Postdocs
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Research Technicians
Lab
Alumni
Dr. Creighton M. Litton
Assistant Professor
(Curriculum
vitae)
I began working at the University of Hawaii at
Manoa in August, 2007. Prior to beginning my faculty position
on O'ahu, I worked as a postdoc for 4 1/2 years on the Island of Hawaii.
Postdoctoral
Associates
Dr. Andrew Pierce
(Curriculum
vitae)
Andrew
finished his Ph.D. in Geography at the Pennsylvania University in May,
2011. His dissertation research focused on quantifying the impact
of topographic variation on observed and expected fire behavior, and
integrated field sampling, remotely sensed imagery, and biophysical
modeling to predict fuel loads. He began his postdoctoral research
position in July, 2011 emphasizing fire science, broadly
defined. Andrew will work on a number of fire-related projects in
Hawai'i, including: (i) improving fire risk assessments for military lands on O'ahu and Hawai'i Islands; (ii)
developing fire behavior predictions under current conditions, future
climate change scenarios, and various ecological restopration
scenarios; and (iii)
quantifying the risk of increased fire occurence under
various climate change scenarios. Andrew's other research
interests include fire-climate interactions, landscape and disturbance
ecology, and vegetation dynamics.
Dr. Paul Selmants
(Curriculum
vitae)
Paul begins his postdoc next week and does not really know what he is doing at this point. Wish him luck.
Graduate Students
Mark Chynoweth (M.S.)
Mark is working on an M.S. degree in NREM with a target finish date of
May 2011. His research concentrates on non-native ungulate behavioral
ecology, specifically how feral goats impact native dry forests on the
Island of Hawai’i. Trained as a geographer and oceanographer,
Mark’s interests also include geospatial analysis and applied
conservation biology. Mark is co-advised by Dr. Chris Lepczyk.
Please see Mark's website for more information (www.markchynoweth.info).
Lisa Ellsworth (Ph.D.)
Lisa is working on her Ph.D. with a target finish date of August
2012. Her dissertation research examines fuels and fire behavior in
nonnative dominated grassland
ecosystems on O'ahu, with the goals to: (1) use climatic
and fuel load parameters to refine existing fuel models ito
better predict fire ignition and behavior, and (2) develop
restoration and fuels reduction strategies to break the nonnative grass
- fire cycle on tropical Pacific islands. Major
collaborators on this project include the Institute of Pacific Islands
Forestry, USDA Forest Service,
and the
Department of Defense, U.S. Army Garrison Oahu.
Erin Guth (Ph.D.)
Erin is working on her Ph.D. with a target finish date of December 2014.
Her dissertation research will focus on assessing the carbon
sequestration potential of different land management strategies in
Hawai'i. Erin is co-advised by Dr. Chris Lepczyk.
Darcey Iwashita (M.S.)
Darcey is working on an M.S. degree with a target finish date of May 2012. Her research project focuses on coarse woody
debris dynamics (CWD) in native wet tropical forests in Hawaii. Specifically,
she is studying the role CWD plays in carbon storage,
nutrient cycling, and native species recruitment across a 5°C mean
annual temperature gradient in the Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest
and Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on the Island of
Hawaii. She holds a B.S. degree in NREM from the University of
Hawaii at Manoa with a concentration in forest ecology, and a B.A. in
English from the University of California at Berkeley.
Ben Laws (M.S.)
Ben is
working on an M.S. degree in NREM with a target finish date of
"sometime this century". His research project is designed to
quantify the impacts of feral
cattle on the vegetation and soils of native Hawaiian wet forests.
The project location is windward Kohala Mountain on the Island of
Hawaii, where he is establishing permanent monitoring plots in two
forested areas: (i) active feral cattle (>100 years), and (ii) ungrazed pristine
control. Feral
cattle are a reality in many Hawaiian forests, and to date little work
has been conducted to document their impacts on native vegetation and
soil physical and chemical properties.
Michael Long (M.S.)
Mike is
working on an M.S. degree in NREM with a target finish date of August
2012.His
research is focused on understanding the biogeochemical impacts of
nonnative, feral pigs on the cycling, retention and loss of soil carbon. The project is located in the Ola'a Tract of Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park and the Pu'u Maka'ala Natural Area Reserve,
both on the Island of Hawaii, in paired fenced and unfenced plots
across a series of pig exclosures ranging in age from 7.5 to 19.5
years. Mike is a Cancer who enjoys long walks in the forest
carrying a heavy pack. He graduated from UCSD and is always in
need of a haircut.
Kelly Powell (M.S.)
Kelly
is working on an M.S. Plan B degree in NREM with a target finish date
of May 2013. Her interests include facilitating and improving the
interface between human activities and natural systems. With bachelor
degrees in both Biology and Natural Resource Management, Kelly’s
interests also include addressing environmental issues for the
rehabilitation, preservation, and management of natural resources,
species, and habitats; as well as sustainable management and
conservation to conserve and restore biological diversity and
ecological complexity.
Julia Rowe (Ph.D.)
Julia
is working on her Ph.D. with a target finish date of December 2014. She
received a Masters of Philosophy in Human Ecology from College of the
Atlantic in Maine, where she worked with Leach’s Storm-petrels and
studied domestic and international law and policy. As a Fulbright
Student in Niger, West Africa she studied waterbird migration patterns
and resource use. For her dissertation work, she is interested in
the area where science meets policy, particularly in the context of
conservation of biodiversity. Julia is co-advised by Dr. Chris Lepczyk.
Beth Weidenhaft (M.S.)
Beth is working on an M.S. Plan B degree with a target finish date of
May 2012. Her thesis work is exploring opportunities for the State of
Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife to fund forest restoration on
state lands with funds generated from participating in carbon markets
and carbon trading.
Undergraduate
Students
Click here to see a video of
recent undergraduate research projects from the lab.
Jeremy Albano (NREM) - Spatial
& temporal variability of soil respiration along a 5°C mean
annual temperature gradient in Hawaiian wet forests
Darcey Iwashita (NREM) - Impact
of mean annual temperature on native wet forest structure and
biodiversity in Hawaii
Bryson Luke (NREM) - Prediciting
and managing fire on Oahu's guinea grasslands (Funded by the U.S. Army
Garrison-Hawaii Natural Resources Program)
Angela Stevens (NREM) - Prediciting and managing fire on Oahu's
guinea grasslands (Funded by the U.S. Army
Garrison-Hawaii Natural Resources Program)
Research Technicians
Scott Laursen
Scott is the lead technician for the climate change project on the
Island of Hawaii. He has a M.S. in Botany from the University of
Wyoming, and most recently worked as a wildlife expedition tour guide
in Alaska and Canada. Much like Mike, he is always in serious
need of a haircut.
Ka'imikila Moraes
Ka'imi
has a B.S. in Conservation Biology, and is happy to have a job. He
is a field technician for the climate change project on the Island
of Hawaii and, much like Mike, above all he enjoys long walks in the
forest carrying a heavy pack full of scientific gear.
Lab Alumni
Graduate Students
Selita Ammondt
M.S., Plan A; December 2010; Thesis Title: "Ecological restoration of native plant communities in a Hawaiian tropical dry ecosystem dominated by the invasive grass Urochloa maxima"
Ted Evans
M.S., Plan ; December 2011; Thesis Title: "Impact of cattle grazing on fine fuel loads and potential fire behavior in a nonnative grass ecosystem on Oahu, Hawaii"
Endri Martini
M.S., Plan B; May 2011; Thesis Title: "Exploring
agroforestry potential for linking biodiversity conservation to human
livelihood enhancement in tropical forests of Indonesia"
Dana Ogle
M.S., Plan B; May 2009; Thesis Title: "Effects of recent fire and swordfern
invasion on modeled fire behavior in mesic forests of Hawai'i Volcanoes
National Park"
Postdoctoral Associates
Dr. Rebecca J. Cole
Postdoctoral Ecologist; January 2010 - January 2011; Impacts of feral pig removal on native and nonnative plant
community dynamics in Hawaiian wet forests.
Dr. Kristen R. Freeman
Postdoctoral Ecologist; February 2010 - March 2011; Impacts of rising temperature on soil biogeochemistry and microbial
community composition and activity in tropical wet forests.
Research Technicians
Lindsey Deignan (Field technician on the Oahu fire project).
Kevin Kaneshiro (Field technician on the climate change
project).
Michael Koontz (Field technician on the climate change
and feral pig projects).
Rachel Moseley (Field technician on the climate change
projec)
Mataia Reeves (Field technician on the Oahu fire project. Currently a M.S. student with Dr. Susan Crow)
If you
are interested in working in the lab, either as a student or
technician, please contact Dr.
Litton about your interests to explore existing educational and
research opportunities.
Prospective Graduate
and Undergraduate Students
Would
you like to see your name and picture here? Apply!
Collaborators
Some of our lab's more recent collaborators include:
Dr. Susan Cordell, USDA Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands
Forestry
Dr. Susan E. Crow, University of Hawai'i at
Manoa, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Dr. J.B. Friday, University of Hawai'i at
Manoa, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Dr. Thomas Giambelluca, University of Hawai'i at
Manoa, Department of Geography
Dr.
Christian P. Giardina, USDA Forest Service, Institute of Pacific
Islands Forestry
Dr.
Steve Hart, University of California Merced, School of Natural
Sciences
Dr. J.
Boone Kauffman, USDA Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands
Forestry
Dr.
James Leary, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Management
Dr. Chris Lepczyk, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Management
Dr.
James W. Raich, Iowa State University, Department of Ecology,
Evolution and Organismal Biology
Dr. Michael G. Ryan, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research
Station
Dr.
Darren R. Sandquist, California State
University Fullerton, Department of Biological Science
Romulo
Santelices Moya, Universidad Catolica del
Maule, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Chile
Dr. Jed
Sparks, Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology