PI: Dr. Ben Lee

Ben is a climate change ecologist primarily interested in how forests will respond to ongoing climate change. He is especially interested in how shifts in phenology - the timing of repeated life history events such as flowering and leaf expansion - alter how plants interact with resource availability and with other organisms. Other research interests of his include species invasions, climate change effects on biodiversity and community composition, and patterns of carbon storage and allocation in trees and forests.

Email: LeeBR1@etsu.edu

Project leads

Elizabeth Howe - MSc. student

Liz is interested in how environmental conditions structure biotic interactions in temperate forest understory environments. She is quantifying elevational tradeoffs between growing season length, access to spring light, and photosynthetic efficiency for communities of spring ephemeral wildflowers.

Erin Helbert - MSc. student

Erin is interested in plant community ecology and specifically how invasive species affect biotic interactions between native forest plants. In addition to her research, Erin enjoys gardening and volunteering in community conservation and restoration organizations.

Maggie Coffey - MSc. student

Maggie joins the lab from working as a wildlife conservation technician at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Her research focuses on understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of native brook trout throughout the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Sidney Booher - Undergrad

Sidney is researching how hemlock woolly adelgid infestations affect tree competition in Appalachian forests. Specifically, she is investigating whether and how hemlock mortality events release neighboring trees from competition. She is a proud TRIO McNair scholar.

Emma Bradley - Undergrad

Emma's research project focuses on riverbank plant communities in the wake of damage from Hurricane Helene. Specifically, she is exploring the role that native rivercane planting can have in meeting restoration goals. Emma is passionate about ecological conservation and is excited to develop her skills in fieldwork research as part of the lab team.

Jared Greer - Undergrad

Jared researches how climate change affects the phenological synchrony among male and female plants of dioecious plant species, specifically northern spicebush. He is passionate about land and wildlife management.