2023

Brian Ballantyne

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
Using CAP-LTER’s arthropod dataset to examine urban evolution within a socio-ecological framework


Mariah Beltran

Mentors
Dan Childers and Kelli Larson

Research Project
Tres Rios for Two (summer) and Examining the Opportunities, Constraints, and Contexts for Human-Wildlife Coexistence (academic year)


Arshonne Cazares

Mentors
Michelle Hale and Michele Clark

Research Project
Diversifying Visions of the Future with Rural and Urban Indigenous Communities


Zoe Gentry

Mentors
Nancy Grimm and Liliana Caughman

Research Project
River Futures: Participatory visioning for an urban river


Carter Henry

Mentor
Kelli Larson

Research Project
Examining the Opportunities, Constraints, and Contexts for Human-Wildlife Coexistence (academic year)


David Nguyen

Mentor: Dan Childers

Research Project: Tres Rios for Two


Nadia Upah

Mentor
Pierre Deviche

Research Project
Birds in a Warming World: An Integrated Physiological Perspective


2022

Zoe Gentry

Mentor
Nancy Grimm

Research Project
Visions of the Rio Salado: Planning participatory visioning for an urban river


Maddelyn Gibson

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Color me sexy: does ornate coloration predict health state in an invasive urban parrot species?


Savage Cree Hess

Mentor
Michelle Hale

Research Project
Diversifying visions of the future of the Rio Salado – A community-centered approach to Rio Reimagined


Garrett Storey

Mentor
Pierre Herckes

Research Project
Occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants in the Tres Rios Wetlands


2021

Hasti Asrari

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
The effects of urbanization on the gut microbiome of an urban arthropod pest: An investigation into the gut of western black widow spiders across a gradient of urbanization


Dayanara Avilez, Akilah Davitt, and Janelle Siefert

Mentors
Kelli Larson and Jeff Brown

Research Project
Exploring Human-Nature Interactions in the Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS) Neighborhoods


Dean Drake

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Does food quality explain urban-rural variation in finch coloration and health?


Olivia Nguyen

Mentor
Jesse Lewis

Research Project
Comparing wildlife occupancy and AZGFD public reporting data across the gradient of urbanization during the Covid-19 pandemic


Brian Sehner

Mentor
Amy Frazier and Billie L. Turner II

Research Project
Quantifying the spatial connectivity of surface urban heat island intensity and thermal refuges in the Phoenix metropolitan area


2021

Kerrala Chandran

Mentor
Chingwen Cheng

Research Project
UEI hydrologic performance evaluation


Dave DeBacker

Mentor
Stephen Elser

Research Project
The Future of Urban Ecosystem Services


Kathryn DePinto

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Health and nutrition in the city: Testing principles of self-medication and personalized nutrition in urban and rural birds


Matt Millado

Mentor
Stephen Elser

Research Project
The Future of Urban Ecosystem Services


Finnley Rickman

Mentor
Marta Berbés-Blázquez

Research Project
The future of urban ecosystem services


2020

Kerrala Chandran

Mentor
Chingwen Cheng

Research Project
UEI hydrologic performance evaluation


Dave DeBacker

Mentor
Stephen Elser

Research Project
The Future of Urban Ecosystem Services


Kathryn DePinto

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Health and nutrition in the city: Testing principles of self-medication and personalized nutrition in urban and rural birds


Matt Millado

Mentor
Stephen Elser

Research Project
The Future of Urban Ecosystem Services


Finnley Rickman

Mentor
Marta Berbés-Blázquez

Research Project
The future of urban ecosystem services


2019

Ryan Faust

Mentor
Jesse Lewis

Research Project
The distribution, diversity, and abundance of scorpions in relation to urbanization and landscape characteristics across the CAP LTER study area


Melissa Fleeger

Mentor
Kelli Larson

Research Project
Residents’ Attitudes toward Bees in Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona


Sarah Lindley

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
The Effect of Urban Heat Island Temperatures on Microhabitat Preference in Black Widow Spiders


Jenna Rosales

Mentor
Jenni Vanos

Research Project
Observing the solar radiation and heat protection factors of tree shade: A novel comparative assessment of desert trees


2018

Keaton Coker

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
Black Widows on an Urban Heat Island: Using Hormones and Behavior to Understand Global Change


Jessica Dwyer

Mentor
Jesse Lewis

Research Project
The effects of urbanization on species composition and activity patterns of the bat community across the Phoenix Valley


Caitlin Nordheim

Mentor
Heather Bateman

Research Project
Comparison of riparian herpetofauna along urban and wildland streams


Chelsea Stratton

Mentor
Fabio Suzart de Albuquerque

Research Project
Energy, water and habitat diversity as predictors of bird diversity in urban areas


2017

Caitlin Gray

Mentor
Fabio Suzart de Albuquerque

Research Project
Environmental drivers of phylogenetic diversity of bird species in riparian areas.


Claire Moen

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
Black Widows On An Urban Heat Island: Using Genes, Physiology And Behavior To Understand Global Change.


Robert Moakley

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Where sleep meets sex in the city: links between bird breeding and beauty sleep


David Nardelli

Mentors
Nancy Grimm, Lauren McPhillips, and Monica Palta

Research Project
Nutrient loading and its effects in water-supply canals and stormwater outfalls in Phoenix, AZ


2016

Devon Allred

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research Project
Urban night-lighting and pace-of-life: can urban birds buy back time?


Maria Eller

Mentor
Erin Redman

Research Project
Ecology Explorers Program


Nikita Kowal

Mentor
Becky Ball

Research Project
Urbanization and N-Deposition and Microbial Community-Level Physiological Profiles


Michelle Poletti

Mentor
Ariane Middel

Research Project
Impact of interior temperatures of shaded and unshaded vehicles on children’s health – A case study in Phoenix, AZ


Brandon Ramirez

Mentor
David Iwaniec

Research Project
Developing data visualization and decision-making tools for CAP LTER Sustainable Future Scenarios


Isabella Tapia

Mentor
Charles Redman

Research Project
Infrastructural Response to Extreme Events in Phoenix, AZ


Javier Urcuyo

Mentor
Chad Johnson

Research Project
Urban heat islands and urban arthropod biodiversity


2015

Jessica Hoffman

Mentor
Kelli Larson

Research project
Yard creatures: Management, perception, and reality


Bridget Harding

Mentor
Dan Allen

Research project
Long-term analysis of biodiversity patterns, land-use, and climate anomalies on urban community structure


Sky Arnett-Romero

Mentor
Dan Allen

Research project
Long-term analysis of biodiversity patterns, land-use, and climate anomalies on urban community structure


2014

Kelly Bergin

Mentor
Becky Ball

Research project
Impacts of altered precipitation on aboveground-belowground interactions


Soukaina Kouteib

Mentor
Pierre Deviche

Research project
Relationships between urbanization and immunity


Caitlin Holmes

Mentor
Sharon Hall

Research project
Soil properties in residential landscapes


Evan Kuras

Mentor
David Hondula

Research project
Personal monitoring for smarter heat-health interventions in Central Arizona


Meghan Cook

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research project
Cognition in the city: Problem-solving in a foraging context as a function of urbanization in house finches


Pierce Hutton

Mentor
Kevin McGraw

Research project
Cognition in the city: Problem-solving in a foraging context as a function of urbanization in house finches


Jessica Jia

Mentors
Elizabeth Wentz and Kelli Larson

Research project
A comparative analysis of the water consumption and cost of xeric vs. mesic landscaped single family residential properties in Tempe


2013

Jessica Alvarez Guevara

Mentors
Becky Ball and Mitch Pavao-Zuckerman

Research project
Moss nutrient plasticity over variations in soil resource availability in desert soils


Beau Rudd

Mentor
Heather Bateman

Research project
Effects of multi-use recreational trails on reptiles in the Phoenix mountain parks


Dakota Tallman

Mentor
Dan Childers

Research project
Understanding the importance of open water processes to the provision of ecosystem services in a constructed wastewater treatment wetland ecosystem


Samuel Lane

Mentor
Pierre Deviche

Research project
Bird song and the brain: Behavioral and neuroanatomical adaptations of northern mockingbirds to urbanization


Amanda Wolf

Mentors
Monica Palta and Nancy Grimm

Research project
Ecosystem services and trade-offs mediated by urban water bodies for homeless populations in Phoenix


Billy Smith

Mentor
Kerry Smith

Research project
Does water conservation compromise the reliability (and sustainability) of water systems?


Alyssa McAlister

Mentors
Amber Wutich and Alex Brewis

Research project
Human health in a warming world: Cultural models of climate change and disease