Dr. Nichole Barger

Nichole Barger, Principle Investigator
Phone (303) 492 - 8239

nichole.barger@colorado.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests -- As an ecosystem ecologist my research mission is to better understand the fundamental ecological processes that influence the structure and function of dryland ecosystems and the resilience of these ecosystems to anthropogenic and natural disturbance.

Research Interests -- As a community ecologist, my research interests are broad, but the unifying theme that ties my work together is understanding how communities and ecosystems are responding to changes in climate. In the fall of 2010, I started a Mendenhall Fellowship with the USGS to examine the interacting effects of climate and land use change on carbon cycling on the Colorado Plateau.

Research Interests -- Miranda has participated in a broad range of research projects focused on understanding ecosystems to develop better management practices. These include examining the consequences of phenotypic variation within populations, the effects of climate change on species distributions, the outcomes of species interactions within forest communities, and the role of disease in amphibian communities. Currently, Miranda is examining the vulnerability of Pinyon Pine to increased drought on the Colorado Plateau.J

Research Interests -- Taryn, an international student from South Africa, completed her Masters working on recovery of natural vegetation after clearing of alien plants in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. She will be working on nutrient cycling in the Cape Floristic region of South Africa - one of the top ten biodiversity hotspots of the world.

Research Interests -- Since graduating from Colorado State University in 2005 with B.S. degrees in botany and biological sciences, Heidi has traveled and worked on various field research crews. In 2008, Heidi worked on a SageSTEP field crew where her interest in woody encroachment and the methods for its control grew. She now studies the effects of the control methods for pinyon-juniper encroachment in southeastern Utah as they relate to carbon cycling and plant community dynamics in these ecosystems.

Research Interests -- Conor is currently working with other members of our lab to develop a methodology for measuring chlorophyll a in biological soil crust.

Research Interests -- Stephanie is interested in mycorrhizal relationships of plants. She is currently assisting the lab and working on her honors thesis.

Research Interests -- Jessica is mainly interested in conservation biology, with a main focus on plants and their interactions with ecosystems.  She will be assisting Heidi in a seed bank study, Spring 2012 semester and will return to vegetation monitoring for the Bureau of Land Management in the summer of 2012.

Research Interests -- Sofie formerly worked for the National Land Survey of Sweden in Stockholm. As a member of the Barger lab, Sofie is interested in using GIS applications as a way to improve field based research projects.

Former Lab Members: