Ecological interactions and wildlife conservation have been lifelong interests of mine. After receiving my undergraduate degree in zoology and botany, I became especially focused on plant-animal interactions and pollination ecology. This is when I began my first research project, looking at monarch butterfly preference and performance on native milkweed species in the west. For my master’s degree, I studied nocturnal pollination networks in natural and agricultural settings. Now, my primary research interests are in connecting wildlife conservation to food security by continuing to explore concepts of agroecology, pollinators, and ecological networks. As a new pollinator research technician in the Vegetable Entomology Lab, I’m helping to manage a SARE funded project evaluating pollinator communities on urban farms. My role here ranges from communicating with small-scale urban farmers and planning outreach events to establishing native plant strips on farms and observing bee pollination. Learn more about the project!
email: thom2787 “at” msu.edu