Ecological Section Student Travel Awards

Call for Award Nominations: January 1 - April 10, 2015

2014
Rachel Germain, University Of Toronto - Advisor, Dr. Benjamin Gilbert - for the Botany 2014 presentation: "Hidden responses to environmental variation: maternal effects reveal species niche dimensions" Co-author: Benjamin Gilbert

Jessica Peebles Spencer, Miami University - Advisor, Dr. David L. Gorchov - for the Botany 2014 presentation: "Effects of the Invasive Shrub, Lonicera maackii, and a Generalist Herbivore, White-tailed Deer, on Forest Floor Plant Community Composition" Co-author: David L. Gorchov

2013
Melissa Ha, University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Advisor, Dr. Lynn Adler, for the paper “Pollinator-mediated interactions between Clarkia unguiculata and its neighbors are context-dependent” Co-author: Christopher T. Iveyr

Robert Harbert, Cornell University - Advisor, Dr. Kevin Nixon, for the paper “Climate niche, invasiveness, and allopolyploidy: The case of perennial Glycine (Leguminosae)” Co-author: Jeff Doyle

2012
Roxaneh Khorsand Rosa, Florida International University - Advisor, Dr. Suzanne Koptur, for the paper “Floral biology and pollination of an agroforestry palm, Mauritia flexuosa: why field observations are not enough!” Co-authors: Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa and Suzanne Koptur

George Meindl, University of Pittsburgh - Advisor, Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman, for the paper “Edaphic factors and plant-animal interactions: cascading effects of serpentine soils” Co-author: Tia-Lynn Ashman

2011
Rupesh Kariyat, Pennsylvania State University - Advisor, Dr. Andrew Stephenson - Botany 2011 presentation: "Volatile mediated indirect defense signaling is disrupted by inbreeding and genetic variation in Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L) ." Co-author: Andrew Stephenson

Benjamin VanderWeide, Kansas State University - Advisor, Dr. David C. Hartnett - Botany 2011 presentation: "Mark-recapture analysis of herbarium data from the northern Flint Hills of Kansas, USA." Co-authors: Brett Sandercock and Carolyn Ferguson

2010
Tanya Cheeke, Portland State University, Portland, OR - Advisor, Dr. Mitchell B. Cruzan - Botany 2010 presentation: "Transgenic Bt maize: An evaluation of nine different Bt maize isolines on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi."

Keith Bowman, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY - Advisor, Dr. Dr. Robin Kimmerer - Botany 2010 presentation: "The influence of the diaspore (propagule) bank and diaspore rain on bryophyte (moss) community composition in northern white cedar swamps" and "Bringing mosses into the K-12 classroom."

2009
Kelsey L. Dunnell, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND - Advisor, Dr. Steven E. Travers - Botany 2009 presentation: "Early flowering of plants in the Northern Great Plains linked to increasing spring temperatures over 100 years."

Amanda M. Kenney , University of Texas, Austin, TX- Advisor, Dr. Thomas E. Juenger - Botany 2009 presentation: "Selection on water-use efficiency (WUE) in Ipomopsis aggregata - an analysis of the functional relationships among WUE, other ecological traits, and fitness."

2008
Katie Becklin, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO - Advisor, Dr. Candace Galen - Botany 2008 presentation: "The good, the bad, and the costly: Effects of shading and drought on the costs and benefits of mycorrhizae."

Jocelyn Campbell, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC - Advisor, Dr. Cindy Prescott - Botany 2008 presentation: "Expanding the realized niche for cyanolichens in wet-temperate forests of interior British Columbia."

Andrew Simpson, California State University, Chico, CA - Advisor, Dr. Kristina A. Schierenbeck - Botany 2008 presentation: "Multiple causal factors influence propagule size gradients in Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae)."

Meghan Skaer, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA - Advisor, Dr. Hall Cushman - Botany 2008 presentation: "Evaluating the Effects of Cattle Grazing on a Coastal Prairie in Central California."

2007
Rebecca Anderson, Illinois State University, Advisor: Dr. Diane L. Byers for her Botany 2006 presentation entitled: "Selection and Adaptation in Heterogeneous Soil Nutrient Environments".

John Geiger, Florida International University, Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Koptur for his Botany 2007 presentation entitled: "Experimental seed and seedling performance of the endangered vine Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb. (Convolvulaceae).".

Daniel Hewins, Rider University, Advisor: Dr. Laura A. Hyatt for his Botany 2007 presentation entitled: "Jack of All Trades: Biological Invasion Facilitated By Use of Multiple forms of Nitrogen".

2006
Cassandra Boadway, Grand Valley State University, Advisor: Dr. Gary Greer for her Botany 2007 presentation entitled: "Growth and Nodulation in Trifolium repens and Glycine max in Response to Ailanthus altissima Extracts".

Marissa Jernegan, Eastern Illinois University, Advisor: Dr. Janice Coons for her Botany 2006 presentation entitled: "Seed Longevity of Lesquerella ludoviciana, an Endangered Species of the Illinois Sand Prairie".