Hello all,

My name is Jared Beck and I am joining Team Echinacea for 2014. I graduated from Carleton College in March 2014 with degree in Biology. While at Carleton, I worked extensively in tallgrass prairies studying herbivore effects on plant communities and edge effects in grassland bird communities.

Although my roots lie in plant community ecology (please excuse the pun), I am broadly interested in how anthropogenic changes influence the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of natural communities. This summer, I would like to explore how fire influences the spatial and temporal flowering dynamics of Echinacea angustifolia populations in remnant prairies.

I am excited to join the Echinacea Project and I am eager to continue learning about the prairie and its inhabitants!