People of the Bronstein Lab
Lab Host
Judie Bronstein
judieb@email.arizona.edu
|
Research Interests
Judith Bronstein’s lab focuses on the study of interspecific interactions, particularly on the poorly-understood, mutually beneficial ones (mutualisms). Specific conceptual areas of interest include: (i) conflicts of interest between mutualists and their consequences for the maintenance of beneficial outcomes in these interactions; and (ii) context-dependent outcomes in both mutualisms and antagonisms. Using a combination of field observations and experiments, she is examining how population processes, abiotic conditions, and the community context determine net effects of the interactions for the fitness of each participant species. She is also collaborating on theoretical and empirical investigations of (i) the fragility of mutualism in light of conservation threats and mechanisms of restoring disrupted interactions; and (ii) the causes and consequences of "cheating" within mutualism.
|
Graduate Students: Host-specific associates of the lab
Michele Lanan
lanan@email.arizona.edu
Interdisciplinary Program in Insect Science |
Research Interests
I am currently studying interactions between the nectar-secreting barrel cactus Ferocactus wislizeni and various desert ants. Although by definition mutualisms involve benefits to both partners, the overwhelming majority of studies on ant-plant protection mutualisms have considered only the effects of ant-plant interactions on the plant. At first glance, the effect of plant visitation on the ants seems obvious- colonies benefit through increased food intake. However, this interaction may also have an important yet less obvious effect on colony organization and foraging behavior. Extrafloral nectar-secreting plants are dissimilar from other resources used by ants such as seeds, carrion, and arthropod prey in several important ways. Unlike these ephemeral resources, continuously secreting nectaries can only be temporarily depleted, and can persist for months or even years. They are also extremely patchy, with glands clustered on plants separated by wide expanses of nectar-free space. In my dissertation research, I am investigating how the distribution of nectar-secreting cacti influences the formation of polydomous nest structure and trail networks in Sonoran Desert ants. In addition, I am conducting behavior experiments with captive colonies to determine whether the method of recruitment ants use places limitations on the number of nectar-secreting plants that a colony can visit. |
Alex Eaton-Mordas
eatonm@email.arizona.edu
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
|
Research Interests
Coming soon! |
Grad students: Non-host-specific associates of the lab
Emily Jones
co-advised by Regis Ferriere
eijones@email.arizona.edu
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
Research Interests
I am a graduate student in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Arizona. My research is focused on the effects of exploitation and competition on the evolution of mutualisms. However, I'm also interested in social evolution and host-parasite dynamics.
Emily's Website |
Anne Estes
co-advised by Betsy Pierson
amestes@email.arizona.edu
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
|
Research Interests
Coming soon! |
Kristen Potter
Co-advised by Goggy Davidowitz
kap15@email.arizona.edu Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
Research Interests
Coming soon!*
*Kristen is not really green |
Bryan Helm
Co-advised by Goggy Davidowitz
bhelm@email.arizona.edu
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
|
Research Interests
Coming soon!
Bryan's Website |
Joe Deas
Co-advised by ?
jbdeas@email.arizona.edu
Interdisciplinary Program in Insect Science
|
Research Interests
My broad interests are in insect diversity, parasite diversity, phylogeography, and speciation. Specifically I would like to focus on the coevolutionary interactions between (1) parasites and their insect hosts and (2) phytophagous insects and their host plants. Generally, there are three coevolutionary scenarios that I want to explore that possibly occur in concert: host fidelity, host-switching and cospeciation. Initially I would like to test these scenarios by measuring the degree of concordance between the higher-level molecular phylogenies of the insect parasites/phytophagous insects and their hosts/host plants, but I also want to test host fidelity using an ecological approach. A great system to start with would be coreid bug genera and their host cacti or chrysomelid beetle genera and their host plants. Additionally, I would like to investigate for possible phylogeographic patterns in these systems. But, in the future it would be ideal to know how host fidelity, host-switching and cospeciation collectively contribute (or not) to the diversity of insect parasites and phytophagous insects. |
fledged graduate students
Fledged postdoctoral fellows
Lab inquilines
Dispersed lab inquilines
Ted Fleming
University of Miami |
Professor of Biology at University of Miami, Ted has spent two sabbaticals in Tucson. In 1992-1993, he was supported by an NSF Mid-career Fellowship to do fieldwork on bats and cacti in Mexico, focusing particularly on pollination biology and breeding system evolution. He was associated with our lab and also worked in the Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Evolution learning DNA techniques. Ted also spent his 1999-2000 sabbatical in Tucson, primarily at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. He was working on conservation of migratory pollinators with Gary Nabhan and crew. He’s retiring to Tucson in 2008!
Website
|
Dinah Davidson
University of Utah |
Dinah, who has recently retired from the Department of Biology at University of Utah, spent 1993 with us while she learned molecular techniques to incorporate into her studies of myrmecophytic interactions in Peru.
Website
|
Bill Morris
Duke University |
Bill (Professor of Biology, Duke University) was a sabbatical visitor during the Spring semester of 2003, and continues to visit frequently. During his visit, he initiated an ongoing study of the interactions between barrel cacti that bear modified spines which exude extrafloral nectar and ants that collect the nectar (learn more here). Josh Ness, Judie, and Bill have found that ant species differ in the benefits they provide to the cacti (as measured by fruit production), that ant species compete for access to cacti, and that the most common ant species at cactus nectaries fluctuates seasonally. Our future goals are to understand the causes of this seasonal fluctuation and its consequences for the cactus-ant mutualism.
Website
|
Monica Geber
Cornell University |
Monica (Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell) spent 2006 with us. She worked on a variety of projects, including a community-level pollination study of bees and cacti with Ruben Alarcon, and a study of facilitation of protection in the barrel/ant system with Judie. She also really enjoyed the sun.
Website
|
Theodora Petanidou
University of the Aegean |
An Associate Professor at the University of the Aegean in Greece, Theodora spent three months in 2006 in the lab on a Fulbright Fellowship. Her project was entitled Invading the Mediterranean: Pollination and Competitive Ability of an Alien Plant in its Original Habitat in Arizona, USA. She carried out local fieldwork with the aid of some University of Arizona undergraduates on Solanum eleagnifolium, a species that she’s studying in its invasive habitat in Greece.
website
|
F1 Generation, Bronstein X Davidowitz
Ilan Davidowitz
 |
lab spokesperson and dragon expert
|
|
