Research in the Youngsteadt Urban Ecology Lab works at the interface of urbanization and climate change to understand how organisms, populations, and ecological interactions respond to anthropogenic stressors–and what we can do about it. We work mainly with invertebrates and plant-insect interactions. Here are some of our recent and ongoing projects.

Research

Projects

Carpenter bees

Almost everyone in the eastern US will recognize this bee, known for drilling its nests into porches and eaves. Eastern carpenter bees are so common in cities that they have rarely been studied in “nature.” What is it about cities that favors this species, how has urban living changed its biology and ecology, and how can it be managed with minimal pesticides?

Urban bee diversity, health, and pollination

Cities are warmer than the surrounding landscape, causing some insects to grow, reproduce, or develop faster than they do outside the city, while others may be pushed above their thermal optima and decline. Current projects ask where and how bees cope with urban heat stress, and how human socioeconomic status shapes urban bee habitat.