Krissa Skogen, Ph.D.
The Skogen Lab has moved to the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University!
I'll be accepting new graduate students for the fall of 2023 and hiring a postdoc and lab tech to start early 2023 (job ads to be posted Oct/Nov 2022). If you have questions about these opportunities, please email me at kskogen[at]clemson.edu
Understanding the diversity of life starts with uncovering the evolutionary histories and relationships between interacting organisms and landscapes. As a botanist, I am fascinated by the rich diversity of flowering plants (angiosperms) and the insects that interact with them - both pollinators and antagonists (herbivores, seed predators, etc.) - and how these interactions may help explain the great diversity we see today. Much of my work focuses on differences between hawkmoth- and bee-pollinated plant species and the implications for floral phenotypes (shape, color, size, scent), population connectivity, and species boundaries. I'm also fascinated by the role that antagonists may play, especially those that are attracted to the same floral cues that attract pollinators (including color and scent) given the opposing, negative impacts of floral antagonists on plant fitness. Much of this work uses the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution as a model to explain the evolutionary relationships between members of the evening primrose family, Onagraceae, their hawkmoth and bee pollinators, and antagonist microlepidoptera in the genus Mompha (more info here).
I am also committed to plant conservation efforts, including investigating the impacts of anthropogenic factors on plants and pollinators. New funding from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management will explore the impact of oil and gas development on the rare Amsonia tharpii (Apocynaceae) which will inform decisions on its listing on the Endangered Species Act as well as management and conservation decisions to conserve extant populations.
My previous work has investigated the impact of land use change on an endemic, hawkmoth-pollinated evening primrose, Oenothera harringtonii and the role that atmospheric nitrogen deposition may have played in the decline of the nitrogen-fixing legume, Desmodium cuspidatum.
The Skogen Lab has moved to the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University!
I'll be accepting new graduate students for the fall of 2023 and hiring a postdoc and lab tech to start early 2023 (job ads to be posted Oct/Nov 2022). If you have questions about these opportunities, please email me at kskogen[at]clemson.edu
Understanding the diversity of life starts with uncovering the evolutionary histories and relationships between interacting organisms and landscapes. As a botanist, I am fascinated by the rich diversity of flowering plants (angiosperms) and the insects that interact with them - both pollinators and antagonists (herbivores, seed predators, etc.) - and how these interactions may help explain the great diversity we see today. Much of my work focuses on differences between hawkmoth- and bee-pollinated plant species and the implications for floral phenotypes (shape, color, size, scent), population connectivity, and species boundaries. I'm also fascinated by the role that antagonists may play, especially those that are attracted to the same floral cues that attract pollinators (including color and scent) given the opposing, negative impacts of floral antagonists on plant fitness. Much of this work uses the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution as a model to explain the evolutionary relationships between members of the evening primrose family, Onagraceae, their hawkmoth and bee pollinators, and antagonist microlepidoptera in the genus Mompha (more info here).
I am also committed to plant conservation efforts, including investigating the impacts of anthropogenic factors on plants and pollinators. New funding from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management will explore the impact of oil and gas development on the rare Amsonia tharpii (Apocynaceae) which will inform decisions on its listing on the Endangered Species Act as well as management and conservation decisions to conserve extant populations.
My previous work has investigated the impact of land use change on an endemic, hawkmoth-pollinated evening primrose, Oenothera harringtonii and the role that atmospheric nitrogen deposition may have played in the decline of the nitrogen-fixing legume, Desmodium cuspidatum.
Lab News
The Skogen Lab has moved to the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University!
I'll be accepting new graduate students for the fall of 2023 and hiring a postdoc and lab tech to start early 2023 (job ads to be posted Oct/Nov 2022). If you have questions about these opportunities, please email me at kskogen[at]clemson.edu !
Listen to the piece from Marfa Public Radio's Nature Notes series to learn about the work that Krissa, Jeremie Fant, colleagues and students have done in the western US! The evening primrose is the center of an aromatic drama in the desert night
Congrats to Ben Cooper, who's Master's research is now out online in Systematic Biology! Target enrichment and extensive population sampling help untangle the recent, rapid radiation of Oenothera sect. Calylophus.
Two new papers out!
See Anita Cisternas-Fuentes' paper on the evolution of the selfing syndrome in Oenothera primiveris, out in the American Journal of Botany
And! A series of studies on Oenothera harringtonii and it's hawkmoth pollinator, Hyles lineata, Mutualism has its limits: consequences of asymmetric interactions between a well-defended plant and its herbivorous pollinator, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B special issue ‘Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes’
New paper out in Phytochemistry! Extensive population-level sampling reveals clinal variation in (R)-(-)-linalool produced by the flowers of an endemic evening primrose, Oenothera harringtonii.
Excited to see Amanda Patsis' undergrad research published in Systematic Botany!! Elucidating the evolutionary history of Oenothera Sect. Pachylophus (Onagraceae): A phylogenetic approach.
I'll be accepting new graduate students for the fall of 2023 and hiring a postdoc and lab tech to start early 2023 (job ads to be posted Oct/Nov 2022). If you have questions about these opportunities, please email me at kskogen[at]clemson.edu !
Listen to the piece from Marfa Public Radio's Nature Notes series to learn about the work that Krissa, Jeremie Fant, colleagues and students have done in the western US! The evening primrose is the center of an aromatic drama in the desert night
Congrats to Ben Cooper, who's Master's research is now out online in Systematic Biology! Target enrichment and extensive population sampling help untangle the recent, rapid radiation of Oenothera sect. Calylophus.
Two new papers out!
See Anita Cisternas-Fuentes' paper on the evolution of the selfing syndrome in Oenothera primiveris, out in the American Journal of Botany
And! A series of studies on Oenothera harringtonii and it's hawkmoth pollinator, Hyles lineata, Mutualism has its limits: consequences of asymmetric interactions between a well-defended plant and its herbivorous pollinator, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B special issue ‘Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes’
New paper out in Phytochemistry! Extensive population-level sampling reveals clinal variation in (R)-(-)-linalool produced by the flowers of an endemic evening primrose, Oenothera harringtonii.
Excited to see Amanda Patsis' undergrad research published in Systematic Botany!! Elucidating the evolutionary history of Oenothera Sect. Pachylophus (Onagraceae): A phylogenetic approach.
Engagement & Media Updates!
Learn about Krissa's experiences with Homeward Bound as
one of 100 women in STEMM to travel together to Antarctica!
CBG Blog Post
Better Magazine
Indy Star Newspaper Article
Glencoe Anchor Newspaper Article
Energy News Network
one of 100 women in STEMM to travel together to Antarctica!
CBG Blog Post
Better Magazine
Indy Star Newspaper Article
Glencoe Anchor Newspaper Article
Energy News Network