2020 Graduate Awards & Fellowships

Awards

Davenport Fund

Clemon Dabney (2020)—Plant & Microbial Biology, CBS
Characterizing genomic diversity in wartime hemp with herbarium records
Advisor: George Weiblen

Sean Keogh (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Investigating differential pathways to adaptation in freshwater mussels (Order: Unionoida)
Advisor: Andrew Simons

Thomas Radomski (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Geographic ranges: models, reality, and shrinking the gap between the two
Advisor: Kenneth Kozak

Sam Weaver (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Exploring the potential for hybridization to promote adaptation to climate change in a high-elevation specialist salamander species
Advisor: Kenneth Kozak

Dayton Fund

Tessa Cicak (2020)—Anthropology, CLA
Examining the role of competition in primate dietary morphology and isotopes
Advisor: Kieran McNulty

Elihuruma Kimaro (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Patterns and correlates of forest structure, composition and functional trait of mature and regenerating forest patches in the Greater Gombe Ecosystem, Tanzania
Advisor: Jennifer Powers

Thomas Lake (2020)—Plant & Microbial Biology, CBS
Does adaptive genetic differentiation facilitate or impede future plant invasions?
Advisor: David Moeller

Mara McPartland (2020)—Geography, Environment & Society, CLA
Reconstructing drought in northern Minnesota using dendrochronology
Advisor: Scott St. George

Janine Mistrick (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Role of host spatial overlap in predicting viral disease incidence in experimentally manipulated wild rodent populations
Advisor: Meggan Craft

Jamie Mosel (2020)—Natural Resource Science & Management, CFANS
Drought, forest management, and climate adaptation in North-Central Minnesota
Advisor: Rebecca Montgomery

Taryn Mueller (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Quantifying the impact of eco-evolutionary forces on the biogeography and community assembly of fungal endophytes in Clarkia xantiana
Advisor: David Moeller

Rachel Pain (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Estimating natal origins and migratory patterns of raptors using stable isotope analysis during fall migration in Duluth, Minnesota
Advisor: Ruth Shaw and Jessica Hellmann

Francisco Eduardo Perez (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Characterizing fungal diversity in Southeast Madagascar
Advisor: Peter Kennedy

Tyler Seidel (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
The diversity and nutritional value of aquatic resources in urban landscapes
Advisor: Jacques Finlay

Pu Wang (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Developing a microbial experimental evolution module for public science education: evolving multicellularity using Pseudomonas hypermutators in predator-prey interactions
Advisor: Michael Travisano

Amy Waananen (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Temporal outcrossing in a fragmented environment
Advisor: Ruth Shaw

McKinney Fund

Shivona Bhojwani (2020)—Conservation Sciences, CFANS
Can created wetlands in rice landscapes support waterbirds? Using hydropattern as a habitat restoration template
Advisor: Susan Galatowitsch

Saumya Gupta (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Toward a mechanistic understanding of the effects of noise on animal communication
Advisor: Mark Bee

Wilkie Fund

Zacky Ezedin (2020)—Plant & Microbial Biology, CBS
Describing the tree flora of the Wanang 50-hectare plot in Papua New Guinea
Advisor: George Weiblen

Rebekah Mohn (2020)—Plant & Microbial Biology, CBS
Exploring the macroevolutionary impact of chromosome variation on Australian sundews
Advisor: Ya Yang

Zoological Society Fund

Keiffer Williams (2020)—Conservation Sciences, CFANS
Does habitat variation influence adhesion morphology and performance in marine sculpins (Cottidae)?
Advisor: Andrew Simons

Shanta Hejmadi (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Evolutionary history, community assembly, and extinction risk in diurnal birds of prey
Advisor: F. Keith Barker

Fellowships

Charles H. Bell Avian Conservation Fund

Ismael E. Ramirez (2020)—Entomology, CFANS
Saving Darwin’s Finches: Assessing the specificity of Conura annulifera, a promising biological control agent against the invasive vampire fly in the Galapagos Islands.
Advisor: George E. Heimpel

Simons Fund

Sam Weaver (2020)—Ecology Evolution and Behavior, CBS
Can hybridization facilitate adaptation to climate change? Exploring patterns of local adaptation and gene flow between two hybridizing species of plethodontid salamanders.
Advisor: Ken Kozak

Dayton Fund

Anya Auerbach (2020)—Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, CBS
Graduate Recruiting Fellowsip
Advisor: Sushma Reddy

Evan T. Whiting (2020)—Earth & Environmental Sciences, CSE
Biogeography and dental ecomorphology of lizards and snakes: exploring modern patterns and the fossil record
Advisor: David L. Fox