckily gets to spend half of his time helping with data engineering and strategy for the MSU SpaCE Lab. |
Research Technicians
2017-present: Mark Hammond (Kellogg Biological Station)
Mark collaborates with Phoebe Zarnetske on the warmXtrophic experiment at Kellogg Biological Station and University of Michigan Biological Station and the Rainfall Manipulation Experiment at KBS LTER. Mark is vital for his depth of knowledge of KBS old field communities and KBS terrestrial experimental work, data collection, and on-site maintenance.
Mark collaborates with Phoebe Zarnetske on the warmXtrophic experiment at Kellogg Biological Station and University of Michigan Biological Station and the Rainfall Manipulation Experiment at KBS LTER. Mark is vital for his depth of knowledge of KBS old field communities and KBS terrestrial experimental work, data collection, and on-site maintenance.
Undergraduate Students
Minali Bhatt (MSU)
Major: Environmental Biology/Plant Biology MSU Honors College Professorial Assistant 2018-present I am interested in plant-arthropod interactions and non-native/invasive species, particularly the relationships between native and invasive species. I would like to pursue research on pollination biology of invasive and native species. Currently, I am assisting the Zarnetske Lab on the aquaXterra project, and the FRUGIVORIA project. After graduating from MSU, I will be focusing on gaining research experience in areas that I have little knowledge about, before pursuing a graduate degree in ecology or something similar. Erik Kirmse Ralston (MSU)
Major: Environmental Biology MSU Honors College Professorial Assistant 2018-present Erik is working on the aquaXterra insect functional trait database and the FRUGIVORIA project; Erik is particularly interested in birds and global change. 
Chakata Hart (MSU)
Major: Zoology, animal behavior concentration; minor in GIS systems I am interested in relationships between ecosystems, patterns and drivers of biodiversity, and bioindicator species. I would like to learn versatile skills, allowing me to aid different parts of the environment. I would like to research specific bioindicator species such as the Ailurus fulgens, including how they interact with their ecosystem(s). I am also interested in how we can incorporate technology into solutions that aid bioindicator species and their threatened ecosystems. I am currently assisting the Zarnetske Lab on the FRUGIVORIA project. After completing my bachelor's in zoology, I plan to go on pursuing a similar graduate degree so that I can diversify my skillset. 
Ashley Ezzo (MSU)
Major: Zoology with a double concentration in Zoo and Aquarium Sciences and Marine Biology; Minor: Marine Ecosystem Management I am interested in Central America and the impact of climate change in biodiverse habitats. I am specifically interested in the sea turtle populations. I am currently assisting the Zarnetske Lab on the FRUGIVORIA project. After graduation I hope to pursue research in the oceans with a focus on sea turtles looking at the global impacts that are negatively affecting each species. |
Hazel Anderson (MSU '21)
Major: Environmental Biology/Plant Biology; minor: Environmental and Sustainability Studies Website MSU College of Natural Science Scholarship Recipient; Summer & Fall 2020 I am interested impacts of climate change on plants and biodiversity to better inform conservation efforts. I am fascinated by utilizing big data, open science, and ecoinformatics in my research. Currently, I am working on the FRUGIVORIA project, looking at neotropical plant functional traits and their relationship to frugivore functional traits. After graduation, I hope to continue my research by pursuing a Ph.D. degree in conservation ecology or similar field with the goal of becoming a research scientist. 
Olivia Melville (MSU)
Major: Zoology (Lyman Briggs) MSU Honors College Professorial Assistant 2020-present I am interested in studying the relationship between rising temperatures due to climate change and biodiversity in geographic areas, as well as the effects of climate change on the functional biodiversity of species. Ideally, I would love to pursue this research and study methods to counteract habitat loss due to climate change or preserving natural biodiversity. Currently, I am assisting on the Zarnetske lab on the FRUGIVORIA project. After graduating from MSU, I hope to earn a doctorate in veterinary medicine. 
Taylor Stehouwer (MSU)
Major: Zoology (Lyman Briggs), concentration in zoo and aquarium science MSU Honors College Professorial Assistant 2020-present I am interested in studying the impacts of climate change and its effects on the presence of species in order to promote better conservation efforts and prevent extinction due to loss of natural infrastructure. In the future, I would love to research the particular environmental impacts causing extinction for select species (monkeys and sloths) and work to promote better conservation for them, as well as ways that temperature fluctuations due to climate change impact the environment. Currently, I am assisting the Zarnetske lab on the FRUGIVORIA project. I plan to apply to the DVM program at MSU in the Spring of 2022 after completing the pre-vet curriculum and continue to pursue a degree in Zoology during that time. |
MSU SpaCE Lab Alumni
Honorary Lab Members
Aina is Laura's 9 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi from Ukiah, CA. She loves food, hiking, canoeing, chasing squirrels, and herding.
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Ande is a rescued vizsla mix who loves chasing his tail, howling at ambulance noises, and absolutely loathes cats
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Pepper is Phoebe's ~1.5 yr old lab/pointer mix (we think) and is fond of chasing anything that moves.
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Kenai was Phoebe's first dog, a chocolate lab rescue, originally from Logan, UT. He was a great companion on many field research trips during his 14 years. He loved swimming, snow, and hiking.
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