Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2017-2018
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management
Research Summary:When animals enter new habitats, they often compete with native species for limited resources. Stronger competitors can drive away weaker competitors, but we are often unsure of how species out-compete one another. To fill this gap, I study parasitic wasps that are introduced to farms for controlling pest insects. The introductions set up a natural experiment to study competition between new and existing species. My research increases our knowledge of how environments respond to new species. This information is important for understanding the threat from plants and animals that invade existing habitats.