who we are

Rebecca Best

Associate Professor

I am an aquatic community and evolutionary ecologist interested in the processes that determine the distribution and consequences of genetic and functional diversity within and among species. My lab works on the effects of climate on community and population connectivity in aquatic invertebrates, the ecology and evolution of riparian tree traits, and aquatic conservation.

Google Scholar

Amber Archie

MS Biological Sciences

Amber is co-advised with Dr. Liza Holeski, and is working on riparian restoration challenges on the Little Colorado River in collaboration with scientists from the Navajo Nation and the USGS. Amber previously completed dual degrees in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Anthropology at NAU, as well as a year-long fellowship with NSF RaMP (Research and Mentoring for Post-Baccalaureates).

Taylor Hartness

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Taylor is working on consequences of climate change and eutrophication for aquatic invertebrate diversity. She is a crustacean enthusiast and expert shrimp keeper, and has worked on ecological conservation in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. As an undergrad, she was the Outstanding Graduate in Environmental Science and Ecology at Winona State University, and her undergraduate research on the conservation of a rare plant species is published in the Prairie Naturalist.

Lab alumni

Hillary Cooper

Postdoctoral Researcher

Now: Research Associate, NAU. Hillary is an evolutionary ecologist interested in how organisms can respond to environmental stress via genetic or plastic mechanisms. As a post-doc in the Cottonwood Ecology Group, Hillary studied the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in response to climate change in cottonwood trees. Hillary earned her PhD in Biology at NAU in 2018 researching genetic and trait variation in cottonwoods.

Jaclyn PM Corbin

PhD in Biological Sciences

Now: Jackie is a Presidential Management Fellowship recipient, with experience working for the USDA and the NRCS to implement restoration and resource management programs. She was co-advised with Dr. Tom Whitham in the Cottonwood Ecology Group. She worked on testing how leaf spectroscopy methods can efficiently detect genetic and environmental variation in plant leaf traits, and their ecological consequences.

Yazhmin Dozal-Young

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Environmental Land Use Planner for Sonoran Land Resources. Yazhmin completed her MS as a Fellow with the RISE Program, working on eDNA as a tool to characterize pond biodiversity. Previously, Yazhmin graduated as the Distinguished Senior for the College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences at NAU. She was Co-Chair of the NAU Green Fund Committee and an active member of The Wildlife Society’s NAU chapter.

Iris Garthwaite

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: USGS National Land Imaging Program. Iris is a Presidential Management Fellowship recipient and an NSF GRFP awardee. She worked on trait plasticity in leaf venation in collaboration with the Cottonwood Ecology Group. Iris joined the lab from Evergreen State where she worked with Dr. Carri LeRoy.

Kaitlin Haase

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Santa Fe, NM. Kaitlin studied the biodiversity and connectivity of natural and anthropogenic ponds across northern Arizona in relation to aquatic habitat loss due to climate change.

Lindsay Hansen

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Fish Biologist, USGS Grand Canyon Research and Monitoring Center. Lindsay studied the increasing abundance of a native fish (the flannelmouth sucker) in the Colorado River by modeling growth rates in response to changing water temperature in the Grand Canyon. She was co-advised with Brett Dickson and in collaboration Charles Yackulic. Lindsay has also published a children’s book about her research!

Joann Jeplawy

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Brownfields Project Manager, Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, CO. In collaboration with the Cottonwood Ecology Group, Joann studied the impacts of leaf plasticity on aquatic community composition in cottonwood leaf litter from three common gardens in Arizona and Utah. Her MS research is published in Ecology.

Joshua Rihs

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Joshua used remote sensing and field sampling to study connectivity dynamics among drying and wetting pond habitats, and the consequences for aquatic invertebrate diversity. Before his MS degree he was the School of Earth and Sustainability’s Outstanding Senior in 2022 as well as a 2x Hooper Undergraduate Research Award recipient. As an undergraduate researcher he worked on temperature tolerance in freshwater amphipods as well as community composition in ponds recovering after drying.

Sarah Sterner

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Instructor, Dickinson College, PA. Sarah was co-advised with Clare Aslan, and worked with the Landscape Conservation Initiative to study the impacts of land management policies on ecosystems across boundary lines between federal, regional, and state owned lands. Her MS research is published in Forest Ecology and Management.

Susan Wood

MS Environmental Sciences and Policy

Now: Fish Biologist, Grand Canyon National Park. Susan worked on the control of invasive crayfish species in Arizona, in collaboration with David Ward at the USGS and with funding and input from the US FWS Southwest Non-Native Aquatic Species Community of Practice.

Morgan Andrews

BS Environmental Sciences

Now: MS Student, NAU. As a Hooper Undergraduate Research Award recipient, Morgan worked on the effects of water temperature on the distribution of aquatic biodiversity across ponds in Arizona, using both field and lab approaches. She was awarded the Best Poster in Applied Research at the 2019 Society for Freshwater Sciences meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah!

Kaitlen Bieber

BA Environmental & Sustainability Studies

Now: Environmental Defense Fund. Kaitlen helped launch the lab’s stock pond biodiversity work before completing graduate work at the University of Arizona.

Dylan Chandler

BS Environmental Sciences and MS Climate Sciences and Solutions

Now: Energy Systems Associate Analyst, GTI Energy. As a NASA Space Grant intern, Dylan investigated the use of eDNA as a tool for aquatic biodiversity monitoring across a temperature gradient.

Sienna Hatfield

BS Biology and Environmental Sciences

Now: Prospective PhD student. Sienna joined the lab through an Interns2Scholars fellowship. She has deep experience in animal science through her work as a veterinary technician, and built multiple research skills working on understanding pond biodiversity. While assisting with field sampling, Sienna also saved at least one baby cow from drowning!

Matthew Johnson

BS Biology

As a Hooper Undergraduate Research Award recipient, Matthew worked on understanding trait variation in aquatic insect larvae, and how multiple environmental tolerance traits have evolved across orders and families.

Catherine Lepp

BS Environmental Sciences

As a Hooper Undergraduate Research Award recipient, Catherine worked on genetic and environmental effects on cottonwood leaf traits in collaboration with the Cottonwood Ecology Group.

Lauren Mason-Sarantopulos

BS Environmental Sciences

Now: Wildlife Technician, Arizona Game and Fish Department. As a 2x Hooper Undergraduate Research Award recipient, Lauren created and carried out two independent research projects on the effects of temperature and nitrates on native vs. introduced amphipods in Arizona, both within and across generations.

Madelyn Norstrem

BS Environmental Sciences

Now: Environmental Scientist, ETD Inc.. Madelyn worked as an NSF REU student to help lead the lab’s study of herbivory and climate change impacts on cottonwood trees. She also worked as an Interns to Scholars student studying aquatic invertebrate communities.

Joe Sweet

BS Environmental Sciences

Now: Business Intelligence Analyst, Pima County. As a NASA Space Grant intern, Joe worked on using remote sensing to detect the presence of water in ponds across the northern Arizona landscape, giving us much greater spatial and temporal information on habitat availability.