We welcome participants, students, and collaborators of all backgrounds, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and neurodiversity. A team with a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and abilities provides us with the greatest power to solve a diversity of real world problems. As a group, we work hard to create a community dynamic were everyone feels that they belong and can do their best work.

If you are interested in joining the group, send us an email! Prospective graduate students can learn more about our joint program in Plant Biology & Conservation at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University here. Prospective postdocs should get in touch to discuss potential projects and funding opportunities.

2021 Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group
(left to right: Justin Bain, Brendan Connolly, Jackie Fitzgerald, Elsa Godtfredsen, Izzy Rodelius, Alex Zink,
Mark Dorf (virtual), Kathryn Dawdy, Jane Ogilvie (virtual), Josh Scholl, Amy Iler, Zoe Birdie CaraDonna,
Amelia Litz (virtual), Vicky DeLira, Samantha Turner, Gwen Kirschke...and Paul CaraDonna in selfie center).

2021 Plant Demography Field Team (doing their best to stay "cool" during the heat wave).
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2020 Plant Demography Field Team.

Paul CaraDonna, PhD, principal investigator (Chicago Botanic Garden, Northwestern University, & The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory).

Victoria Delira, MSc. Student + Project Manager (Northwestern University, Chicago Botanic Garden, & The Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Vicky's research focuses on understanding the consequences of pollinator declines for plant reproduction and floral longevity.

Jackie Fitzgerald, PhD student (NSF Graduate Research Fellow; Northwestern University, Chicago Botanic Garden, & The Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Jackie's dissertation research is investigating bumble body size variation and its consequences under climate change.

Justin Bain, PhD candidate (NSF Graduate Research Fellow; Northwestern University, Chicago Botanic Garden, & Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Justin is studying the various factors that contribute to the diet breadth of bees and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Alex Zink (MSc student, Northwestern University & Chicago Botanic Garden, co-advised with Amy Iler). Alex's research focuses on understanding pollination ecology at urban farms within the City of Chicago.

Gwen Kirschke, post-bac researcher (The Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Gwen's research focuses on characterizing and quantifying the nectar landscape available to bumble bees in subalpine meadows. As of now, we've been able to quantify various nectar traits for 50+ species from our subalpine ecosystem.

Kathryn Dawdy, MSc student (Northwestern University, Chicago Botanic Garden; co-advised). Kathryn is interested in how plant phenology contributes to interactions with both mutualists and antagonists.

Brendan Connolly, MSc student (NU/CBG, co-advised with Dr. Jeremie Fant)

Jane Ogilive, PhD, Research Associate (Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Jane is amazing and we work with her to understand bumble bee population and community ecology.

Amelia Litz, PhD student (co-advised with Amy Iler; Northwestern University and Chicago Botanic Garden). Amelia's research aims to characterize the nesting habitat of solitary, ground-nesting bees in wild ecosystems. By addressing this key gap in our knowledge of these important pollinators, broader ecological questions such as, how ground-nesting species will respond to changes in land use and the climate, can be investigated.

Izzy Rodelius, Research Technician (Chicago Botanic Garden & Rocky Mountain Biological Lab). Izzy has been working with us in the field and in the lab to figure out the consequences of pollinator declines for plants.

Amy Iler, PhD. Principal Investigator (Chicago Botanic Garden). The other half of the Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group.

Zoe Birdie CaraDonna (Research Bub). Zoe's work focuses on the theoretical ecology of consumer-resource dynamics.

Nick Waser, PhD, & Mary Price, PhD (lab associates, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory).

Jeremy Jonas & Mika Jones, Summer Researchers (Public School Teachers, Tucson Public Schools). JJ and Mika have been working with us in the field studying pollination ecology and plant demography. They are the best.

Mark Dorf, artist (Rocky Mountain Bio Lab and Brooklyn, NY). We've been working and thinking with Mark about the future of nature since 2015.

Will Petry, PhD (lab associate; assistant professor, North Carolina State University). We love working with Will. He is a collaborator on our pollinator declines and plant population dynamics grant.

Lab Alumni
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Graduate Students
Vicky DeLira, MSc (2019–2023)
Alex Zink, MSc (2020–2023)
Andrea Gruver, MSc (2017–2020)​​

Undergraduate Researchers
Mina Seals (Northwestern University, 2020-2021)
Paola Lopez (RMBL REU, 2020)​​
Alex Tash (RMBL REU, 2020)
Clayton Pokorny (Northwestern University, 2018–2020)
Hannah Dembosky (Northwestern University, 2019)
Lucia Basacoma (Northwestern University, 2019)
Maggie Cheever (Northwestern University, 2019)
Sophia Settle (Northwestern University, 2019)
Samantha Russell (Lake Forest College, 2019)
Nolan Carothers (Lake Forest College, 2019)
John Zhang (Northwestern University, 2018)
Atticus Murphy (RMBL REU, 2018)
Maya Dutta (CBG REU, 2018)
Rachel Dickson (RMBL REU, 2017)
Katherine Wyatt (RMBL REU, 2015)
James Cunningham (RMBL REU, 2013)
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2020 "Plant Parenthood" Field Team at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (a summer subsample of the Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group). Team members are grouped loosely by "pod". From left to right: Emma Proietti, Elina Smith, Vicky DeLira, Izzy Rodelius, Diana Jerome, Jane Ogilvie, Mika Jones, Jeremie Jonas, Amy Iler, Zoe Birdie CaraDonna, and Paul CaraDonna.

The 2019 Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. From left to right: Justin Bain, Marie Faust, Carter Adamson, Diana Jerome, Jackie Fitzgerald, Paul CaraDonna, Donny Ingold, Amy Iler, Gwen Kirschke, Vicky Delira, Jane Ogilvie, Zoe Birdie CaraDonna, and Natalie Fischer.