Nic is a research scientist in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida. He is an evolutionary biologist whose research focuses on understanding how widespread plants have adapted to the diversity of environmental conditions that they face across their ranges. Nic is particularly interested in determining how plant populations will respond to climate change including shifts in seasonal conditions as well as more frequent and severe droughts. During his downtime, he loves exploring the Western U.S. and backpacking sections of the PCT.
Ben is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology and the Curator of Plant Adaptation in the Jepson and California Herbaria at the University of California, Berkeley. He first began working on California’s native flora as an undergraduate at Stanford University, and he then went on complete his Ph.D. at Indiana University, Bloomington followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University. Through genetic and ecological studies of sunflowers and monkeyflowers, his research examines how plants cope with seasonal or daily changes in the environment and how these mechanisms then evolve as populations adapt to diverse environments across the landscape or over time.
USA National Phenology Network
The USA National Phenology Network serves science and society by promoting broad understanding of plant and animal phenology and its relationship with environmental change. The Network is a consortium of individuals and organizations that collect, share, and use phenology data, models, and related information.