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.