Clara W
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at University of California Riverside (UCR)
Expertise
ecology, evolution, organimsal biology, microorganisms, mathematical modeling, theoretical ecology
Bio
Hi! My name is Clara. I’m a PhD candidate in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at University of California, Riverside. I study the ways in which species interact with each other, such as predator-prey pairs and competitive relationships, and how these interactions are affected by the environment they live in. I ask questions like, how do the ways in which organisms interact affect their population dynamics over time? And what are the consequences of abiotic factors, such as basal nutrient levels and spatial complexity, on species persistence? I combine mathematical modeling and laboratory experiments with microbes to answer these questions, giving me lots of data to explore with mentees like you. I love mentoring young students who are enthusiastic about the natural world. I’ve mentored over 20 students in executing independent projects and presenting their results at conferences, most of which were brand new to the field of ecology. Mentorship was crucial to igniting my interest in research, which is why I am passionate about passing this valuable experience onto our future scientists. In my free time, I love to hike, garden, and read mystery novels. I am a proud kitten foster parent, and I also have 3 cats of my own, a bulldog, and a bearded dragon. I love animals!Project ideas
Predators that eat their competitors: A sneaky trick to increase one’s fitness in nature
Many predators purposefully prey on their competitors to simultaneously reduce competition and gain nutritional benefits. This species interaction, called intraguild predation, is theoretically predicted to result in species extinction yet it persists widely in nature - how is that so? We can explore the effect of this common interaction on the persistence of such species with data analysis on protist microcosm experiments and/or mathematical modeling of population dynamics. A basic foundation of coding is desirable but not necessary.
Predicting how habitat fragmentation affects the coexistence of a predator-prey relationship
Have you ever wondered how the exponential growth of the human population has overtaken natural habitat and what the consequences are for our fellow species? We alter natural landscapes constantly, such as fragmenting one large habitat into multiple smaller habitats, which affects both directly and indirectly the ways species interact. We can answer these questions with population modeling to predict what will happen to the persistence of interacting species as humans continue to fragment their land.
The commonality of cannibalism in nature: Eating one’s brothers and sisters may be the key to an organism’s survival
Though unethical in humans, cannibalism is surprisingly common in the animal kingdom and may help individuals survive despite resource-poor and highly-competitive conditions. Cannibalizing on one’s siblings both reduces competition for resources and provides nutritional benefits. Cannibalism provides benefits on the individual level but not necessarily the population level, so how has it evolved to be so prominent in nature? With mathematical modeling and/or laboratory experiments, let’s explore the effect of cannibalism in the context of larger food webs to determine just how important cannibalism is in species persistence.