Aspen T. Reese
Department of Biology Box 90338 Duke University Durham, NC 27709
aspen.reese@duke.edu (702) 325-9704
EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy, Ecology Expected 2017
Duke University, Durham, NC. Advisor: Justin Wright
Bachelor of Science, Biology 2012
Yale University, New Haven, CT. Advisor: Eric Sargis
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ecology of dynamic systems. Ecological Networks. Multi-trophic
interactions. Succession.
PUBLICATIONS
Strickland, M.S., D. Hawlena, A.T. Reese, M.A. Bradford, and O.J.
Schmitz. Accepted. Trophic cascade alters ecosystem carbon storage
and release. PNAS.
Sargis, E.J., N. Woodman, N.C. Morningstar, A.T. Reese, and L.E. Olson.
In press. Morphological distinctiveness of Javan Tupaia hypochrysa
(Scandentia, Tupaiidae). Journal of Mammalogy
Reese, A.T., H.C. Lanier, and E.J. Sargis. 2013. Skeletal Indicators of
Postcranial Specialization in Pika (Mammalia, Ochotonidae). Journal of
Morphology 274:585-602.
Sargis, E.J., N. Woodman, A.T. Reese, and L.E. Olson. 2013. Using hand
proportions to test taxonomic boundaries within the Tupaia glis-T.
belangeri species complex (Mammalia, Scandentia). Journal of
Mammalogy. 94:183-201.
Reese, A.T. 2012. “Ochotonidae” (Online), Animal Diversity Web.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/inform
ation/Ochotonidae.html
Dornburg, A., J.G. Colosi, C. Maser, A.T. Reese, and G.J. WatkinsColwell. 2011. A survey of the Yale Peabody Museum Collection of
Egyptian Mammals Collected During the Construction of the Aswan
Dam: With an Emphasis on Material from the Yale University Prehistoric
Expedition to Nubia (Yupen) 1962-1965. Bulletin of the Peabody
Museum of Natural History. 52:255-272.
Reese
May 2013
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Anderson, J.G.T. and A.T. Reese. 2009 Seabirds in the Gulf of Maine.
Final Report of the Maine Top Predators Working Group. New England
Aquarium.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Duke University James B. Duke Fellowship, 2012-2016
Duke University W.D. Billings Fellowship, 2012-2013
American Society of Mammalogists Outstanding Research Presentation,
2012
American Society of Mammalogists Undergraduate Student
Honorarium, 2012
Yale Club of New Haven Yamanaka Prize (for best senior thesis paper
including work with the Peabody Museum collections), 2012
Peabody Museum of Natural History Summer Intern, 2011
Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship in the Sciences, 2011
Yale Environmental Fellowship, 2011
ABSTRACTS
Reese, A.T. and J.P. Wright. 2013. Manifold drivers of regional variation
in successional timing: modeling the impacts of latitudinal variation in
growth rate and herbivory on herbaceous-woody competition. Poster, to
be presented at Ecological Society of America Conference, Minneapolis,
MN.
Reese, A.T., H.C. Lanier, and E.J. Sargis. 2012. Skeletal Indicators of
Postcranial Specialization in Pika (Ochotona). Oral, presented American
Society of Mammalogists Conference, Reno, NV.
Sargis, E.J., N. Woodman, A.T. Reese, and L.E. Olson. 2011. Hand
Proportions in Treeshrews (Scandentia, Tupaiidae) and Taxonomic
Boundaries within the Tupaia Glis—Belangeri Species Complex. Oral,
presented American Society of Mammalogists Conference, Portland, OR.
Reese, A.T. 2009. Preferential Utilization of Rock Jumble Habitat by
Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus). Poster, presented Waterbirds Society
Conference, Cape May, NJ.
Anderson, J.G.T. and A.T. Reese. 2009. Maine Seabird Conservation in a
Historical and Ecological Context: The Ghosts of Predators Past. Oral,
presented Waterbirds Society Conference, Cape May, NJ.
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Reese
May 2013
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Role of herbivory and competition in driving old field
succession, PhD research
University Program in Ecology, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
My research, involving a combination of field and greenhouse
experiments, will allow me to isolate variation in herbivore pressure
and plant response and ascertain the relative importance of these
forces in determining the local abundance of species and the network
composition of old fields undergoing succession.
Impacts of trophic cascades on ecosystem functioning, research
assistant (2010-2012)
Schmitz Lab, Yale University, New Haven, C.T.
Assisted on a project using stable isotope analysis and cage
experiments to determine the effects of predator and herbivore
presence on plant carbon cycling. Assisted on a project to determine
the effects of community composition on response to warming.
Postcranial specialization in Pika, senior thesis research
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, C.T.
Developed and carried out a program of research, including field and
lab work, to identify postcranial morphological differences between
pika ecotypes.
Morphometric species identifiers, research assistant (2009-2012)
Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Lab, Yale University, New Haven,
C.T.
Performed morphometric measurements using calipers on specimens
and computer software on digital x-rays to assess the viability of hand
measurements as a means of distinguishing tree shrew species.
Managed and geo-referenced database of relevant specimens.
Mammalian Natural History Collection, collections assistant (20092012)
Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, C.T.
Produced skeletal, wet, and skin preparations of mammal specimens
and curated mammal collection.
Nesting behavior of Herring Gulls, research assistant (2009)
Alice Eno Research Station, College of the Atlantic, Great Duck Island,
M.E.
Assisted in ongoing behavioral and morphometric assessments of
seabird colonies. Designed and implemented and independent project,
using GPS/GIS mapping and demography observations, to identify what
determined nesting locations of gulls.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITES
Reese
May 2013
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Graduate student member on Duke University Scholars and Publics
committee.
Coordinator outreach with Carolina Friends School 8th grade science
classes.
Member of the Ecological Society of America and the American Society
of Mammalogists.
Reese
May 2013
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