We focus on understanding the mechanisms by which species interactions maintain species diversity, and how we can harness these processes to manage and restore diversity in human-modified systems. We focus on pollinators because they are critical for pollination in managed and natural plant communities, but my research is broadly applicable across ecological interactions. Our aim to discover new insights into how communities form, evolve, and persist through time and space, aiding in the prediction and prevention of community collapse. We combine modeling, synthesis and field-based work, and adhere to the principles of reproducible, open science.

In addition, another focus of the lab is promoting diversity and inclusivity in the sciences. We advocate for women and other underrepresented groups in sciences.
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At our lab retreat. From L to R: M Argueta (UC Mexus Graduate Fellow), H. Cohen (FFAR Postdoc), L. Ponisio (PI), M. Gaiarsa (UC Presidents Postdoc)

Press

Pollinators & Food Production
How Science is Saving the Bees & the Butterflies

Lauren is giving a talk in Washington on June 18, check it out!

​UCR Researchers receive grant to improve pollinator health
Press release by Sarah Nightingale

A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have received a $490,000 Pollinator Health Fund grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). The grant will support a study measuring the effectiveness of recommended almond orchard management practices in reducing the negative impacts of pesticides, parasites, and inadequate nutrition on bees.

With matching funds from UCR’s Office of Research and Economic Development, College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, and Department of Entomology, the project will total almost $1 million.
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Lauren Ponisio, Quinn McFrederick, and Hollis Woodard, all assistant professors of entomology at UCR, are examining how management practices in almond orchards affect the interacting risks of inadequate bee nutrition, pesticide exposure, and parasites. read more...
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Researchers from the Ponisio lab conducting field work in the Almond trees. Photo by M.P.Gaiarsa
As biotic communities form, pollinators swap one plant for another
Press release by Mackenzie Smith
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A new study from UC Berkeley researchers helps create a clearer understanding of how networks of plants and pollinators form over time to create biotic communities. The results of their research, which could help scientists and conservationists rebuild communities when a species goes locally extinct, are published today in Ecology Letters.  read more...
How fire diversity promotes biodiversity
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Press release by Julie Van Scoy

A team of CNR researchers has found that a diversity of fires can promote the existence of more varied flowering plants and pollinators in an ecosystem, while also buffering against the negative effects of drought. read more...
Using fire to promote biodiversity
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Perspective in Science by L. T. Kelly and L. Brotons

​Fire profoundly influences people, climate, and ecosystems (1). The impacts of this interaction are likely to grow, with climate models forecasting widespread increases in fire frequency and intensity because of rising global temperatures (2). read more...
Cannot see the forest for the bees
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Osmia visiting phacelia. Photo by L.Ponisio
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​While studying the mechanisms that underly the diveristy maintaince of plant-pollinator communities in Yosemite National Park, we became part of a much larger story about fire suppression and management in natural landscapes. 
​L. Ponisio guest blogs for National Geographic

Deep in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park, the flora and fauna in the understory form a mosaic of vibrant colors in constant motion.  read more...
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Changing the face of agriculture
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Diversification practices like intercropping enhance yields. Photo by C. Kremen
After their publication comparing the yields or organic and conventional agriculture, L. Ponisio and K. Mace discuss how alternative farming systems could change the face of agriculture. 
L. Ponisio and K. Mace guest blog for Landscapes for People, Food and Nature

Agricultural landscapes in the United States, from the Central Valley of California to the Corn Belt of the Midwest, are largely similar in that the lands encompass expanses of single crops. . read more...
Organic farming is closing the gap
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A native plant flowering hedgerow field margin. Photo by L. M’Gonigle
L. Ponisio guest writes for The Conservation 

​The unintended consequences of our agricultural food system – polluted air and water, dead zones in coastal seas, soil erosion – have profound implications for human health and the environment. So more sustainable agricultural practices are needed as soon as possible.
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Some farmers have turned to less chemically-intensive techniques to reduce the negative impact of agriculture, such as organic farming read more...