Sarah Bisbing, PhD
Assistant Professor of Forest Ecosystem Science 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. 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.
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Kellen Nelson, PhD
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Kellen is a forest landscape ecologist whose research investigates how forest ecosystems respond to disturbance across environmental gradients. Past projects have used observational, experimental, and modeling techniques to investigate the dynamics of fuel loads, moisture, and fire behavior at stand and landscape scales; the drivers of bark beetle-related tree mortality and post-outbreak successional trajectories; and the effects of forest restoration and fuel reduction treatments on fuels, carbon, and biomass utilization. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry from Colorado State University and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Wyoming.
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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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Tessa Putz
M.S. Student Tessa received her BS in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management from University of Washington in 2014. Her work with a variety of agencies and labs as well as time spent recreating throughout the West inspired her to pursue her own research about our changing landscape. Tessa began a MS in the lab in summer 2018. In her master's research, Tessa will study how extended drought and disturbances will affect Great Basin forests across climate gradients. This includes determining functional traits in woody plant species that are resistant to climate change and identifying at-risk ecosystems.
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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.
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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.
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Technical Staff
Hunter Noble
Research Associate 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.
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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.
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Critters
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.
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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.
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Past Members
University of Nevada - Reno
Postdoctoral Scholars
Alexandra Urza (2018)
Undergraduate Research Technicians
Lindsey Stone (2018-2019)
Coralee Ditman (2017-2018)
Alexandra Urza (2018)
Undergraduate Research Technicians
Lindsey Stone (2018-2019)
Coralee Ditman (2017-2018)
Cal Poly
Graduate Students
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)
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)