The focus of my dissertation is on the milkweed gardens of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area: (1) the social, commercial, and ecological processes shaping and connecting these gardens, (2) the plant species composition of these gardens and winter availability and care of milkweed, (3) community ecology surrounding predation of urban monarch caterpillars, (4) how host plant species traits, garden landscape characteristics, climate, and season impact predation pressure on caterpillars. I have been studying this population since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many long walks throughout my neighborhood conducting a census of milkweed plants and counting of eggs and caterpillars. Previously, I have been an active gardener, an instructor for the UCB Urban garden ecosystems course, and a caterpillar-rearing enthusiast in the region since 2012. My larger background and interests are plant-insect interactions, agroecology, species invasions, and the evolutionary ecology and chemical ecology of plant-animal interactions. Some of this work is in preparation for publication. Stay tuned!
