Aaron Wagner, MS
Former MS Student
In the fall of 2012, I was a pre-dental student my junior year in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Tomback instructed my evolution class, where she often captured my imagination speaking about the coevolved mutualism between whitebark pine and Clark’s nutcracker. Later that year, I became a research assistant in the Tomback lab, and accompanied the lab on a 6 week trip to Glacier National Park and the Beartooth Plateau. I was astonished to observe the ruggedness of high elevation whitebark pine communities, and the effects of white pine blister rust - a disease devastating whitebark pine across its range. When I returned to Colorado, I was no longer a pre-dental student. I received my BS in Biology in May 2013, and joined Dr. Tomback’s lab as a master’s student. Previously, I led the first study of whitebark pine alpine treeline ecotone communities at its southeastermost range (in the greater Yellowstone area) to determine the relative abundance of whitebark pine compared to other conifers, whitebark pine’s role as a tree island initiator, and the incidence of white pine blister rust. I graduated in spring 2017. The background I gained in statistics and data analysis has led to full-time employment. Dr. Tomback and I are currently writing up my thesis research for publication.
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