Team

Michaela Hayer

Hayer’s interests include the role of microbial communities in structuring plant communities and vice versa. Current Projects Using network analyses to understand how invasion of non-native plants influence microbial community interactions Using quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP) to investigate microbial responses to environmental perturbation Selected Publications Schwartz, E., M. Hayer, Read more…
By Ecoss, ago
Lifen Jiang

Lifen Jiang

Dr. Lifen Jiang got her Ph.D. in Botany. Her past research was to explore carbon cycle as affected by forest succession and plant invasion. Her current research interest includes ecosystem responses to global change and uncertainty in modeling ecosystem carbon dynamics and model evaluations and improvements. Meanwhile, she has been Read more…
By Ecoss, ago

Benjamin Koch

Koch’s research explores how interactions among organisms regulate and are regulated by the cycling of energy and materials in ecosystems. He studies primarily the ecology of streams and rivers. He uses detailed natural history observations, field experiments, and quantitative modeling to reveal how ecosystems work, with the aim of improving Read more…
By ecossuser, ago
Portrait of Rebecca Mau

Rebecca Mau

Research Interests Mau is broadly interested in better understanding how ecological principles from macroecology translate to the microbial world. With the use of a novel technique developed in her lab, quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP), she can not only see what organisms are active in the soil, but can quantitatively Read more…
By ecossuser, ago
Kate Peterson Portrait

Kate Petersen

As an experienced science writer and Arizona native, Kate Petersen helps Ecoss and its McAllister program connect and communicate its work with communities on and beyond the Colorado Plateau. Prior to joining Ecoss, Kate was a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing and a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. She holds Read more…
By Christina Schaedel, ago
Portrait of Jeff Propster

Jeff Propster

Research Interests Propster is generally interested in soil ecology and microbial nutrient cycling. His current research involves investigating mycorrhizal fungal production in tropical forests (Global Ecosystem Monitoring Network) and its role in carbon cycling and climate feedbacks. He is also interested in using molecular techniques to characterize soil microbial communities Read more…
By ecossuser, ago

Michael Wulf

Michael is a lab manager currently working in the Marks lab. His role is to aid in the research of the many graduate students present in the lab, and oversee general lab upkeep. Most research he aids with is in the realm of freshwater ecology. With a background in molecular Read more…
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Lydia Bailey

Lydia’s research focuses on improving restoration success in the Mojave Desert, particularly though the use of biological soil crust (biocrust). She is investigating methods for restoring biocrust in highly disturbed soils, and how increased biocrust impacts soil function and vascular plant communities. She also works on developing methods to support Read more…
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Jeremy Forsythe

Jeremy Forsythe’s research focuses on the ecological mechanisms behind terrestrial plant community assembly, disturbance recovery, and the patterns of biodiversity. He combines field-based measurements of plant demographics & carbon stocks, in-situ greenhouse gas exchange observations from eddy covariance, vegetation indices from satellite remote sensing, and advanced quantitative/statistical methodologies from ecoinformatics Read more…
By Alanna Patterson, ago