Lauren C. Ponisio
My research program focuses 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. I focus on pollinators because they are critical for pollination in managed and natural plant communities, but my research is broadly applicable across ecological interactions. My aim is to discover new insights into how communities form, evolve, and persist through time and space, aiding in the prediction and prevention of community collapse. I combine modeling, synthesis and field-based work, and adhere to the principles of reproducible, open science. In addition, my personal connection to issues concerning agriculture sustainability as a native of the Central Valley and Latina woman has motivated me to study how to design agricultural systems to better support humans and wildlife. I have investigated strategies for designing agricultural systems to promote biodiversity conservation and the links between conservation strategies and improving livelihoods. Beyond promoting biological diversity, my second mission in life is to increase human diversity in the sciences. Because people draw upon their life experiences to inform their science, a diversity of backgrounds is necessary to promote the advancement of science. |
Contact:
lponisio@ucr.edu Office/address: Address: 282 Entomology Building, Riverside, CA 92521 Github Google scholar Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3838-7357 Impactstory CV Personal website |
Marília P. Gaiarsa
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Post-doctoral scholar
Marilia is a community ecologist from Brazil and interested in understanding the intrinsic organization of biological communities and the role of species interactions play in both the maintenance and persistence of biodiversity. During her PhD, at Universidade de Sao Paulo, she explored the ecological consequences of cascading effects in mutualistic networks, using computer simulations and empirical data to assess the relationship between the structure of ecological networks and their robustness to cascading effects. As a member of the Ponisio lab, she will focus specifically on plant-pollinator interactions at the individual scale, and how these patterns translate to the network scale and affect ecosystem function and community resilience. |
Hamutahl Cohen
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Post-doctoral scholar
Hamutahl received her Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies. Her research is motivated by the fact that bees are dying. Bees pollinate important crops in California’s farms and gardens, and agricultural landscapes, in turn, provision resources for bees: pollen and nectar for food and materials and ground substrate for nesting habitat. Through resource provisioning, landscape context impacts bee health: those bees with access to food and habitat are healthier. But landscape context also has epidemiological importance for bees. As a bee forages across landscapes for food, it acquires pollen and nectar-vectored beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms. Her research therefore addresses how variation in floral resources influences bee health. She works in both urban and rural systems with wild and domesticated bees to asses how management and landscape context influence bee-microbe and bee-pathogen interactions. She relies on a combination of field experiments and molecular techniques and to conduct research. In the Ponisio lab she is learning how to apply ecological network analyses to understand the distribution of parasites in wild bees and how this is impacted by both functional traits of different bee species but also by habitat management. |
Contact:
hamutahlc@gmail.com |
Magda Argueta
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PhD Student, CONACYT - UC Mexus
Magda is a Mexican biologist whose research is focused on understanding how interspecific interactions contribute to the develop and maintenance of complex systems. She did her bachelors and masters work at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM. Pollination is her favorite ecological process to asses this issue. Her goal is to contribute to the development of her country through the dissemination of useful research tools for the conservation of ecological interactions in Mexico. She really loves field work, especially in areas with a strong seasonality. |
Contact:
margu006@ucr.edu |
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Undergraduate Researchers |
Paul Markley
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Paul Markley is a 4th year undergraduate Plant Biology major with concentration in Plant Pathology, Nematology, and Pest Management interested in understanding how plants and pollinators spread spread diseases to each other and other individuals. He became interested in insects after taking a forensic entomology on a whim, and now assists the Ponisio lab in pinning and sorting their insect collection. Paul is currently employed with the George E. Brown USDA ARSSL assisting scientists in maintaining their projects and performing molecular analysis. |
Contact:
pmark002@ucr.edu |
Maxwell Nishimoto
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Max is a 4th year undergraduate Entomology major with a widespread interest in Entomology, Ichthyology and Herpetology. However, after spending several summers in Japan surrounded by giant Vespidae, caring for pet stag beetles and catching Odonata he decided to pursue studies in Entomology in order to explore the diversity of insects and their importance to their respective ecosystems. Max is currently employed at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the hopes of joining their research program to reintroduce endangered species back into the wild. From there he intends to attend Veterinary School and ultimately become a wildlife veterinarian. |
Contact:
mnish006@ucr.edu |
Allison Nguyen
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Allison Nguyen is a 3rd year undergraduate Plant Biology major. She is interested in understanding the importance of pollinators to the diversity of plants. She currently assists Ponisio Lab in pinning their insect collection. She plans to go to pharmacy school after graduation and also hopes to use her degree in Plant Biology to work in pharmaceutical research discovering new medicines from plants. |
Contact:
anguy147@ucr.edu |
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Collaborators |
Rob Straser
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Rob is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the Dept. of Entomology at UCR working with Asst. Coop. Extension Specialist, Dr. Houston Wilson. Rob’s current research interests focus on understanding where and under what conditions alternative management strategies in agriculture, such as on-farm habitat diversification initiatives, have the potential to promote the long-term viability of natural enemy populations to benefit both crop yield and financial return on investment.
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Contact:
rstra005@ucr.edu |
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Lab alumni |
