People

Associate Professor
Ph.D. from Montana State University, 2006

Michelle Flenniken is an Assistant Professor in the in Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology at Montana State University. Research in the Flenniken Lab is aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions in honey bees (Apis mellifera). Projects in the lab focus on elucidating the mechanisms of honey bee antiviral defense, identifying the pathogens associated with colony losses (including CCD), determining how immune responses govern the outcome of infections, and investigating the impact (sublethal effects) of agrochemicals on honey bee health.

Office: 215 Plant BioScience Building
Lab: 337 Plant BioScience Building

Phone: 406-994-7229 (office), 406-994-5152 (lab)
Email  |  Faculty Webpage 

Associate Professor of Ecology

Laura Burkle is an Assistant Professor of Ecology at Montana State University. Research in the Burkle lab aims to understand the environmental drivers of variation in plant and pollinator biodiversity and pollination services across heterogeneous landscapes. Projects in the lab include the effects of climate change, wildfire, and land use on plant-pollinator interactions. In agricultural systems, we are studying the efficacy of techniques, such as perennial flower strips, to improve pollinator forage and health.

Email  |  Lab Webpage

Associate Professor and Curator of Entomology
Ph.D. Systematic Entomology, 1985, The Ohio State University

Office: Room 50A Marsh Lab
Lab: 5 Marsh Lab

Phone: 406-994-4610 (office), 406-994-4943 (lab)
Fax: 406-994-6029
Email  |  Faculty Webpage

Professor of Entomology, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Entomology, Minor in Agronomy, 1995, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.S. Entomology 1991, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; B.S. 1987, Iowa State University

Robert K. D. Peterson is Professor of Entomology at Montana State University, where he leads the research, teaching, and outreach program in Agricultural and Biological Risk Assessment. More specifically, the program is centered on comparative risk assessment. Additional areas of research emphasis include insect ecology, plant-stress ecophysiology, and integrated pest management. All four areas form a diverse, yet interrelated research program. Bob teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including environmental risk assessment, insect ecology, and various special-topics graduate courses.

Research on pollinator health mainly includes mortality risk to the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. Specific and current research topics include bee susceptibility to insecticides used for mosquito management and bee demography and mortality dynamics.

 

Office: 219 Linfield Hall

Phone: 406-994-7927
Email  |  Faculty Webpage

Professor, Ph.D.
Ph.D. 1981, M.S. 1978, Colorado State University; B.S. 1975, S.U.N.Y. College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry at Syracuse University

Lab: 18 Marsh Lab

Phone: 406-994-2333
Email  |  Faculty Webpage

Head and Professor of Ecology, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Biology, Montana State University 1991; M.S. University of Michigan, Natural Resources Policy, Economics, and Management, 1986,  B.S. University of Maryland - Baltimore County, Biology, 1984

The Debinski Lab pursues research and teaching in the fields of conservation biology, landscape ecology, and restoration ecology with a particular focus on pollinators such as butterflies.  Some of the topics of research include biodiversity preservation and management, effects of habitat fragmentation, and assessing climate change responses.  In grasslands, research has focused on evaluating the use of fire and grazing in the context of managing for plant and pollinator communities.  In montane meadows we have been conducting both observational and experimental studies of plant and butterfly responses to drought and environmental variation.

Office: 310 Lewis Hall
Phone: 406-994-2949
Email  |  Faculty Webpage

 Research Entomologist, Ph.D.

Webpage

Casey Delphia is a Research Scientist in the Department of Land Resources & Environmental Sciences.  Her research focuses on increasing understanding of the biology and ecology of wild native bees as well as managed solitary bees in agricultural and wildland ecosystems to inform management practices that support healthy, stable, and sustainable pollination systems.  She has also been gaining extensive experience in native bee identification and helping to build a comprehensive reference collection in an effort to develop a native bee species checklist for Montana as a baseline for future monitoring efforts.  Current research projects include 1) evaluating the use of native perennial flower strips for supporting native bees and pollination services on farmlands, 2) increasing sustainability of alfalfa leafcutting bee populationson alfalfa seed farms using floral resource management strategies, and 3) documenting the bumble bees of Montana.

Webpage

M.S.F. 1985, University of Montana

Office: Plant Growth Center

Phone: 406-994-2231
Email  |  Webpage

Office: 412 Leon Johnson Hall

Phone:406-994-7608
Email  |  Faculty Webpage

Office: Marsh Labs Room 8
Lab: Marsh Labs Room 10 or Plant BioScience Room 333

Phone:406-994-5663 (office), Lab: 406-994-7267 or 994-5146
Fax: 406-994-7600
Email  |  Faculty Webpage | Big Sky Bees

 

Ruth O’Neill is a hobbyist beekeeper and a Research Associate in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology at MSU, in the Wanner Crop Entomology Lab. Education outreach efforts in the lab include an annual spring workshop for new beekeepers. Laboratory research projects include investigation of targeted cropland seed treatments that minimize harmful impacts on pollinators.

Lab: 10 Marsh Lab

Phone: 406-994-5176
Email  | Webpage

Entomologist

Montana Department of Agriculture
302 N Roberts
Helena, MT 59601

Phone: 406-444-3790
Fax: 406-444-9493
Email  |  Webpage

Natural Resource Program Manager

Montana Department of Agriculture
302 N Roberts
Helena, MT 59601

Phone: 406-444-9454
Fax: 406-444-9466
Email  |  Webpage