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Echinacea Project 2018
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 2017-
Biology, St. Olaf College, 2015
Research Interests
I’m interested in how bees move pollen between isolated plant populations and whether this movement maintains connectivity between populations, potentially mitigating the genetic and demographic decline caused by habitat fragmentation and small population sizes. This summer, I’m hoping to understand this better by starting a project to look at pollen movement within and among the remnant populations of Echinacea, and how these movement patterns relate to individuals’ spatial isolation and phenology.
Statement
Hey flog, I’m back! I used to be an intern with Team Echinacea and now I’m a grad student in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. In my free time I like to garden, read, bake, cook, swim, run, ski, and fish! I’m very excited to be back in western Minnesota again this summer. I’m especially looking forward to collecting exciting data, learning about the exciting new projects the team is starting, eating watermelon, and writing flog posts! In the future, I hope to understand how habitat fragmentation affects the way bees move pollen around landscapes and win a trollphy at Flekkefest.
 Here’s me with some flowers!
Biology and Environmental Studies, Tufts University 2018
Research Interests
I have been interested in plants since I was old enough to explore the woods in my backyard. Since then, I have done research on plants throughout my college career everywhere from Costa Rica to Iceland and found myself incredibly intrigued by how changing landscapes affect ecosystem dynamics, particularly plant-insect interactions. I have never before been a part of a research project that has been as long-term as the Echinacea Project, nor have I ever been to the long grass prairie, let alone researched it.
Statement
I grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts about 20 miles west of Boston, and just graduated to Tufts University about a month ago. In my free time, I enjoy running, hiking, reading, or just about any activity that involves being outdoors. I hope in the future to make field biology my career, and am very excited to join Team Echinacea!
Echinacea Project 2018
Environmental Science, Wellesley College 2022
Research Interests
Growing up on a dairy farm, I am passionate about creating a sustainable planet and, of course, my cows! I would like to learn more about Minnesota prairie and plants like Echinacea angustifolia to better understand how to create more sustainable agricultural practices and make agriculture beneficial to all consumers and the environment.
So, this summer I am open to studying anything from pollinators to phenology to help me understand more about conserving the resources and land we have now.
Statement
I am from Glenwood, MN about half an hour south-east of the project base. As I mentioned above, my family owns and operates Dorrich Dairy. Even though I do not plan on majoring in agriculture at this point, I hope to maybe work with it in some aspect in the future. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, baking, traveling, eating pie, and playing tennis.
Echinacea Project 2018
Biology, College of Wooster 2020
Research Interests
I spent the last year working in the Ison lab at Wooster exploring pollinator efficiency of the American Bellflower and finishing lab work on interspecific pollen diversity of Echinacea which is carried by different solitary bees. This work and a population & community ecology class I took showed me how delicate mutualisms are. Also how the species involved control said mutualism. Another area of interest of mine is how plants respond to their environment.
Statement
I am a junior biology major and environmental studies minor at the College of Wooster. I grew up in Buffalo, NY, (and no it doesn’t always snow there). I spend the majority of my free time knitting and enjoying the great outdoors. I do this outdoor exploring with my trusty sidekick, my dog Ellie.
Echinacea Project 2018
Biology and Environmental Studies, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, 2020
Research Interests
Last summer, I participated in a project which monitored flower phenology and I absolutely loved it. This fascination with flowers and the impact of humans on ecosystems drew me to the Echinacea Project. My research interests fall within the realms of environmental science and conservation ecology. I’m interested in the impact of climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species on ecosystems as well as plant-pollinator relationships and any research applicable to conservation and restoration efforts.
Statement
I’m originally from Olathe, Kansas and am currently attending college in Minnesota. Recently, I’ve become interested in climate justice activism because I feel it is unjust that environmental degradation tends to impact the least privileged populations first and worst. In my spare time I like to hike, play violin, try new foods, and play soccer.
Echinacea Project 2018
History, Carleton College 2019
Research Interests
As a history major, I am interested in researching historical relationships with and understandings of the landscape. In addition to history, I am interested in ecology and conservation. I have taken several courses on ecology, evolution, and environmental studies at Carleton College. Last summer, with the Carleton Ecology Lab, I researched plant community composition in the Carleton Arboretum tallgrass prairie restorations in south Minnesota. This experience helped me hone my research interests and sparked my interests in tallgrass prairie ecology, plant population and community ecology, and habitat restoration. At the Echinacea project, I am excited to research continue learning about tallgrass prairie ecology, and I am specifically interested in prairie fragmentation and its effects on prairie plant communities and plant-pollinator interactions.
Statement
I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and I have been attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota for the last three years. Upon graduation from Carleton, I plan on pursuing a graduate degree in a conservation-related field. In my free time, I enjoy playing guitar and tennis, birding, hiking, and baking. I am excited to be a part of Team Echinacea this Summer!
Pre-Medical, Concordia College 2022
Research Interests
I am interested in studying and learning more about plant identification, pollination, and behavior of bees. For my current job as an environmental technician, part of what I do is classify wetland plants. I am definitely an amateur and would like to learn more about scientific names and different plant distinctions that lead you to figuring out what species it is. Pollination is another interest of mine because quite honestly I don’t know much about it. Finally, bees are also an interest. Bees are so important to the ecosystem and learning more about them would be very interesting. I love learning about new things, so I am open to studying anything this summer.
Statement
I grew up out in the country north of Morris, Minnesota and have been here my entire life. Morris is an agricultural community about 30 miles from where the Echinacea Project is. I enjoy various outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, hiking, and spending days at the lake. I also enjoy traveling across the United States and Canada. I currently work as an environmental technician for an environmental consulting company. I am planning on going for Pre-Med at Concordia College (a recent change of my major), but my fall back plan is Biology/Earth Science to eventually become an environmental scientist.
Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College 2019
Research Interests
I am interested in a wide variety of ecological disciplines, but I have found that population ecology and population genetics have come to the forefront of my interests. Additionally, I am interested in physiological adaptations and how these can vary within populations. I am excited to work with Team Echinacea because it will give me the chance to perform intensive field research with a group of individuals who have similar goals and interests as myself! More specifically, I hope to study within and between remnant mating of Echinacea and how this can affect fitness or physiology of individuals within the populations.
Statement
I grew up and lived my whole life in Bloomington, Minnesota, less than a mile from the Minnesota River. In my free time I enjoy hiking, outdoor leisure activities (softball, hammocking, etc…), and enjoying time with friends and family. I have a special spot in my heart for statistics and last summer applied my training to helping out with medical research at the University of Minnesota’s Schulze Diabetes Institute, where my father was previously cured of his Type I Diabetes.
Echinacea Project 2018
Biology, College of Wooster 2020
Research Interests
Ever since I was a kid I’ve always had an interest in forensics. It wasn’t until my second year in college that I started developing a passion for studying ecology. I decided to take a gateway to ecology, evolution, and organismal course as well as an agricultural entomology course and have enjoyed the subject matter. I’m not fully committed to the subject yet, but I am looking forward to working in the field this summer!
Statement
I’m from Chicago, Illinois and I am currently working in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s lab. I’m currently working in the Plant Science Center where I’m cleaning Echinacea heads, identifying pollen, and becoming familiar with the types of bees that visit Echinaceas. When I’m not working in the lab, I’m at home spending time with my family or making music.
During the summer of 2017, Lea and I carried out a project we called “Rich Hood” (richness of floral neighborhoods). This involved setting up 2 x 2 m square plots around Echinacea plants in the remnants, and getting cover class estimations for all species present. We also harvested flowering Echinacea heads, and there is more specific information in the flog post about reproductive fitness in the remnants. Nina Denne, a student at Carleton, completed an externship project comparing the floral neighborhood with the seed set of the collected Echinacea heads.
On May 6th and May 7th, 2018, I returned achenes to the remnants that were not sampled for the x-ray. I returned achenes to all the remnants that were in our study except for Landfill and SPP, which will hopefully be rematriated later this spring. At each site, I staked to points where heads had been collected (using stake file stakeReturnRichHood.csv), found the matching tags within the plot, and spread achenes in about a 20 cm radius around last year’s stalk. In some cases, if I couldn’t find the tag within a reasonable time of searching, I spread the achenes around the point I staked to.
It was nice to see what the remnants looked like in the spring, but I didn’t see any tiny Echinacea rosettes yet. Some of last year’s heads out there had dispersed all of their achenes, but many were still holding on to a few.
 An Echinacea head with a few achenes left to disperse.
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