I presented this poster at the Gordon Research Seminar and Conference in October 2022, in Lucca, Italy.
I presented this poster at Entomology 2021 in Denver, Colorado.
My current research seeks to better understand how host plant species can impact herbivore predator-prey interactions, using the monarch-milkweed system as a model. I plan to rear larvae on a variety of milkweed species which range in their toxicity. I will measure the cardenolide content of each of the milkweed and the monarch larvae, and conduct behavioral trials using a generalist predator.
From this research proposal, I developed a NSF GRFP application, which I submitted in October 2020. In the summer of 2019, I conducted research at the Crocker Range Man and Biosphere Reserve, in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, through the NSF International Research Experience for Students program. We sought to assess if zones of the reserve that had different land use regulations had different leaf litter ant biodiversity. From this experience, I gained skills in ant identification, sample preparation, data analysis, and field sampling. I also gained invaluable global perspective and cultural sensitivity. I presented this work at two conferences and one symposium at S&T. For the last two years of my undergraduate career, I conducted research at the Ozark Research Field Station for Dr. Robin Verble. I sought to assess the impact of leaf litter temperature profiles on soil surface arthropod communities. |