Current Research

I am currently posted at the Hufbauer lab in Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Our lab focuses on applied evolutionary ecology (http://www.hufbauerlab.org) and my projects have focused on biological invasions and the evolutionary ecology of an invasive species.

Ian, Ruth and I on the beautiful and remote island of Rota, CNMI in 2022. Photo by Corey Santos.

Updated: October 16, 2023

PhD in Ecology

For my PhD returned to Guam to try to disentangle the food-web connections. I am hoping to understand shifts in arthropod abundance, behavior and roles due to the invasion of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) and loss of native birds. I will look at how insect abundance differ in areas with birds and without birds, the type of predation that is occuring, the roles of new predators in the community, and evaluating possible changes in anti-predator behavior in butterflies. In addition, I am also working with the USGS and the Guam Power Authority to look at how snakes have contributed to the significant power outages that occur on the island.

ORC ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6655-5226

Publications

Jardeleza, MK, J.B. Koch, I .Pearse, C. Ghalambor and R.A. Hufbauer. 2021. The Roles of Adaptation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Morphology and Performance of an Invasive Species in a Novel Habitat. Ecological Entomology. **MS ecology thesis**

Koch, J.B., Dupuis, J.R., Jardeleza, M.K., Ouedraogo, N., Geib, S.M., Follett, P.A. and Price, D.K., 2020. Population genomic and phenotype diversity of invasive Drosophila suzukii in Hawai ‘i. Biological Invasions, pp.1-18.

Manuscripts in Preparation

Jardeleza, MK, et al. "Attack rates of model caterpillars are lower in an island with an introduced top predator and no birds."

Jardeleza, MK, et al. "Abiotic factors and power pole structures drives snake-induced power outages in Guam."

August 23, 2022

Below is my poster for the Ecological Society of America 2022 Conference in Montreal, Canada. The funny part is that I didn't actually get to attend the conference because I developed acute appendicitis right before my flight to Montreal and had to undergo emergency surgery. Thankfully it was caught early and didn't burst in the middle of me presenting at ESA. My lovely advisor, Ruth Hufbauer, still decided to print my poster and hang it up at the conference. Below are the current findings of my PhD work.

2022_ESAposter_ver3.pdf

MS Ecology Defense Poster

Hufbauer Lab and Research Activities

Updated: August 27, 2024

Fieldwork & Lab Interns

I've been so lucky to have many great people helping me with my research and studies.

My awesome student intern from CSU WechonHpecala“Star” Ray helping me collect D. suzukii. Star was such a hardworking person and my project would'nt have been successful without her.

My hardworking interns for summer 2021 William Naden and Stephenie Santos celebrating our last collection site with traditional frozen juice and local star fruit! These two were so gung-ho and easy to work with. I was so lucky.

My fantastic summer 2022 interns Corey Santos and Joseph Castro celebrating our last collection site. These two made the hardwork so fun and helped the harsh fieldwork go by quickly.

In January 2024, I got to bring Stephenie Santos back to work with me on my butterfly behavior project during her final semester at the University of Guam. She was so wonderful to work with again and I am so proud to say that she is now attending University of Hawaii at Manoa working on her MS degree focusing on plant pathology!

Ofcourse, my family have always been my number 1 supporters. I always take them to fieldwork with me at least once every season. As you can see, I get my love to get down and dirty from my mom.