our mission
We are ecologists based at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Our aim is to apply cutting-edge science to the challenges of restoration, invasion, and environmental change.
We embrace: variability as well as average values; process and pattern as well as structure; feedbacks that lead to rapid change as well as those that lead to resilience; and creative as well as conservative management actions.
We are committed to sharing our science, passion, and curiosity in the natural world.
Lab Retreat, Estes Park (2025): Sam Ahler, Advyth Ramachandran, Katie Suding, Kai Kopecky, Hunter Geist-Sanchez. Tom Merchant, Annie Meeder, Jon Henn, Sarah-Elizabeth Stockman.
Katharine Suding
Katie is a Distinguished Professor of Ecology at University of Colorado Boulder. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a highly-cited author who has written extensively in the areas of ecosystem dynamics and management, ecological restoration, biodiversity, and conservation. Her current research focuses on managing ecosystems in a rapidly changing world. In 2018, she received the Robert H. MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America, a biennial prize given by the Ecological Society of America to an ecologist for their pivotal contributions to the field.
our impact
1.
We have published over 150 papers in a range of peer-reviewed journals, with audiences ranging from basic scientists to applied practitioners.
2.
Our work is widely used and cited, recognized as among the top 1% in citations in ecology and environmental science by ISI Web of Science.
3.
Alumni of the Suding lab have gone on to be pivotal leaders in academia, federal agencies, and non-profit organizations.
4.
We have strong collaborative relationships with groups leading conservation and restoration efforts at the local, national and international level.
current lab members
Sam Ahler
Pronouns: they/them
PhD Candidate (BS, University of Wisconsin Madison). Co-advised by Dr. Nancy Shackelford
Research Interests: Community ecology, reproduction tradeoffs, biology education, critical plant studies, field education, LGBTQ+ experiences in STEM
Hunter Geist-Sanchez
Pronouns: he/him
MS Student (BS, Colorado State University)
Research Interests: Restoration ecology, plant community ecology, global change, functional traits, stakeholder engagement
Jon Henn
Pronouns: he/him
Postdoctoral Fellow (PhD, University of Wisconsin Madison; BA, St. Olaf College). Co-advised by Dr. Marko Spasojevic.
Research Interests: Plant community change, restoration ecology, climate change, functional traits
Katya Jay
Pronouns: she/her
Postdoctoral Fellow (PhD, Oregon State University; BS, Macalester College). Co-advised by Dr. Will Wieder.
Research Interests: Plant community ecology, global change biology, ecogeomorphology
Kai Kopecky
Pronouns: he/him
Postdoctoral Fellow (ESIIL Fellow; PhD, University of California Santa Barbara; BS, University of California Santa Cruz )
Research Interests: Resilience, disturbance, global change, foundation species, material legacies, marine and community ecology
Joey Lodge
Pronouns: they/them
PhD Student (BA, Hamilton College). Co-advised by Dr. Nancy Emery
Research Interests: Alpine ecology, community ecology, biogeography, and global change biology
Annie Meeder
Pronouns: she/her
PhD Student (NSF Predoctoral Fellow; MS/BS, California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo)
Research Interests: Community ecology, field botany, STEM education, island systems
Tom Merchant
Pronouns: he/him
PhD Candidate (NSF Predoctoral Fellow; BA, Brown University)
Research Interests: Plant community, ecosystem ecology, and global change, plant-microbial interactions, data science
Advyth Ramachandran
Pronouns: he/him
PhD Student (NSF Predoctoral Fellow; BS, University of California Riverside)
Research Interests: Plant community ecology, ecosystem ecology, fire ecology, biogeography, global change
Jane G. Smith
Pronouns: she/her
Research Associate (PhD, New Mexico State; BA/BS, University of Colorado Boulder)
Research Interests: Botany, alpine flora, ecosystem ecology, soil organic carbon and carbon cycling
Sarah Elizabeth Stockman
Pronouns: she/her
PhD Student (Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology Fellow @ BioFrontiers; BA, Wellesley College)
Research Interests: Plant community ecology, climate change, biodiversity, data science, STEM education
Katharine Suding
Pronouns: she/her
Distinguished Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Fellow, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (PhD, University of Michigan; BA, Williams College)
N211 RAMY (main campus)
Caitlin White
Pronouns: she/her
PhD Candidate (MS, MPA, Indiana University Bloomington; BA, University of California San Diego)
Research Interests: Community ecology, invasion, climate variability and disturbance, public resource management
some of our projects
some of our Partners
