The Geib Lab

4/1/2018 We are looking for undergraduate research assistants for the summer 2018 Blue Ridge Parkway Pollinator project- Get class credit for doing research. Contact geibjc@appstate.edu for more info!

Lab members and associates

Graduate students

	Eric Rayfield Genetic structure and gene flow barriers among populations of the Southern Appalachian bumble bee Bombus vagans. Blue Ridge Bumble Bee Megatransect
	Kaitlyn Whitley Genetic structure and gene flow barriers among populations of the alpine bumble bee Bombus balteatus.
	William Vannoy Modeling the effects of vegetation management on Bombus impatiens using stochastic landscapes

Undergraduates

Undergraduate volunteers typically spend a semester shadowing and aiding other students in the lab in order to prove their dedication and dependibility. In the field they collect samples and data, and in the lab they gain skills in plant sample preparation, fluorescence microscopy, and insect genetic analyses. Data management and analysis are also part of the experience, and for willing students other skills, such as GIS or quantitative modeling, are possible.

	Isabel Sullivan Honors research: Genetic structure and gene flow barriers among populations of the alpine bumble bee Bombus sylvicola. Summer R.A. 2017; received a Student and Faculty Excellence (SAFE) grant and the 2017 Richard Henson Biology Endowed Field Trip Scholarship. Lab volunteer 2016-2017.

Alumni

	Chloe Prunet (B.S. 2018) Capstone research: Pollinators of the Blue Ridge Parkway: A citizen science monitoring project
	Melanie McMillan (B.S. 2018) and Alexia Thompkins (B.S. 2018) Capstone research: AppBombus - Compiling a database for bumble bees of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
	Lucas Piedrahita (B.S. 2018) Honors research: The effects of floral synchrony on reproductive success of Silene acaulis
	Mary Silliman (B.S. 2017) Honors thesis: The effect of climate change-mediated range shifts on interspecies competition in alpine bumble bee communities. Mary was also a lab volunteer for two years and received a URC assistantship for summer 2016.
	Beth Tillman (B.S. 2017) Capstone: Predicting fates of honeybee colonies from hive entrance video data.
	Jacqueline Staab (B.S. 2017) Capstone: Pollination webs involving solitary bees in alpine habitats of Colorado.
	Kimberly Bowman (B.S. 2015) Honors thesis: The role of biomechanics in pollinator foraging decisions. Kimberly was also a resesarch assistant for the lab.
	Alex Bradley (B.S. 2016) Capstone research: Pollination limitation of food crops in the high country of North Carolina.
	Zeb Robbins middle level science teachers' development of pedagogical content knowledge for integrating adolescent literacy in their curricula
	Frank (Lentz) Henson studied the relationships between ecological knowledge and attitudes among college undergraduates. He is currently a high school biology teacher.
	Leigh Rimmer (M.S. 2013) examined the recovery of an alpine bumble bee community following drought-mediated population contractions. She was a contractor for the Smithsonian Institute Entomology Section, and has been working full time for the US Environmental Protection Agency since 2013.

 

Former lab research assistants and volunteers

Kevin Burnette and Caroline Wiltz were volunteers for the Bumblebee megatransect project, Summer-Fall 2015.

Ashley Allison was a field and lab research assistant Summer 2013-Spring 2014. She is now an intern for an environmental consulting firm.

Martha McGlasson - Studied pollination biology of Liatris helleri. Currently a Master's student in Middle Grades Education.

Jack Stoehr - Summer R.A. 2013, received an ASU URC scholarship; currently a High School Biology teacher.

Brett Davis - undergraduate lab volunteer in 2012.

Katie Phillips - Summer R.A. 2011, received an ASU URC scholarship; received an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University (New York) in 2013.

Chelsea Zemmin - undergraduate lab volunteer in 2010, received an ASU URC scholarship.

Collaborators

Candace Galen, University of Missouri

Nicole Miller-Stuttmann, University of Missouri

Lisa Gross, Appalachian State University, Reich College of Eduation

J. Joy James, Appalachian State University, Recreation Management

Matt Estep, Appalachian State University, Biology Department

James Strange, USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit