Elizabeth Crone |she/her|
Professor, UC Davis Department of Evolution & Ecology / Affiliate Professor, Tufts University Biology Department
Keywords: population ecology of bees, butterflies & wildflowers
My research focuses on population ecology, especially of plants and insects, and plant-animal interactions. Specifically, I am interested in how environmental changes translate to changes in population dynamics: For example, is there a simple, linear matching of changes in resources to abundance of consumers, or do interactions among individuals and species moderate these responses? Much of my research also involves developing novel quantitative approaches to predict long-term dynamics from small scale observations and experiments. Current research focuses largely on insect population viability in changing environments, with some continuing work on plant population dynamics and mast-seeding. Past projects include syntheses of structured population dynamics, application of ecological theory to restoration, and some of the best documented examples of cyclical dynamics in plants and spatial metapopulation dynamics in animals. I was also one of the first ecologists to use generalized linear mixed models to parameterize stochastic population models.
Contact: ecrone [at] ucdavis.edu
Postdoctoral scholars
Emily Erickson |she/her| UC Davis
Keywords: Urban ecology, monarchs, plant-pollinator communities
Emily completed her PhD at the Pennsylvania State University in 2021 in Dr. Christina Grozinger’s lab. She is interested in urban ecology and developing practical and impactful solutions for pollinator conservation and habitat management in cities. As a postdoc in the Crone lab, Emily is assessing population dynamics and demography of western monarch butterflies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Contact: ererickson [at] ucdavis.edu
Erin Treanore |she/her| TuftsUniversity
Keywords: Diapause, life history strategies, nutritional ecology, and diapause
Erin completed her graduate work at Pennsylvania State University, where she conducted her Ph.D. work in the Amsalem Lab investigating ecological, evolutionary, and applied questions related to diapause in bumble bees. Her master’s work was conducted in the Fleischer lab also at Penn State, where she investigated how mid-Atlantic agroecosystems could be better managed to support generalist pollinators through targeted cover crop usage. Her research has asked how we can improve the conservation and management of pollinators through the study of their health, physiology, and behavior. More broadly, she is passionate about using her research to refine land management practices and design sustainable agroecosystems.
Contact: etreanore [at] gmail.com
Aramee Diethelm |she/her| UC Davis
Keywords: tritrophic interactions, chemical ecology, invertebrate conservation, natural history, environmental gradients
Aramee earned her PhD from the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology department at the University of Nevada, Reno in Dr. Elizabeth Pringle’s lab. Her doctoral thesis is titled: ‘From plants to predators: investigating the phytochemical landscape from the herbivore’s perspective.’
Aramee is broadly interested in plant-insect-predator dynamics, with a focus on chemical ecology and conservation biology.
Contact: acdiethelm [at] ucdavis.edu
Jessie Thuma |she/her| UC Davis
Keywords: pollinator conservation, plant-pollinator interactions, global change
Jessie completed her PhD at Tufts University with Dr. Philip Starks studying the effects of nutrient enrichment and drought on bumble bee habitat and foraging behavior. She is interested in how drivers of global change affect wild pollinators, particularly in agricultural and urban landscapes. As a post doc with the Crone lab, Jessie is working with the National Park Service to inventory the bees and butterflies of several Boston-area parks to make park management more pollinator-friendly. The project is piloting the use of non-lethal bee survey methods that might be scaled up for use in other NPS parks.
Contact: Jessie.Thuma [at] tufts.edu
Lucia Weinman |she/her| UC Davis
Contact: lweinman [at] ucdavis.edu
Ph.D. Students
Skye Austin |they/them or they/he| UC Davis
Keywords: Conservation biology and ecology, population biology and ecology, ex-situ conservation, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera
Skye completed their Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies at Shenandoah University. Broadly, Skye is interested in conserving insect populations in the face of climate change. Their past work has included heat and host plant effects on butterfly wing morphology and behavior, and in-lab feeding methodology for butterflies. In their free time, Skye enjoys fiber arts, video games, and learning new instruments.
Contact: osaustin [at] ucdavis.edu
Brendan Carson |he/him| Tufts University
Keywords: Disease dynamics, movement ecology, checkerspot butterflies
After studying ecology and anthropology at the University of Michigan, Brendan spent several years teaching experiential ecology to middle school students in Texas and California. He earned an MS in entomology at Michigan State University in 2013, and then worked as a Research Associate and Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago. While at LUC, Brendan helped pioneer innovative research in wetland management and restoration in the Great Lakes and provided mentorship to aspiring young environmental scientists. In 2018 he joined the Biology department at Tufts University to earn a PhD studying under Colin Orians and Elizabeth Crone. “There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing my love of the natural world with others, and I feel privileged to be able to spend my life working towards understanding and stewarding life on this planet.”
Contact: Brendan.Carson [at] tufts.edu
Sylvie Finn |she/her| UC Davis
Keywords: bumble bees, phenology, diapause, life history
Sylvana (Sylvie) Finn started her graduate career with Elizabeth Crone at Tufts University and is now a PhD student in the Graduate Group of Ecology at UC Davis. Her dissertation focuses on phenological variation in a widespread bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii). Her interests lie in life history theory, phenology, and ecology of bumble bees. Sylvie holds a MS in Biology from Tufts University and a BA in Biology from Skidmore College. When not chasing bumble bees, Sylvie likes to play with her cat Oreo.
Contact: srfinn [at] ucdavis.edu
James Michielini |he/him| UC Davis
Keywords: geographic range shifts, butterflies, phenology, pipevine swallowtails
James Michielini started his graduate career with Elizabeth Crone at Tufts University and is now a PhD student in the Population Biology Graduate Group at UC Davis. His research focuses on the urban ecology of butterflies, with focuses on the pipevine swallowtail and cabbage whites as model systems.
Contact: jpmichielini [at] ucdavis.edu
Atticus Murphy |he/him| Tufts University
Keywords: urban conservation, pollinators, social contagion, insect ecology
Atticus attended the University of Toronto for undergrad and has been a PhD student with the Crone Lab at Tufts since 2018. Atticus started his PhD studying movement in monarch butterflies and ant-tending in silvery blues, but since 2020 has primarily been focused on urban gardening. Atticus studies how urban gardening may be socially contagious, leading to the passive spread of this conservation practice through neighborhoods. He also examine the effects of this contagion on ecological processes in insect pollinators (monarchs and bees).
Junior Specialists
Kyle Elshoff |he/him| UC Davis
Keywords: natural history, phenology, biotic interactions, species ranges
I began working with the Crone Lab after graduating from UC Davis in 2024 with a degree in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity and a minor in Insect Biology. Prior to this, I worked as a student research assistant in Dr. Robert Lusardi’s freshwater ecology lab, where I conducted an honors thesis comparing aquatic invertebrate community composition across a diversion dam on a local creek. My passion for California’s native plants also led me to act as co-president of the Davis Rewilding Society, an on-campus organization that has brought more native gardens to campus. As a Crone Lab member, I assist with a variety of research projects, including contributing to a long-term dataset monitoring bumble bee nesting patterns in Massachusetts. I also currently explore species-specific differences in bumble bee phenology across latitudinal and temperature gradients in eastern North America using data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). When not in the lab or the field, you can find me reading, hiking, or identifying observations on iNaturalist.
Contact: kcelshoff [at] ucdavis.edu
Haylie Wilcox |she/her| UC Davis
Undergraduate Students
Kaelin Campbell (EVE Scholars Program, UC Davis)
Makayla Finn (EEREC Program, UC Davis)
Giana Buraglio (REU, UC Davis)
Former Cronies
Postdoctoral Scholars
Collin Edwards (2019-2023) – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Michal Bogdziewicz (2019-2021) – Professor Adam Mickiewicz University
Rachael Bonoan (2018-2020) – Assistant Professor at Providence College
David Iles (2016-2017) – Environment and Climate Change Canada
Ailene Ettinger (2014-2018) – Quantitative Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy
Leone Brown (2013-2015) – Assistant Professor at James Madison University
Joshua Rapp (2011-2014) – Regional Scientist, Mass Audubon
Norah Warchola (2011-2017) – Experiential Learning Coordinator (Biology, Genetics and Environmental Science), Iowa State University
Rui Zhang (2011-2012) – Business Analyst, Google
Greg Breed (2011-2012) – Assosiate Professor, University of Alaska (Fairbanks)
Jedediah Brodie (2009-2010) – Professor, University of Montana
Jennifer Williams (2008) – Associate Professor, University of British Columbia
Mark Buckley (2005-2006) – Senior Economist, ECONorthwest
Eliot McIntire (2004-2006) – Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service
Doctoral Students
Nick Dorian (Tufts University, Ph.D. 2023) – Postdoctoral Scholar at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Genevieve Pugesek (Tufts University, Ph.D. 2021) – Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, Xerces Society
Natalie Kerr (Tufts University, Ph.D. 2019) – Visiting Assistant Professor at Duke University
Martha Ellis (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2013) – Research Scientist, Montana State University
Julie Beston (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2010) – Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin (Stout)
Jennifer Gremer (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2010) – Associate Professor, University of California (Davis)
Rebecca McCaffery (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2010) – Research Scientist, USGS Biological Survey
Kimberly Crider (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2009) – Resource Manager, Klamath National Forest
Rafał Zwolak (University of Montana, Ph.D. 2008) – Assistant Professor, Adam Mickiewiscz University
Robyn Irvine (University of Calgary, Ph.D. 2004) – Restoration Ecologist, Parks Canada; co-founder/owner Poisson Consulting.
Masters Students
Karen Dooley (M.S. 2024)
Tonya Chilton (M.Sc. 2006)
Kerry Moffatt (M.Sc. 2003)
Norah Saona (M.Sc. 2002)
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Students
Hajnalka Pinter, B.Sc. (Ecology, University of Calgary), 1999
Sheri Bouchard, B.Sc. (Ecology, University of Calgary), 1999
Janet Summerscales, B.Sc. (Ecology, University of Calgary), 2000
Karilynn Sweet, B.Sc. (Ecology, University of Calgary), 2001
Claire Solohub, B.Sc. (Ecology, University of Calgary), 2001
Brian Laub, B.S. (Wildlife Biology, University of Montana), 2004
Josh Nowak, B.S. (Wildlife Biology, University of Montana), 2007
Alexis Jones, B.S. (Botany, University of Montana), 2007
Nick Dorian, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2016
Lauren Redosh, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2016
James Michielini, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2019
Max McCarthy , B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2020
Emma Maria Ostapovich , B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2020
Hanna Brush, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2021
Alexandra Wolf, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2021
Karen Dooley, B.S. (Biology, Tufts University), 2022
Chloe Markovits, B.S. (Biology, Tufts Univeristy), 2023
REU, Tufts Summer Scholars, UC Davis EEREC and EVE Scholars (if not mentioned as honors students)
Lydia Molina (Education, Northwestern University), 2003
Felix Nez (Biology, Salish-Kootenay College), 2003
Ray Yurkewiscz (Wildlife Biology, University of Montana), 2004
Glendaly Torres (Environmental Studies, University of Puerto Rico), 2005
Elizabeth Miller (Mathematics, Carleton College), 2006
Desiree Oyola (Biology, University of Puerto Rico), 2010
Dash Donnelly (Wildlife Biology, Montana State University), 2011
Aubrie James (Ecology, University of Iowa), 2012 (with postdoc Greg Breed)
Casey Mangnall (English, Oregon State University, 2012 (with postdoc Josh Rapp)
Kelsey McKenna (Physics, Harvard University), 2012 (with Ph.D. student James Crall)
Hailley Coffman (summer 2014, with postdoc Leone Brown)
Michelle Santana (summer 2015, with postdoc Norah Warchola)
Eliot Kemper (summer 2015)
Alice Kazberouk (summer 2016)
Annkia Greenleaf (summer 2017, with Ph.D. student Genevieve Pugesek)
Janelle Bouman (summer 2018, with postdoc Leone Brown)
Carolyn Burtt (summer 2018, with Ph.D. student Genevieve Pugesek)
Cassandra Carroll (summer 2018, with postdoc Leone Brown)
Shan Ming Gao (summer 2018, with postdoc Leone Brown)
Siobhan Pascal (summer 2019, with postdoc Leone Brown)
Ben Shamgochian (summer 2021, with Ph.D. student Nick Dorian)
Michael Song (summer 2021, with postdoc Collin Edwards)
Kaitlin Walters (summer 2022, with Ph.D. student James Michielini)
Kristina McEvoy (summer 2022, with Ph.D. students Atticus Murphy and Nick Dorian)
Blythe Elderd (summer 2023, with MS student Karen Dooley)
Haylie Wilcox (summer 2023, with Ph.D. student Sylvie Finn)
Samantha Hubbard (summer 2023, with Ph.D. student James Michielini)