Current Research:
My current research interests lie in plant adaptations to stressful environments (especially alpine, arid, and fire-prone areas), and the responses of plants and plant-insect interactions to shifts in range and environmental conditions. My Master's project has focused on the potential responses of Penstemon palmeri (Plantaginaceae) to climate change, in particular to warming trends predicted for the southwestern United States. I collected data on both floral and vegetative phenotypic characteristics of P. palmeri in Zion National Park, UT, using an elevation gradient as a proxy for climate change. I then conducted an experimental study using growth chambers to simulate current and predicted future springtime temperatures to test for differences in growth rate in current and warmed conditions, and to test the degree to which the differences observed in the field were due to genetic variation vs. phenotypic plasticity. I will be moving to the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2011 to pursue a PhD in the lab of Dr. Norma Fowler, where I will continue to explore plant interactions with environmental shifts and ranges using population genetics, community ecology and spatial analyses.
The Skogen Lab: http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/skogen/index.html
Uncompahgre Partnership and Colorado Plateau Native Plant Initiative: http://www.upproject.org/cpnativeplant_program/cpnpi.htm
BLM Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/more/CPNPP.html
Setting out pumps for floral scent collection
A lovely vista in the northwestern section of Zion NP
