BPP Graduate Student Association

Below is a list of recent BPP graduate student defenses. To have your defense added to the list, please email Nick Carleson.

2018

• "Environmental Factors Affecting Phytophthora Root Rot of Rhododendron" ~ Angie Mestas
• "Secondary Metabolism in Tolypocladium : Characterization, Ecology, Evolution and Regulation" ~ Rheannon Rua Blount
• "Investigating Protein-lipid-membrane Interactions in Plant Cells using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation" ~ Kai Tao
• "Contrasting Epiphytic and Ground Layer Macrolichen Communities along the Coast-to-inland Climatic Gradient in Oregon" ~ Abby Glauser
• "Hybridization between Castilleja levisecta and C. hispida : Implications for Pacific Northwest Prairie Management" ~ Isaac Jerome Sandlin III
• "Grape Powdery Mildew Management: The Interaction Between Inflorescence Stage and Fungicide Chemistry" ~ Brent Warneke

2017

• "Drivers of Soil Fungal Communities Across Three Tropical Rainforests in Panama" ~ Tyler Schappe
• "Phytophthora ramorum within an Oregon tanoak forest : Quantifying inoculum within canopy throughfall vs. soil splash" ~ Silvia Benemann
• "Conservation of Rorippa columbiae : An Evaluation of Reintroduction Potential through the Study of Germination Ecology, Propagation Methods, and Habitat Requirements" ~ Laura Kentnesse
• "Candidate Genes Associated with Blister Rust Resistance in Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) Revealed through de novo Transcriptome Assembly and Differential Gene Expression Analysis" ~ Zolton Bair
• "Realized and potential climate responses of lichen and bryophyte communities in a national forest inventory" ~ Robert Smith
• "Unearthing the Cretaceous Diversification of Cornales" ~ Brian Atkinson
• "Non-target Effects of Biological Control: Ecological Risk of Tyria jacobaeae (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) to Senecio triangularis (Asteraceae) in Western Oregon" ~ Madison Rodman

2016 

• "The Primary Disease Gradient of Wheat Stripe Rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) Across Spatial Scales" ~ Daniel Farber
• "Development and Application of Tools for Genetic Analysis of Clonal Populations" ~ Zhian Kamvar
• "Investigations of Black Leg and Light Leaf Spot on Brassicaceae Hosts in Oregon" ~ Briana Claassen
• "Identification of Endogenous and Exogenous Pararetroviruses in Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)" ~ Alfredo Diaz Lara
• "Genomic Investigations of Diversity within the Milkweed Genus Asclepias, at Multiple Scales" ~ Kevin Weitemier
• "Genome organization in the ectomycorrhizal truffle Rhizopogon vesiculosus" ~ Dabao Lu
• "Characterization of the transition to the programic phase in Zea mays pollen" ~ Caity Smyth
• "The role of plant-soil feedback in the invasion of Brachypodium sylvaticum in Douglas-fir forests" ~ Andrew Esterson
• "Understanding Host-Pathogen Interactions in the Sphaerulina musiva-Populus Pathosystem" ~ Kelsey Dunnell 
• “Overwintering of Erysiphe necator and inoculum monitoring for decision aids” ~ Lindsey Thiessen
• "Alternative seed treatments for management of seedborne disease: case study, black leg on crucifer crops" ~ Morgan Schneider
• "Biological Soil Crusts of the Great Basin: Distribution, Recovery from Disturbance, and Restoration" ~ Lea Condon 
• "Distribution of Phytophthora rubi and Pratylenchus penetrans in Pacific Northwest red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) fields" ~ Duncan Kroese

2015 

• "Mulching for Managing Mummy Berry of Blueberry" ~ Jade Florence
• “When humans fail to tell the story, let the lichens and plants tell it for us: Dating pre-historic cairns in southeast Alaska” ~ Nijmah Ali 
• “Lichen Functional Trait Variation Along an East-West Climatic Gradient in Oregon and Among Habitats in Katmai National Park, Alaska” ~ Kaleigh Spickerman 
• “The role of intraspecific functional trait variation in the differential decline of meadow species following conifer encroachment” ~ Jessica Celis 

2014 

• "Mitigating harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms: the Role of Plant Humics" ~ Sus Theis
• "Seasonality as a driving factor of decomposition pathways in both meadows and forests: an exploration across a gradient of climate in Oregon" ~ Sam Colby
• "Yosemite region nitrogen deposition and lichen community composition change" ~ Martin Hutten
•  “Phytosanitation of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) logs to mitigate the risk of artificially disseminating Phytophthora ramorum within the global trade of timber”  ~ Joey Hulbert
• "Interactions Between Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Molybdenum in Forest Soils and Cyanobacterial Lichens in the Oregon Coast Range" ~ Jade A. Marks
• "Systematic, genomic, and transcriptomic analysis of mycoparasitic Tolypocladium species and their Elaphomyces hosts" ~ Alisha Owensby Quandt
• “Identification and Distribution of the Mating-Type Locus and Development of Cleistothecia of Podosphaera macularis” ~ Sierra Wolfenbarger

2013 

• "Lichen communities and caribou habitat in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA" ~ Peter Nelson
• "Reconnecting children to nature through environmental education: An internship at Avery House Nature Center" ~ Jena Fay
• "An Experimental Reintroduction of Pleuropogon oregonus, a Rare Wetland Grass Native to Oregon" ~ Matt Groberg
• "Histological comparisons of needle tissues of four species of white pine infected with Cronartium ribicola" ~ Kat Sweeney
• "Presence and pathogenicity of Fusarium and Verticillium species in commercial red radish (Raphanus sativus) seed production in the Willamette Valley of Oregon" ~ Rachel Bomberger
• "Experimental reintroduction of Artemisia campestris var. wormskioldii, a rare species of dynamic cobble bar environments on the Columbia River" ~ Alexis Brickner
• "A Survey of Vascular Plants and Recreational Uses at Valley Camp, North Bend, WA" ~ Tamra Prior
• "Fungal endophyte diversity in foliage of native and cultivated Rhododendron species" ~ Hank Raizen