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Julie Combs
jkcombs@u.washington.edu

Education

B.S. UC Davis Environmental Biology & Management, Emphasis in Botany (1994)
M.S. University of Washington, College of Forest Resources (2005)
Ph.D. Candidate College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle

Honors

NSF IGERT Fellow
Native Plant Society Scholarship
College of Forest Resources Scholarship
Chinook Garden Fellow

International Research

Chile 2008-2009
I am working on a collaborative project to address potential competitive and behavioral interactions between two introduced Bombus spp. and the native Bombus dalhbomii in central Chile. Collaborative partners include Dolly Lanfranco Leverton and Cecilia Ruiz Gouet (Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile), Cecilia Smith (Senda Darwin Research Station, Chiloe, Chile) and Carolina Morales (Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Bariloche, Argentina).

South Africa 2008
I am engaged in several studies examining the ecological-evolutionary relationships in floral-pollinator guilds in coastal, mountain fynbos and semi-arid regions within the Western Cape, South Africa. Research questions address generalist-specialist plant-pollinator interactions as well as investigate plant-pollinator community dynamics. I am working in collaboration with Anton Pauw and Rosie Stanway (Stellenbosch University, South Africa).

China June 2007
I participated in an interdisciplinary, collaborative study in Jiuzhaigou National Park, China. Research partners included park staff at Jiuzhaigou, students and professors from Sichuan University and the University of Washington. Jiuzhaigou National Park is located in NE Sichuan Province of China and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Jiuzhaigou means "Valley of Nine Villages", referring to the existing Tibetan villages within the park boundaries. Our research team took a synthetic approach to examine how historic and current human activities affect the distribution of plants and animals within the park and uncovered evidence hinting at how long people have inhabited the Jiuzhai Valley region. Knowledge was gained through a suite of disciplines i.e., ecology, archeology, anthropology and geology as well as local and indigenous knowledge.

Dissertation Research

I am broadly interested in questions and problems in the fields of Ecology, Evolution, Plant-Insect Ecology (pollination and herbivory), and Conservation Biology. Specifically, I am investigating how herbivory and pollination and interaction between the two affect reproductive failure (seed loss) and success in rare-common sympatric, congeneric pairs.

Publications

"Preliminary evidence for a new Batesian model-mimic pair in the Disa draconis complex (Orchidaceae)" JK Combs (University of Washington) and A Pauw (Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa), 2009. Submitted manuscript to a special issue of the South African Journal of Botany that focuses on pollination biology in South Africa.

Combs, J.K. 2005. M.S. Thesis. UW, Seattle. Astragalus sinuatus (Piper), a Washington State Endangered Plant Species: Pre-dispersal Seed Predation, Seedling Recruitment and Interactions with Bromus tectorum L.

Maron, J.L., J.K Combs, S.M. Louda. 2002. Convergent demographic effects of insect attack on related thistles in coastal vs. continental dune. Ecology 83:3382-3392

Presented Talks at Conferences

Co-taught undergraduate field Conservation Biology course, San Pablo Research Station, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. January 2009.

Ecological Assessment of four plant community types in Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan-China. Jiuzhaigou National Park Symposium. Jiuzhaigou National Park, University of Sichuan, and Universtiy of Washington. Interdisciplinary collaborative oral presentations and poster. June 19, 2007.

Freeburg, Adam, Sara Breslow, Julie Combs, Emma Flores, Steve Harrell, Tom Hinckley, Joanne Ho, Joyce LeCompte-Mastenbrooke, Eric Nassau, Alicia Robbins, Haldre Rogers, Patrick Shamberger and Lauren Urgenson, MCCE IGERT: An Experiment in International Interdisciplinary Graduate Education. AAAS, Pacific Division 88th Annual Meeting, Boise State University, Boise, ID June 17 - 21, 2007 New Humanities and Science Convergences. III: The Greening of the Disciplines (Awarded AAAS Pacific Division Rita Peterson Award in Science Education).

United States-Canadian Common Ground: Transboundary Conservation of the Okanagan-Similkameen Desert Ecosystem Corridor. Joint Symposium: Building Interdisciplinary and Cross Cultural Awareness: University of British Columbia (Okanagan and Vancouver), Simon Fraser University (Vancouver) and the University of Washington (Seattle). Oral presentation. September 23, 2006.

Factors that affect the fitness and survival of the rare plant, Astragalus sinuatus Piper. Ecological Society of America. Oral presentation (2006)

Pre-dispersal insect herbivores lower seed production of Astragalus sinuatus, a Washington State endangered plant species. Northwest Scientific Association, Oral presentation (2004)

Bee Conservation and Resources Web-Links: Public Education and Surveys

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