Agricultural Land

Stephen Blake
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Saint Louis University
- Email: stephen.blake@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology and conservation of mega vertebrates
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Congo Basin, Galapagos Islands, Central Africa, Saint Louis, MO
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects

David Bogler
Research Associate, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant systematics, floristics, molecular systematics, anatomy, microscopy, ecology, sustainability, palynology, teaching
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA, Mexico
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Emily Bowling
Conservation Education Liaison, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bowling@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Palm oil sustainability, public education, local conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Tropical rainforests, Forests, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Tom Croat
P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Systematics and Ecology of Araceae; Phenology of flowering and fruiting in tropical ecosystems
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Neotropics
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest ,Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land

Gautam Dantas
Conan Professor in Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: dantas@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: (1) Understanding how diverse microbiomes respond to chemical and biological perturbations, (2) harnessing these insights to rationally design therapeutic strategies to curtail antibiotic-resistant pathogens and remedy pathological microbiome states, and (3) engineering microbial catalysts to convert renewable biomass into value chemicals such as biofuels and pharmaceuticals.
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, El Salvador, Peru, Pakistan, Niger, South Africa, Republic of Congo, Netherlands, China, India
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Agricultural lands, Urban areas, Built environment

Sharon Deem
Director, Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine
- Email: deem@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: One health, conservation medicine
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global with current emphasis areas in USA, Ecuador, Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- Ecological Niche Modeling to Examine the Interactions Between Climate-related Environmental Change, Food Security, Landscape Diversity and an Emerging Infectious Disease
- Expanding the Toolset for Chelonian Conservation: Understanding the Diversity, Distribution and Dynamics of Box Turtle Microbiomes
- Quantifying Effects of Parasites on Ecosystem Nutrient Cycling
- Reducing Human-Wildlife Conflict in East Africa Using Participatory Action Research
- Using iDNA to Increase the Protected Status of the Djeke Triangle and Enhance Disease Surveillance in the Congo Basin
- Going Wild in Forest Park: Tracking the Movement of Wildlife and Disease in an Urban Food Web

Karen DeMatteo
Research Affiliate, WildCare Institute at the Saint Louis Zoo / Academic Advisor, Biology Department, WashU / Conservation Detection Dog Handler/Trainer, A K9 Nose Knows
- Email: KarenDeMatteo@outlook.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology, conservation, and management of predator-prey species using noninvasive techniques
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Nebraska, and San Francisco), South America (Argentina), & Asia (Bhutan)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Monocultural plantations & fragmented ecosystems

Aimee Dunlap
Associate Professor, Biology Department, University of Missouri-Saint Louis
- Email: aimee.dunlap@umsl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Cognitive, behavioral, and urban ecology, mechanisms of decision making, pollination and foraging in bees and flies
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos

Kate Farley
Assistant Scientist, William L. Brown Center
- Email: kfarley@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ethnobotany, traditional ecological knowledge, community-based conservation, North American biodiversity, invasive species
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Appalachia, the Ozarks)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land

Kasey Fowler-Finn
Associate Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University
Primary subject(s) of interest: Evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology, vibrational communication, biotremology, climate change, evolution of complex traits, animal communication
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Saint Louis, Eastern North America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Gayle Fritz
Professor Emerita of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: gjfritz@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Agriculture, plant domestication, archaeobotany, ethnobotany, and conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mexico, United States (Mississippi River valley, St Louis Metro area, SE and Southwest US)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Theresa Gildner
Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU
- Email: gildner@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Human biology, parasitology, host-pathogen coevolution, immune function
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Ecuador, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land, Urban areas, Rainforest

Robbie Hart
Director, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change impacts on plant ecology and human environmental knowledge systems; ethnobotany; montane and alpine; Madagascar; community-based conservation; food plants
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Himalaya; Hengduan/Mountains of Southwest China; Pacific Northwest; Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land
LEC Projects
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- Biological Inventory and Conservation of Arevik National Park and Zangezur Sanctuary, Armenia
- Protecting Biodiversity and Human Health through Wild Edible Plants of Alandraza-Agnalavelo Sacred Forest, Madagascar
- Socio-economic and Cultural Adaptation to Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change: Analysis and Intervention Efficacy Study in Three Madagascar Subsistence Communities

Julie Hartell-DeNardo
Kevin Beckmann Curator of Carnivores and WildCare Center for Polar Bear Conservation Director, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: hartell@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Carnivore conservation, Carnidae, Felidae, Ursidae, Canidea, Pinnipedia
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa (Namibia, Somaliland, Tanzania, Kenya), Alaska
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Marine, Agricultural land

Sarah Holaday
Director of Animal Care & Conservation, Endangered Wolf Center
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land

Nathan Jacobs
Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, WashU
- Email: jacobsn@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Species Distribution Modeling
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Haijun Liu
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Saint Louis University
- Email: haijun.liu@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Photosynthetic microbes, photosynthesis adaptation mechanisms, coral bleaching, natural light energy harvesting diversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA, global (marine, coral symbiont dinoflagellates), Mideast (Israel)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Deserts, Agricultural land

Xinyi Liu
Associate Professor of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: liuxinyi@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Archaeology of Food, Domestication, Paleoenvironment, Food Globalization
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: China, Tibetan Plateau, Kazakhstan, Central America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Agricultural land, High altitude environment
LEC Seed Grant Projects

Krista Milich
Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU
- Email: krista.milich@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Non-human primates, reproductive ecology, behavioral endocrinology, zoonotic disease, community conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: East Africa and South America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land
LEC Projects
LEC Seed Grant Projects

Sara Miller
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, UMSL
- Email: semiller@umsl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Diversification in social insects, evolutionary ecology, and population genetics, urban ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land, Urban areas

Kenneth Olsen
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: kolsen@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant evolution, ecological genomics, evolution of crops and wild relatives
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land
LEC Seed Grant Projects

Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator, Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: npfeifer@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Museum studies, museum exhibitions, history, contemporary art, anthropology, conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: All

Amy Pool
Curatorial Assistant, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Floristics, sharing science, the importance of biodiversity and conservation, and the significance of global climate change with the local public, plant taxonomy, natural history collections use and curation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Collection-based

Jill Richardson
Lecturer in Sociocultural Anthropology, WashU
- Email: rjill@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Governance of natural resources, environmental social movements, race and ethnicity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Northern Rocky Mountains), Kenya
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land

Barbara Schaal
Professor of Biology, Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor, WashU
- Email: schaal@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Evolutionary genetics of plants, molecular evolution of genetics, systematics, and quantitative genetics
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Odean Serrano
Founder, Countering Wildlife Trafficking Institute
- Email: odean@cwtinstitute.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Environmental Security, Transnational Threats, Intelligence Fusion Analytics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global, Central African Republic, Madagascar, United States, Mali*, Burkina Faso (*Support research remotely from US)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Caves and subterranean habitats, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Ed Spevak
Curator of Invertebrates, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: spevak@stlzoo.org
Primary subject of interest: Pollinators, native bee conservation, Native American reservations
Primary geographic interest: Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Agricultural land, Zoos
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- Biodiversity of Freshwater Mussels of the Upper Sangamon River (Illinois): Community Science in Action
- Collaborating with Community Scientists to Improve Conservation: A Case Study with Bee Visitation Networks
- Floral Scent Differentiation as a Mechanism for Pollinator Partitioning in the Genus Anthurium (Araceae)

Joe Steensma
Professor, Brown School, WashU
- Email: jsteensma@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Environmental health, sustainability, food, security, and biodiversity
Primary geographic interest: Costa Rica, Nigeria, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Agricultural land
LEC Seed Grant Projects

Mikhail Tikhonov
Assistant Professor of Physics, WashU
- Email: tikhonov@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecosystem coarse-grainability, Emergent simplicity, Microbial eco/evo, Statistical physics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Lab ecosystem, USA field samples, Global surveys
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Marine, Agricultural land

Emily Warschefsky
Alice Brown Curator & Associate Scientist, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: ewarschefsky@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant domestication and evolution, phylogenomics, population genomics, hybridization
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Tad Yankoski
Senior Entomologist, Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Insect biodiversity and conservation, citizen science, insect husbandry
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global, with a focus on animals of the tropics (Costa Rica) and USA (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos

Xuehua Zhong
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: xuehuazhong@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Epigenetics, Climate change, Plant adaptation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Asia, China
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land