Sarah Bisbing, PhD
Assistant Professor of Forest Ecosystem Science
Director, Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area
sbisbing@unr.edu

​Sarah joined UNR in Fall 2017 after four years as an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly – SLO. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana and a PhD in Ecology from Colorado State University. Her research investigates the role that climate, landscape connectivity, and local adaptation play in determining the abundance and distribution of western conifers. She is specifically interested in the ecological, biogeographic, and evolutionary processes that drive demographic patterns and species distributions. Sarah’s teaching emphasizes field-based learning, and she is always up for a trip to a Sierra Nevada forest.

​In the Spring of 2020, Sarah was named the Director of the Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area where she will be responsible for the leadership, programs, and administration of the forest, a 2,650 acre area located on the western edge of Washoe Valley.

When not teaching and researching, you can find her exploring the natural world with her baby boy or running, biking, or climbing with the lab mascot, Dawkins the Dog.

Bisbing Lab Summer 2020 (L-R): Dr. Ali Urza, Conor Phelan, Lacey Hankin, Sula (dog), Dr. Kellen Nelson, Bryant Nagelson, Tessa Putz, Chuck Lewis

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Graduate Students

Lacey Hankin
PhD Student

Lacey joined the lab after receiving her MS in Systems Ecology at the University of Montana, Missoula, and her BA from Williams College in Biology and History. She is interested in understanding the patterns and mechanisms of seedling establishment and success following disturbances in the context of ongoing global change, particularly in the arid forests of the Great Basin. Lacey spends all her non-school time skiing, mountain biking, and trail running with her dog!

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Matthew Terzes
M.S. Student

Matt is focusing on ecological and microclimatic conditions that drive disease, mortality, and regeneration throughout Pinus radiata populations. In his thesis work, Matt is assessing the interactions between local insect communities and pine pitch cancer (Fusarium circinatum) on mortality in P. radiata stands . One of his favorite aspects of ecological research is the fact that every day in the field provides new observations and opportunities to learn. Matt received his BS in Forestry and Natural Resources from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Spring 2015 and worked as a technician in the lab through Summer 2016.

Bryant Nagelson
M.S. Student

Bryant graduated from the University of Washington in 2016with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource Management. Alongside county foresters he designed silvicultural treatments for improving carbon storage in hardwood-dominated forests throughout the Puget Sound. After a few field seasons in the Pacific NW and Northern Rockies, he found himself in majestic mixed-conifers forests of the Sierra Nevada. He is now unable to walk by a large Jefferey pine without giving it a good smell. Bryant joined the lab in the spring of 2020. He asks questions about the compositional and structural legacies of past management regimes, and studies how modern practices are preparing forests for a hotter and drier future. His thesis will examine natural regeneration trends and environments in heavily-treated and drought-impacted forests.

Technical Staff

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Hunter Noble
​Manager, Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Hunter is a fire ecologist and aspiring California RPF who is interested in how forest management practices can be used to replicate and reintroduce historic disturbance regimes to establish resilience and restore forest structure in addition to meeting the diverse needs of stakeholders and society. His masters’ thesis focused on the use of prescribed burning in young stands and the relationship of age to crown damage. Hunter has worked with individuals from a variety of fields at the private, state, and federal level, emphasizing that a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary to tackle the issues that western forests face today.  He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in forestry from UC Berkeley, where he was advised by Dr. Rob York and Dr. Scott Stephens. 

Conor Phelan
Research Associate

Conor is a geospatial specialist, and has a background in conservation and natural resource GIS. He received his master's in resource conservation from the University of Montana. In the past, Conor has provided GIS and data analytics support for a wide variety of stakeholders and agencies including the Human Dimensions Lab at the University of Montana's W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Wilderness Watch, and others. Outside of the lab Conor is an avid backcountry skier, trail runner, and hunter.

Alexis Graves
Field Specialist

Alexis graduated from the University of California Davis in 2018 with a B.S in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology.  After graduating and working a season in post-fire areas of the Sierra Nevada, her interests have shifted broadly to ecology and the impacts of climate change.  Being born and raised in California, Alexis can’t seem to stay away from the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada. She joined the AMEX crew in 2019.   Outside of working in the woods, Alexis loves climbing, running, buying too many books, and visiting her favorite breweries.

Critters

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Dawkins
Lab Mascot

Dawkins the Dog is an active participant in all field studies and takes his responsibilities as poison oak vector, fitness trainer, and lover of all things very seriously. He adores his students and is up for any and all adventures. He serves as Dr. B’s sidekick in field labs and is her best excuse for outdoor adventures. Dawkins loves baby trees, Rancho Marino Reserve, and being chased. He also prefers cool weather and forested ecosystems, just like his momma.

Sula
​Lab Lab

Sula joined the lab in 2018 under the mentorship of Dawkins. Sula is known for her unbridled enthusiasm regarding just about everything in life, particularly fetch or anything to do with swimming. Sula often accompanies Lacey in the field to provide constructive criticism regarding her experimental design. In her free time Sula can be found running trails, snuggling on a couch, or chasing a ball.

Past Members

University of Nevada - Reno

Postdoctoral Scholars

Kellen Nelson (2020)

Alexandra Urza (2018)
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Graduate Students

Tessa Putz, M.S. (2020)

Undergraduate Research Technicians
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Lindsey Stone (2018-2019)
Coralee Ditman (2017-2018)

Cal Poly

Graduate Students
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Matthew Brousil, M.S. Student (2014-2016)
Matt studied the above- and belowground consequences of compounding fire disturbances on the composition and structure of Sequoia sempervirens stands. Matt is currently working as a Research Assistant at Washington State University.

Tori Norville, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
 ​Tori explored the effects of silvicultural treatment and Pine Pitch Canker infection on Monterey Pine seedling survival  in the Ano Nuevo Native stand near Santa Cruz, CA. Tori is now a Forester for Cal Fire in Fort Bragg, CA.

Emily O'Dean, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
Emily used the  Abies concolor-Abies magnifica ecotone to quantify seedling response to long-term changes in regional climate conditions through comparison of current ecotone stability with a historical dataset and to quantify the tolerances of these species to climate in their establishment phase by subjecting seedlings to future climate scenarios. 

Marissa Vossmer, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
Marissa used long-term, permanent plots to quantify seedling survival and assess competition between understory shrubs and seedlings in western Sierra Nevada forests.


Undergraduate Research Technicians

Katherine Benedict (2015-2017)
Adrian Driver (2016-2017)
Kevin Hurt (2014-2016)
Devon Jackson (2015-2017)
Danny McQuillan (2013-2014)
Jake Miller (2016-2017)
Alicia Streetman (2016-2017)
Colin Wong (2015-2017)
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