Dr. Annika Nelson

FORMER MEMBER

POSTDOCTORAL NETWORK  |   Global Change Center

Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Susan Whitehead

Department of Biological Sciences

annikasn@vt.edu

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In 2023 Dr. Nelson started a position as a USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Irvine, studying biodiversity effects in bumble bee gut symbioses.

Dr. Annika Nelson was a Postdoctoral Associate in Dr. Susan Whitehead’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech. She is a population and community ecologist with research focused on the causes and consequences of variation in the outcomes of mutualisms between plants and animals.

Specifically, Annika uses ecological field experiments, demographic modeling, and analytical chemistry to evaluate the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on food-for-protection and seed dispersal mutualisms involving ants. She conducts this work across a range of ecosystems, from the mountains in Colorado to the tropics in Costa Rica. Ultimately, Annika’s goal is to obtain a position as a tenure-track faculty member at a research university to conduct work that will inform our understanding and management of ecological systems that are under threat from global change. 

DR. NELSON IN THE NEWS:

    How plant parents ensure that their kids make it far in life - VTX

Last updated 06/01/2023.