Urban Biodiversity
Whitney Anthonysamy
Associate Professor of Biology, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
- Email: whitney.anthonysamy@uhsp.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Urban ecology, population ecology, conservation biology, herpetology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Saint Louis, Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Freshwater, Urban areas
Matthew Austin
Curator of Biodiversity Data, Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: maustin@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Herbaria, global change biology, hyperspectral botany, phenology, ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Urban Areas, Botanic Gardens and Herbaria
Karen Bauman
Manager of Reproductive Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: kbauman@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: All species, especially canids and ungulates; reproduction, wildlife technologies
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Ex situ, North America, global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos
Peter Bernhardt
Research Associate of Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Pollination; Anthophilous insects (bees, beetles, syrphid flies, butterflies and moths); flowering plant groups (orchids and other petaloid monocots), montane wildflowers of the Himalayas; Proteaceae of Australia; plant systematics and phytogeography of the floras of southern Australia; redbuds and dogwoods of Missouri; pollination in urban versus rural flora native to North America; popular illustrations and depictions of flora and their pollinators from the 19th-21st century; the history of the writings of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries on floral adaptation/evolution; bee diversity on rural versus urban trees of redbud (Cercis canadensis) and dogwood (Cornus florida) in St. Louis and its counties
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Saint Louis, Missouri, Kansas), Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia), China (Kunming, Lijiang and Yulong (Yunnan))
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Shrubland, Grassland, Montane>3000m
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
Louise Bradshaw
Retired Director of Education, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bradshawrl@yahoo.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change education, enhancing biodiversity, community-based conservation engagement, nature-based education, urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Saint Louis region (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban biodiversity
Bruce Carlson
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: carlson.bruce@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Sensory and evolutionary neuroscience in electric fish
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater
Bob Coulter
Director, Litzsinger Road Ecology Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: bob.coulter@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Youth civic engagement and place-based education
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater
LEC Seed Grant Projects
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
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
Martha Fischer
General Curator and Director of WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park
- Email: Fischer@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: All Horn if Africa wildlife including Grevy's zebra, hirola, black rhino, mountain nyala, giraffe, African wild ass, and Ethiopian wolf; southeast Asian wildlife, such as banteng; local Missouri wildlife and urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somaliland
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Savanna, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
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
Danelle Haake
RiverWatch Director and Stream Ecologist, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
- Email: dhaake@lc.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Anthropogenic impacts on aquatic invertebrates; ecological impacts of pavement deicers; freshwater mussel population dynamics; community science; ecological epidemiology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
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 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
Erik Herzog
Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, WashU
- Email: herzog@biology.wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Circadian rhythms, light pollution, preterm birth, brain cancer
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
Derek Hoeferlin
Professor and Chair of Landscape Architecture, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, WashU
- Email: hoeferlin@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Trans-boundary river basin management, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Mississippi River Basin), China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam (Mekong River Basin), Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland (Rhine River Basin)
LEC Seed Grant Projects
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
Ben Jellen
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
- Email: ben.jellen@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: The ecology, physiology, behavior, learning, and conservation of amphibians, reptiles and birds
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central and eastern Missouri and central and southern Illinois
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Urban areas
Elizabeth (Lisa) Kelley
Executive Director-WildCare, Director-Center for Conservation in Madagascar, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: lkelley@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Coordinating wildlife programs and evaluation, wildlife conservation, anthropology, primatology, lemurs
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Madagascar, global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Deserts
Doug Ladd
Senior Lecturer, Sam Fox School, WashU
- Email: dladd@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Lichen taxonomy
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: North America (Interior Highlands, Great Plains, Central Tallgrass Prairie, Great Lakes)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Kelly Lane-deGraaf
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University
- Email: kelly.lanedegraaf@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Disease ecology, environmental racism, population genetics
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Danielle N. Lee
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville
- Email: danilee@siue.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Animal Behavior, Mammalogy, Ethology, Urban Ecology, Science Outreach, STEM Diversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mid-West United States (Saint Louis Metro area); Tanzania (Arusha)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Urban areas
Kieran Lindsey
Program Director, Online Master of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
- Email: kieranlindsey@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Urban wildlife, human-wildlife interface
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Liz Mallott
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, WashU
- Email: mallott@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: human and nonhuman primates, gut microbiome, host-microbe interactions, molecular and microbial ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Asia
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Urban Areas
Kim Medley
Director, Tyson Research Center, WashU
- Email: kim.medley@wustl.edu
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Mary Merello
Curatorial Assistant, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: mary.merello@mobot.org
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Vietnam, Indonesia, Ecuador
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Herbarium
Jeffrey Meshach
Deputy Director, World Bird Sanctuary
Affiliated Institution(s): Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis University
Primary subject(s) of interest: Birds, especially birds of prey
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
Jim Miller
Retired, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Natural products research, systematics of Boraginaceae, flora of Madagascar
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa (Madagascar), South America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Deserts
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
Regina Mossotti
Vice President of Animal Care, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: rmossotti@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: African Painted Dog, American Red Wolf, Mexican Wolf
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (southwest and southeast)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Zoos
Jonathan A. Myers
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: jamyers@wustl.edu
Primary subject of interest: Community ecology, plant diversity, longleaf pine ecosystems
Primary geographic interest: Southeastern coastal plains (US); temperature and tropical forests
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- A Synthesis of Patterns and Mechanisms of Diversity and Forest Change in the Andes: A Global Biodiversity Hotspot
- Land Management Effects on Microbiome Diversity in Disease Vectors
- Microrefugia Against Climate Change
- Testing the Role that Biotic Interactions Play in Shaping Elevational-Diversity Gradients: An Ecological Metabolomics Approach
Jamie Palmer
Technician, Wildlife Biologist, Institute for Conservation Medicine, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: jpalmer@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation Medicine, One Health, Wildlife Health, Herpetology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Freshwater, Deserts, Urban areas, Zoos
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
Jenny Price
Research Fellow, Sam Fox School, WashU
- Email: jjprice@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Public arts and humanities projects--Environment and public space
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Carmen Puglisi, PhD
Curator (Asia), Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: cpuglisi@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Taxonomy of Southeast Asian flowering plants, esp. Ebenaceae and Gesneriaceae
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia,
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest
Rodrigo Reis
Professor, WashU Brown School
- Email: reis.rodrigo@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Livability, Built environment, and Public health
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Brazil, United Kingdom, United States (St. Louis), Mexico
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Susanne Renner
Honorary Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: srenner@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant evolution; plant sexual systems; mutualisms; biogeography; history of systematics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Worldwide
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Urban areas
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
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)
Daniel Warren
Professor, Saint Louis University
- Email: daniel.warren@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Comparative Animal Physiology, Ecophysiology, Metabolism, Thermal Biology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Midwestern United States from Missouri to the Canadian border
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
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
Catherine Werner
Director, Sustainability & Innovation, National League of Cities
- Email: CatherineWerner@me.com
Primary subject of interest: Biophilic cities, climate justice, eco-literacy, equity, nature-based solutions for people & climate, urban ecology, urban biodiversity, urban forestry, urban heat island, urban monarch/pollinator conservation.
Primary geographic area of interest: United States and Biophilic Cities
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Emily Wroblewski
Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU
- Email: emily.wroblewski@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Primate population and evolutionary genomics, immunogenomics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon
LEC Seed Grant Projects
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