People
Marko J. Spasojevic - Associate Professor
He/Him/His
Email: markos@ucr.edu
Educational Background:
Ph.D. 2010 University of California Irvine, Irvine CA. School of Biological Sciences.
Dissertation: “Species, trait, and phylogenetic associations in the alpine tundra: insights into the processes that affect community composition”.
Advisor: Dr. Katharine N. Suding
B.S. 2004 University of Washington, Seattle WA. Major: Biology (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation)
A.S. 2002 Shoreline Community College, Seattle WA.
Research Interests:
Community assembly, Plant functional traits, Biogeography, Global change, Plant-Soil interactions, Plant hemiparasites.
Lab Members
graduate students
Sophie Crehan
She/Her/Hers
Email: screh001@ucr.edu
B.A. 2024 Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
Research Interests:
Temperate forest ecology, Plant functional traits, and Global change biology
Emily Farrell
She/Her/Hers
Email: emily.ferrell@email.ucr.edu
B.A. 2023 UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barara, CA.
M.S. 2026 University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV
Research Interests:
Community assembly, Forests, Global Change
Ariana Firebaugh Ornelas
She/Her/Hers
Email: afire001@ucr.edu
Co-Advised with Loralee Larios
B.A. 2018 Whittier College, Whittier CA.
Research Interests:
Community assembly, Coexistence, Plant Functional Traits, Global Change
Wyatt Hall
He/Him/His
B.A. 2026 Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Research Interests:
Wildlife Management and Conservation, Community Ecology, Human-Wildlife Interactions
Joey Krieger-Lodge
They/Them
Email: aj.lodge@colorado.edu
Ph.D. student at CU Boulder; Co-advised with Katie Suding
B.A. 2018 Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
Research Interests:
Alpine Ecology, Community Ecology, Biogeography, and Global change biology
field techs
Sadé Taylor
_
Email: sade.taylor@email.ucr.edu
B.S.
Research Interests: Fungal Ecology, Community Ecology, Global Change Biology
field techs
Brooke Wallasch
_
B.S. 2024, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
M.S. 2025, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Research Interests: Alpine ecology, Community Ecology, Evolution and Global Change Biology
field techs
undergraduates
Jonas Menzie
He/Him/His
B.S. In Progress, University of California, Riverside.
Research Interests:
Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Urban Ecology, Evolution
Technicians
Haley McCann
She/Her/Hers
Email: hmcca006@ucr.edu
B.S. 2026, University of California, Riverside.
Research Interests:
Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Urban Ecology, Evolution
field techs
Alumni
Jelena Katanic (Undergraduate, 2025-2026)
Adam Huynh (Undergraduate, 2023-2026), MS student Cal Poly Pomona
Erin McCann (PhD, 2018-2025)
Genesis Hutchinson (Technician, 2024-2025)
Karina Cedra (SDSU rotation student, 2024-2025)
Tesa Madsen-Hepp (PhD, 2018-2024), Director, Santa Anna Watershed Association
Ruby Raheja (Intern, 2024) Undergraduate Student UC Davis
Nahir Santiago-Colon (Intern, 2024) Undergraduate Student Mt. San Jacinto College
Miles Wentworth (Intern, 2024) Undergraduate Student UC Davis
Mikayla Martinez (Undergraduate, 2020-2024)
Sisimac Duchicela (Postdoc, 2022-2024), Assistant Professor at CU-Boulder
Magda Argueta Guzman (PhD, 2019-2024), Postdoc at UC-Merced
Caryn Iwanaga (Undergraduate, 2020-2023, Lab manager, 2023-2024), Grad Student University of Oregon
Jared Huxley (PhD, 2017-2023), Program Evaluator, Office of the Secretary, Department of Interior
Jon Henn (Postdoc, 2021-2023), Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne
Advyth Ramachandran (Undergraduate, 2020-2023), Grad Student CU-Boulder
Sena Sardi (Undergraduate, Field Tech,2020-2022)
Kristen Prattipati (Undergraduate, 2020-2022)
Melissa Salguero (Undergraduate, 2020-2021)
Michel Au (Undergraduate, 2019-2021)
Dani Logan (Undergraduate, 2019-2020)
Hina Varachhia (Undergraduate 2018-2019)
Lisa Schauer (Lab Manager, Technician 2018-2019)
Shane McFaul (Technician 2018-2019)
Martin Arceo (Undergraduate 2016-2017)
Soren Weber (Lab Manager 2016-2018), Post Doc at Oak Ridge National Lab
Our Projects
Pinyon Flats
rainfall manipulation experiment
San Jacinto Forest
dynamics plot
Western Forests
range shifts
Niwot LTER
Turf Transplant
Partners
UC Natural Reserve System
LTER NETWORK
