Who Am I

I am a community ecologist and conservation biologist in the Landscape Conservation Initiative at Northern Arizona University. I received my PhD in Ecology from the University of California-Davis, in the lab of Dr. Marcel Rejmánek. For my dissertation work, I studied dispersal of non-native plants by native birds in California. I was a David H. Smith Conservation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California-Santa Cruz, working with Dr. Erika Zavaleta. My postdoctoral research examined pollination of endemic Hawaiian plants by non-native birds.

My current research projects include examination of the impacts of invasive predators on pollinators in Hawaii; assessment of factors driving biodiversity on islands and in mainland ecosystems; spatial prioritization of species-focused conservation and restoration activities across landscapes in the arid southwestern US; exploration of pollinator communities and their response to resource availability across landscapes; and examination of the implications for interactions of shifts in communities and species in response to climate change.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Landscape Conservation Initiative. The LCI performs solutions-oriented research linking cutting-edge research tools and stakeholder participation to design and perform biological research geared toward addressing pressing environmental problems.

When I’m not in the lab or in the field, I can be found reveling in the mountains and canyons of northern Arizona with my two kids and author husband, Austin Aslan.