Kyla is a PhD student working on research examining factors influencing small scale strawberry production on urban and suburban farms and gardens in the Detroit metropolitan area. In particular, her research focuses on evaluating the role of beneficial insects, including pollinators and natural enemies. Kyla received a Master’s degree in Sustainability prior to joining the lab. And, she plans to pursue a career in conservation focusing on the advancement of ecological research in urban settings through storytelling and social engagement.

Rob’s research focuses on the chemical ecology of plant-insect-microbe interactions. He completed his MS in Biology in the Jamieson lab in Dec 2020. His thesis investigated how herbivory and mycorrhizal inoculation influence strawberry floral volatiles and pollinator attraction. His research evaluates how biotic interactions influence plant physiological, growth, reproduction, and chemistry. Rob also has experience with and an interest in ecological restoration. He is currently a research manager in our lab.

Anna’s research evaluated how local and landscape scale environmental attributes affected insect pollinators in the Detroit metropolitan area. She surveyed plants and insect floral visitors at 14 sites across an urban-rural gradient, examining plant-pollinator networks across different habitats. This project investigated how well farms and gardens supported pollinators in comparison to restored natural areas in southeastern Michigan. Anna is now working as a researcher at a USDA Agricultural Research Station in Washington state.

Caleb’s research examined how urbanization influences bee communities in the metro-Detroit area. He found that the effects of urbanization depended on floral resource availability at the site-level and bee functional traits. In particular, his work also showed that social bees, such as bumble bees, were negatively affected by urbanization, while some non-native bee species were positively influenced. After graduating, Caleb joined the Department of Entomology as a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Steve Frank.