Current Research
Resolving food webs to species level
Large animals are hard to observe up close, they roam over vast areas, and they often eat tiny plants—identifying specific grasses or wildflowers from afar is nearly impossible. DNA metabarcoding allows us to identify plants they consume by analyzing DNA in their feces, but resolving diets to the species level requires dedication to botany and taxonomy, which are major pillars of my research (see below).
Barcoding the flora of Yellowstone
A cornerstone of my research is the creation of a plant DNA reference library for Yellowstone National Park, enabling precise identification of plant species in herbivore diets by aligning diet sequences with locally verified plant specimens. All sequence data is made available via the Barcode of Life Datasystems (BOLD) for public use.
Linking plant attributes to herbivore diets
Characterizing the functional properties of herbivore diets can help identify key forage resources and reveal the strategies herbivores use to meet their needs. Check back for more.