Entomologist

Andy has a love of insect life that began as a child in Texas and Maryland and has led to experience in museum collections, research and field work with organizations including the Systematic Entomological Laboratory and Agricultural Research Service of the USDA, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Colorado’s Natural History Museum, and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program as well as numerous publications regarding insect systematics, biogeography & host plant associations.

PhD Candidate

My interests include using computational methods to solve conservation challenges and fill knowledge gaps. Much of my previous work has focused on conservation genetics in collaboration with botanic gardens. I do this work because I'm passionate about science, working with like-minded people, and making a difference!

PhD Candidate

I am interested in the responses of animal communities to habitat modification and loss. My background is in researching animal populations and communities in fragmented and anthropogenic landscapes. I completed a Master of Science in Biology from John Carroll University, where I studied how thermal variation along forest edges affected the distribution of reptile and amphibian species.

PhD 2023, now Postdoctoral Researcher Lawrence Berkeley National Labs

Continuing to collaborate on tree responses to fragmentation and fire.

PhD 2023, now Restoration Ecologist at Watershed

Continuing to collaborate on beetle responses to fragmentation and fire.

PhD Candidate

I'm interested in how natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect processes at the population level. Currently, I am testing a Species Distribution Model (SDM) for American pika at Rocky Mountain National Park using a data set different from the one used to build the model. Also, I am studying how microclimates shape the occupancy of individual pika territories and how this information could be extrapolated to improve our Species Distribution predictions. These tools could help us understand whether and where we will lose ecological services provided by the species for which these models are developed; In this case, it also will help us know whether we will lose natural resources tied to the pika habitat. I am co-advised by Dr. Chris Ray.

PhD Candidate

I received my B.S. from the University of Florida and M.S. from Virginia Tech in electrical engineering. I am interested in applying this background to developing and utilizing field-ready hardware and machine learning-based data analysis infrastructures to research the behavior of vulnerable mammal species such as pika, and to characterize the potential impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activity on alpine wildlife. Co-advised by Dr. Chris Ray.