Humans - Invasive Species Collaborative At Virginia Tech

Affiliates: Humans

Humans are inextricably tied to invasive species and are primarily responsible for their introduction to new geographic areas. Once introduced and established, invasive species have a negative impact on good quality of life in 85% of cases.

Dr. Shannon Bell

Professor

Department of Sociology

Dr. Bell is an environmental sociologist whose research has primarily focused on environmental and climate (in)justice in fossil-fuel extraction communities; however, her emerging areas of interest are focused on community-based restoration strategies on public and community-owned forest lands in Appalachia, including both invasive exotic plant species removal and the cultivation of native forest medicinal herbs and forest foods.

Thematic Area(s):

Restoration ecology
Social science, economics, & policy

Camille Block

Master’s Student

Department of Entomology

Block uses the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius), an invasive urban pest, to study urban evolutionary processes. Such processes include invasion dynamics, the genomics of establishment, and patterns of gene flow and genetic structure.

Thematic Area(s):

Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamics
Detection, management, prevention, & eradication
Genetics, genomics, & community/population structure

Dr. Kelly Cobourn

Associate Professor

Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Dr. Cobourn’s research involves integrating biological models of pest dynamics with economic models of human decision making to understand what factors drive the spread of invasive species and what policy instruments effectively and efficiently slow or halt spread.

Thematic Area(s):

Economics & policy
Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamics
Detection, management, prevention, & eradication

Miguel Diaz-Manrique

Ph.D. Student

School of Public and International Affairs

Diaz-Manrique’s research explores how perceptions of source credibility and trust shape attitudes and behaviors in environmental and natural resource conservation.

Thematic Area(s):

Community engagement & science communication
Social sciences

Dr. Edward Fox

Professor

Department of Computer Science

Dr. Fox is interested in assisting with any effort that makes use of technologies in the computing area, including artificial intelligence, digital libraries, information retrieval (e.g., search systems), websites, and human-computer interactions.

Thematic Area(s):

Data & artificial intelligence

David Franusich

Multimedia Designer

Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology

Franusich communicates complex ideas and concepts in creative, engaging, and digestible ways.

Thematic Area(s):

Arts and humanities

Mikel Manchester

Associate Specialist

Department of Agricultural Leadership and Community Education

Manchester works with Native American Tribes to promote traditional ecological knowledge.

Thematic Area(s):

Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamics
Restoration ecology

Dr. Ron Meyers

Associate Professor

Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Dr. Meyers utilizes socio-ecological research to identify and test best practices in the development of utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects.

Thematic Area(s):

Social science, economics, & policy

Mitch Miller

Adjunct Drawing Professor

School of Visual Arts

Miller believes art and science work well together, when they work together, which is not often enough. He has interests in all drawing, sustainable design and systems, international art fairs, bugs, and art/science collaborations.

Thematic Area(s):

Arts and humanities

Dr. Elizabeth Nyboer

Assistant Professor

Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Dr. Nyboer is a freshwater ecologist and conservation scientist exploring how anthropogenic stressors affect freshwater ecosystems and the fish, fisheries, and fishing communities they support.

Thematic Area(s):

Detection, management, prevention, & eradication
Social science, economics, & policy

Michelle Prysby

Master Naturalist Program Director

Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Prysby directs the Virginia Master Naturalist (VMN) program, a statewide corps of volunteers engaged in natural resource education, science, and stewardship. Invasive species are a focus of VMN volunteer work.

Thematic Area(s):

Community engagement & science communication

Dr. Leighton Reid

Assistant Professor

School of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Reid studies ecological restoration and community assembly in tropical and temperate terrestrial ecosystems.

Thematic Area(s):

Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamics
Restoration ecology
Social science, economics, & policy

Dr. Haldre Rogers

Associate Professor

Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Dr. Rogers’ research focuses on population and community ecology, plant-animal interactions, seed dispersal, pollination, food web dynamics, tropical biology, ecosystem services, and conservation. A majority of the research is conducted on the Mariana Islands, where due to the introduction of the brown tree snake, Guam’s forests are now functionally without birds.

Thematic Area(s):

Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamic
Genetics, genomics, & community/population structure

Dr. Todd Schenk

Associate Professor

School of Public and International Affairs

Dr. Schenk’s research interests include collaborative governance at the science-policy interface, wicked sustainability challenges, and civil discourse to better build empathy and understanding.

Thematic Area(s):

Community engagement & science communication
Social science, economics, & policy

Dr. Michael Sorice

Associate Professor

Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Dr. Sorice’s research interests focus on individual and group behavior as it relates to environmental stewardship with an emphasis on the role of natural resource users and landowners in protecting biodiversity and imperiled ecosystems.

Thematic Area(s):

Community engagement & science communication
Social science, economics, & policy

Paige Van de Vuurst

Ph.D. Student

Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health

Through vampire bats, Van de Vuurst studies the impacts of climate and landscape on the distribution and transmission of zoonotic diseases in Latin America.

Thematic Area(s):

Biology, ecology, & ecosystem dynamics
Detection, management, prevention, & eradication

Dr. Dara M. Wald

Associate Professor

School of International Public Affairs

Dr. Wald’s research explores the drivers of conflict and the barriers to effective communication in environmental contexts, including issues of trust, identity, and power in the management of water, land, and wildlife. This work informs the domains of environmental psychology, environmental and risk communication, and public policy.

Thematic Area(s):

Community engagement & science communication
Psychology and human behavior
Social science, economics, & policy

Dr. Shannon Bell

Camille Block

Dr. Kelly Cobourn

Miguel Diaz-Manrique

Dr. Edward Fox

David Franusich

Mikel Manchester

Dr. Ron Meyers

Mitch Miller

Dr. Elizabeth Nyboer

Michelle Prysby

Dr. Leighton Reid

Dr. Haldre Rogers

Dr. Todd Schenk

Dr. Michael Sorice

Paige Van de Vuurst

Dr. Dara M. Wald

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