We are looking for the BioLEAPS Project Coordinator. Please apply here. 

Kusum is starting her rotation as NSF Program Director in Ecosystem Science cluster!

We are proud to welcome Mitchell in our group as a Visiting Assistant Professor!

Kusum presented results from the rice phenotyping work at the International Symposium on Rice Functional Genomics in Little Rock. September 9-11, 2024.  

Congratulations to Eston for successfully completing his candidacy exam!  🎉 🎈

Kusum Visited Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea for KSMB-SMB 2024 Meeting.

Congratulations to Chris on his well-deserved graduation and new position as Biology Instructor! 🎉 Wishing you all the best as you embark on this exciting new chapter of your life.

We had a great time at the IALE-NA meeting in OKC! I am proud of all of you for delivering amazing presentations, accepting audience feedback gracefully, and making thoughtful professional connections.

We (IALE-NA Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee) received a five year IMPLEMENTATION award from NSF for Shifting Culture and Mitigating Inequities in Landscape Ecology Through a Collaborative Network of Professional Societies. 

Please apply for the summer 2024 EcoREU Program. 

Congratulations to Dr. Ayanna St Rose on her well-deserved graduation and multiple job offers! 🎉 Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we can't wait to hear about your next adventures! Wishing you all the best as you embark on this exciting new chapter of your life.

Please contact Kusum if you are interested in submitting abstract to the Next Gen Sensors workshop at the Plant and Genome Meeting in January 2024. 

Congratulations to Alexis for successfully completing her candidacy exam!

Our recent work shows that field conditions are best suited to quantify phenotypic differences across different genotypes and non-sequential method was better at capturing the variability in photosynthesis.  

Eston and Kusum visited ICIPE in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kusum visited International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Nairobi, Kenya.

Kusum visited Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Kusum presented Borneo project work at the IALE-World Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Eston presented a poster on adaptive fisheries management at the IALE-World Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ayanna presented a poster on remote sensing tools for multi-trophic biodiversity estimation at the IALE-World Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Megan is visiting the campus for sharing her experience with the EcoREU cohort this summer!

Congratulations to Harrison for the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Predoctoral Fellowship!

Alexis and Ayanna are learning how to use NEON data at NEON Unconference  in Boulder this summer! 

Congratulations to Alexis on the summer internship at NJ States Parks as a Yale Environmental Fellow! 

Congratulations to Eston on the summer internship at ORNL!

Ayanna is learning how to use NEON data with NCAR models at a NEON/NCAR Workshop in Boulder this summer! 

Congratulations to Yang Kai on his well-deserved graduation! 🎉 Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we are thrilled to see you embark on this exciting new chapter of your life. Wishing you all the best as you dive into your internship! May this opportunity be filled with growth and learning experiences. You've got this! 

Thank you everyone for your hard work!!!

We are proud to welcome Robert in our group as a new PhD student!

Kusum organized a symposium at the annual meeting of IALE-North America

Our recent work shows a network of networks approach to macrosystems biology research. 

Our recent work shows that logging and forest conversion significantly affect soil microbial diversity and can have lasting effects on carbon cycling in tropical montane forests. 

Congratulations to Eston for successfully completing his qualifying exams! 

Ayanna presented her work at the Black Geoscientists Conference in Houston, TX. 

Alexis presented her work at the joint meeting of the ESA & the CSIEE in Montreal, Canada. 

Read our recent work on successes, pitfalls, and opportunities for developing open education resources through community-driven collaborations.  

Our recent work shows that global food and beverage industry lacks transparency on climate goals and targets, and needs a clear path for monitoring, reporting, and verification of GHG emissions.

Read our recent work highlighting the role of NEON data for next generation ecology research and education. 

Please include your ideas for making IALE-North America more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.   

Kusum participated as panelist in a plenary session of IALE-North America to support DEI efforts in the society. 

Become a DEI ambassador and mentor for IALE-North America. 

Ayanna presented her work at IALE-North America annual meeting. 

neonMicrobe: R package for analyzing NEON marker gene sequence data. 

Kusum shared lab's work at the Murray State University. 

Kusum participated in NSF sponsored workshop on sustainable food and agriculture systems. Read the full report here. 

Eston received the Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship to pursue ENDY doctoral degree. Congratulations and welcome to the group. 

Marvin joined the group for summer REU research. Welcome to Fayetteville. 

Kusum received OMNI Keeling/Hansen Climate Science Award

Kusum participated in the Girls in STEM workshop organized by the museum of discovery in Little Rock. 

We received NSF-REU award for training undergraduate students in ecological theory and methods! 

Yang joined the group as MS student. Welcome to the group!

Our recent work shows that logging and forest conversion significantly affect soil microbial diversity and can have lasting effects on carbon cycling in tropical montane forests. 

Our recent work estimated first decadal (2006 – 2015) sediment deficit for coastal Louisiana based on field data. 

Our recent work shows that using nests with paper liners may accelerate pollinator population establishment and propagation in commercial orchards.

Alexis received the Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship to pursue ENDY doctoral degree. Congratulations and welcome to the group! 

Kusum participated in NEON Workshop as guest speaker. 

Renee, Megan, JB, and Kusum presented in the ESA Meeting.

We received NSF EAGER grant to work with NEON Soils!

Megan did a great job on her candidacy exam. She is a doctoral candidate now!!!

Ashley graduated with a B. A. in African and African American Studies, and a B.A. in Biology. Many congratulations and all the best for your future adventures!

Application for the spring 2020 will open in November.

Kusum attended BioQUEST/QUBES summer 2019 workshop on data science. Evolution of Data in the Classroom: From Data to Data Science

Kusum presented Borneo sustainable agroforestry work at 10th IALE World Congress. 

Elizabeth defended her honors thesis successfully. Congratulations!

Connor defended his honors thesis successfully. Congratulations!

Renee presented Borneo sustainable agroforestry work at US-IALE meeting. 

Shaffer L. J., Khadka K. K., Van Den Hoek J. & Naithani K. J. (2019) Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 6:235.

Moon J. B., Wardrop D. H., Smithwick E. A. H.  & Naithani K. J. (2019) Fine-scale spatial homogenization of microbial habitats: a multivariate index of headwater wetland complex condition. Ecological Applications. 29(1), e0181.

Ayanna joined the group as a doctoral student. Welcome to the group!

Please fill the survey if you are interested in plants and environment measurements. 

The workshop at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting was a success. 

Megan presented rice photosynthesis work at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting.

Kusum was invited to share her work at International Workshop on Mathematical Biology, Bohol, Philippines. 

Kusum visited Ramaiah University-Bengaluru, India and shared her research. 

Kusum visited Wildlife Institute of India-Dehradun to start a new collaboration. 

JB moved to Franklin & Marshall College. Our best wishes for your future!

Renee, JB, Abby, and Kusum spent the summer in Borneo digging soils in tropical montane forests.

We welcomed Megan Reavis in the group. She will work on the Rice project for her doctoral dissertation. Congratulations for receiving the Doctoral Academy Fellowship from the university!

We welcomed Connor Perkins in the group. He is working on comparing an expensive commercial soil CO2 flux measurement systems with an inexpensive custom made system for his honors thesis. 

Kusum is selected to participate in NEON/QUBES Faculty Mentoring Network.

Kusum visited TERI School of Advance Studies, New Delhi, India for a seminar.

Our recent work shows that development of consistent and transparent practices for model selection are needed for successful model transfer.

Our recent work shows a new catchment-scale stratification scheme.

Dr. Jen Shaffer visited the lab and shared her research with Biology and Anthropology departments. 

We welcomed Renee Sniegocki in the group. She will work on Borneo project for her master thesis

Andy and Kusum received NSF funding to study genetic variation in rice photosynthesis.

Kusum received NSF funding to study tropical montane forest in Borneo. Read more about the project here.

Jackson successfully defended his thesis. Congratulations!

He will start Medical School in fall 2016. Our best wishes for your future!

We welcomed Caroline in the group. She will work on her senior thesis.

We welcomed Elizabeth in the group. She will work on rice project for her honors thesis.

Kusum received the Faculty Equipment and Technology Grant from the Honors College.

JB presented model transferability work at ESA in Portland.

Kusum received Robert C. and Sandra Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowship Award.

Jackson and Kusum received Honors College Research Grant to study rice genotypes. Read more about the project here. 

Jackson received the Louise Russert-Kraemer Endowed in Biological Sciences scholarship. Congratulations!

Kusum presented rice project work at the Plant and Animal Genome meeting in SanDiego.

JB, Jackson, Maddy and Kusum are presenting at the fall meeting of AGU.

Maddy received REU Travel Grant. Congratulations!

Maddy presented her summer research project at Arkansas Water Resources Center Annual Conference and at REU Expo at the University of Arkansas. She received 3rd place in poster presentation and returned home after spending a successful summer in Fayetteville. We wish you well for your future success.

Jack, Marty and Kusum received funding from BASF Co. for working on monarch butterfly habitat restoration. See Arkansas Newswire.

 (Maddy) joined the group as an NSF-REU student to work on the Rice Project.

Zach left UofA to focus on his health and work with animals. Our best wishes for your future! 

Carly successfully defended her thesis and graduated magna cum laude. Congratulations!

She is starting Dental School in fall 2016. Our best wishes for your future!

Jackson received the Honors College Research and Travel Grants and Kusum received the Honors College Mentor's Award for the rice project. Congratulations!

Kusum received outstanding mentor award from UofA's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards for mentoring Carly Konzelman. Congratulations!

Our recent work shows that interpretation of nutrient limitation in grasslands is dependent on the grain used to measure grass response and that herbivory had a secondary effect.

Our recent work shows that orchard environment and crop management practices significantly influenced codling moth flight phenology. 

Our recent work shows that landscape metrics can be utilized to predict wetland microbial communities.

Carly received Honors College Travel Grant for presenting her work at a research conference. Congratulations!

Bhaskar moved to NC State for a new position to work on land atmosphere interaction. Our best wishes for your future success!

Jackson Massanelli joined the group as honors undergraduate researcher. 

Welcome Jackson!

Carly received SURF Grant from the AR Department of Higher Education. Congratulations!

Bhaskar and JB presented results at the fall meeting of AGU.

Our recent paper shows that plant phenology drives seasonal fluxes more than abiotic measurements.

JB and Kusum presented at 100th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America.

We welcome a new member, Zachary Starr into the group. Congratulations for receiving Doctoral Academy Fellowship!

Dan presented his summer research project at Arkansas Water Resources Center Annual Conference and at REU Expo at the University of Arkansas. He returned home (Boston) after spending a hot (literally) and successful summer in Fayetteville. We wish you well for your future success.

Daniel (Dan) Bereznyakov joined the group as NSF-REU student for the summer.

Carly received the Louise Russert-Kraemer award in Biological Sciences. Congratulations!

Our STEM Leadership workshop for middle school girls was a success!

Kusum was invited to present her carbon upscaling work at NACP and Ameriflux PI meeting in Washington DC.

Carly Konzelman joined the group as an undergraduate honors student. She is working with Kusum on ReBUILD Project. Welcome to the group!

Dr. Jessica Moon (JB) joined the group as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Welcome to the group and U of A!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Dr. Bhaskar Mitra joined the lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Welcome to the group and UofA!

Kusum visited University of Wyoming for Women in STEM seminar

Kusum presented and taught a workshop at the Ecological Society of America Meeting. 

Read our recent paper showing that common microhabitat preference and limited dispersal are the main drivers for rockcress spatial distribution. 

Two postdoctoral positions are available to work on biogeochemical cycling in natural and managed systems in northwest Arkansas region. Please apply online.