The Kaproth Lab includes Biology MS graduate students and undergraduate students. We work as a team to explore questions related to plant biology, ecology, conservation and evolution.
Matthew Kaproth
Principal Investigator
Ashley Selee
Biology MS Graduate Student
Ashley is interested in forest ecology and understanding forest community structure. Ashley's interests also include understanding how our forest will change with shifts in climate, as well as how disturbance events like fire impact forest structure and management decisions. Her research focuses on creating a framework to assess oak species (Quercus) functional traits adaptation related to fire resistance (leaf, stem and bark functional traits can be scored based on their fire resistance). Her research aim is to map the fire resistance scores of Quercus across the United States.
Jean Pengra
Biology MS Graduate Student
Jean Pengra is interested in topics such as plant community ecology and ecophysiology, as well as how science is translated into management practices. He has high interest in studying midwestern biomes with a focus on areas vulnerable to ecosystem shift under climate change. Jean's research project investigates how environmental heterogeneity at a microclimatic scale drives plant diversity within oak savannas. He currently teaches General Biology labs and deeply enjoys interacting with students and showing them how biology can be a rewarding and exciting field of study.
Kaproth Lab Alumni
Biology MS Graduate Students
- Alex Kirsch (2019-2021) - Defining Plant Ecological Specialists and Generalists: Building a Framework for Identification and Classification
- Ainsley Peterson (2018-2020) - Vegetation Surveys in Southern MN Prairies: Management, Invasive Species and Future Directions
- Travis Paradis (2017-2019) - Evolution of Drought Tolerance: Partitioning of Non Structural Carbohydrates Across Quercus spp.
