What are Undergraduate Highlights?
The undergraduate program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is a thriving, inspiring hub housing passionate students who are engaged in many different applications and projects relating to their areas of curiosity and expertise. We want to highlight these innovative and developing projects and people coming out of our program, in order to support and encourage more direct engagement with the world through the lens of ecology and biology. Explore recent projects below, and help to share and support work you care about!

 

Gabbert surveys a tranquil lake.

Examining plant-herbivore interactions and their impact on indirect interactions between herbivores - Whitney Gabbert

April 6, 2017

I have loved plants, wildlife, and nature since my childhood, so choosing to go into ecology was a no-brainer for me. From alpine biocrusts to tropical rainforests, I am interested in every aspect ecology has to offer. My current research for my honors thesis is in Dr. Katharine Suding’s lab...

From the Backyard to the Lab - Micaela Enger

April 6, 2017

As a kid, I loved to collect cicada exuviae and search milkweed for Monarch caterpillars in my backyard. Overtime, my passion for ecology increased, leading me to choose a degree in EBIO. My classes at CU encouraged me to pursue research. I worked in Deane Bowers’ Lab for about a...

Dube takes a careful measurement.

Finding Ectoparasite Paradise - Will Dube

April 6, 2017

When I came to CU I chose EBIO because it was a major that allowed me to get prerequisites for medical school, while also pursuing my lifelong interests in ecology and evolution. In my second semester, I found myself volunteering in Dr. Safran’s lab helping study the evolution of sexually...

Coohill pilots a drone over a snowy field.

Flying a Drone to Study Prairie Dogs - Diana Coohill

April 6, 2017

I am interested in the study of social structures of wild animal populations with my advisor Dr. Andrew Martin. A social rodent, the black-tailed prairie dog, provides the perfect system for me to study social structures in the wild. Black-tailed prairie dogs live in dense colonies, are easy to observe...

Casto waters plants in a greenhouse.

Spring break research sparked passion for future project - GraceAnne Casto

April 6, 2017

When I was a sophomore at CU I started working in the Suding Plant Ecology Lab, where I assisted with germination experiments in the greenhouse with seedlings from Carrizo Plain National Monument, in California. During spring break, I received funding to travel to Carrizo to assist the field research team...

Beaury poses with a pineapple.

High Elevation Plants - Eve Beaury

April 6, 2017

My passion for plant ecology began in high school when I took a botany course that opened my eyes to the complex and fascinating biology revolving around vegetation. I have carried this interest throughout my time at CU, which led me to pursue an honors thesis studying plant ecology in...

Alix in the lab using a microscope to study bacteria

The Ground Up - Alix Knight

March 24, 2016

Like many others in the School of Arts and Sciences here at the University of Colorado, I have struggled to find my passion. My first year at CU, I had no idea what I truly wanted to do upon graduation. My advisor encouraged me to explore the classes that CU...

Camille sorting and examining beetles on a research table

Disco beetles and biodiversity - Camille Zwaan

March 24, 2016

Looking at the world from a holistic perspective and seeing the interconnectedness of everything is a crucial key to solving problems. This is one reason the field of ecology appeals to me. Combining my love travelling and the outdoors, I was fortunate to be a research assistant for the Georg-August...

Kate scuba diving

Large Carnivores and Land Conversion - Kate Woolley

March 24, 2016

Choosing to write an honors thesis was easily one of the most important decisions and largest undertakings during my career here at CU. I have always been interested in biology and long ago decided that this was the field that I would like to pursue a career in. Although it...

Cerrise displays a collection of J. liv sample bacteria

J. love - Cerrise Weiblen

March 24, 2016

Janthinobacterium lividum , affectionately referred to as J. liv, is a violet-pigmented bacterium with a tough disposition. It thrives in a wide range of environmental conditions, and it exhibits antibiosis; inhibiting or destroying a wide variety of microbial life-forms, including other bacteria, microscopic fungi, and protozoans. J. liv is one...

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