Gary N. Ervin
Plant Ecology Lab​ ~ Aquatic Botany, Invasive Species, Wetland Ecology​
Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University
Students who have graduated from my lab​
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Samuel Schmid
Ph.D. 2025
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Sam came to Mississippi State in Fall of 2021 from Minnesota. Sam is investigating control of the invasive aquatic plant alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) via integration of chemical and biological methods. Sam has an interest in many aspects of alligator weed ecology, including: herbivore-host dynamics, interspecific competition, and life history variation between native and invasive genotypes.
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During his Master's degree work at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Sam studied the biotic and abiotic factors that predict the distribution and composition of aquatic macrophyte communities in Sibley Co., MN.
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Jacob Hockensmith
M.S. 2024
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Jacob started work in the lab in Fall 2021. He has an interest in wetlands and invasive species. Jacob has been working on invasive plant eradication since First Grade, when he began annual garlic mustard removal work at a local park.
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Jacob graduated Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry in 2021. While at Slippery Rock, he helped conduct research comparing herbicide responses of diploid and triploid flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), under the guidance of Dr. Cory Shoemaker, an Ervin lab alum.
Andrew Sample
M.S. 2023
Andy joined the lab in Spring 2020. He is working on research that looks at the roles of wetland plants in water quality improvement. Andy also has an interest in how invasive wetland plants affect (and are affected by) nutrient dynamics in freshwater wetlands.
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Andy has received a student grant from the Society of Wetland Scientists for a portion of his research and took second place in the student presentation compatition at the South Carolina Chapter of the Aquatic Plant Management Society in 2021.
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Andy came to MSU from Forth Worth, TX, where he spent several years working for a private wetland consulting firm. He earned his B.S. degree in Environmental, Soil, and Water Sciences from the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) in Spring of 2015.
Adrian Lazaro Lobo
Ph.D. 2021
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Adrian joined my lab in Fall of 2017 to study invasive species ecology, as a component of natural areas conservation. Adrian published several papers on his work in southeastern US forests, prairies, and roadsides. Much of his work was funded by a grant from the US Forest Service.
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After completing his Ph.D., Adrian returned to Spain, for postdoctoral research positions. The first of those was in Alcala, Spain.
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Adrian received his undergraduate degree from Complutense University of Madrid and earned his Master's degree through Complutense University of Madrid, University of Alcalá, King Juan Carlos University, and Polytechnic University of Madrid.
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Dissertation: Evaluating the influence of ecosystem characteristics and species traits on exotic species distributions
David Mason
M.S. 2018
David joined the Ervin lab in Fall semester 2016. He studied changes in the distribution of plants, especially invasive species, in forest habitats of nearby Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge and Tombigbee National Forest.
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After graduation, David went on to continue his graduate studies at the University of Florida and later joined the Jones center as a Plant Ecologist.
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David received his B.A. in Environmental Studies from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in 2013.
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Cory Shoemaker
Ph.D. 2018
Cory joined my lab in Fall semester 2013 to work on research investigating the ecology of wetland restoration in the Mississippi Delta. A portion of his dissertation research was funded by a grant from the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute (for which he contributed significantly in authoring the proposal). Cory studied the interrelationships among wetland plant assemblages, water quality, and land use in WRP wetlands, with the assistance of the USDA NRCS.
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After graduation, Cory moved to a faculty position at Slippery Rock University in PA.
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Cory completed his B.S. (Biology and French!) at Wittenberg University (OH) in 2010. He completed his Master's degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science here at MSU, under the direction of Dr. Robert Kröger.
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Dissertation: Drivers of wetland plant assemblages in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley
Evelyn DiOrio
M.S. 2016
Evelyn joined the Ervin lab in Fall semester 2014. She studied the relationship between plant species assemblages and water quality in wetlands of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, or Delta, as we call it locally. After graduation, she took a position conducting environmental assessments for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
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Evelyn received her B.S. from the Tennessee Technological University, in Spring of 2013, where she double majored in Biology and Wildlife & Fisheries Science, with a concentration in Environmental and Conservation Biology.
Thesis: Functions of wetland plant assemblages on water quality improvement
Christian Carter
M.S. 2014
Christian joined the Ervin lab in Spring semester 2013 and completed his thesis in May 2014. He worked on a variety of ecological studies to better understand the biology of a growing nuisance wetland plant species in the US Midwest - Butomus umbellatus (Flowering Rush).
Following graduation, Christian was employed by the US Forest Service in northern Arkansas before moving to New Mexico for a job with the US Forest Service's Nogales Ranger District.
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Christian received his B.S. from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock in 2011, where he majored in Biology, with an Minor in Mathematics.
Thesis: Experimental assessment of Butomus umbellatus L. growth and expansion using a mesocosm approach
Rima Lucardi
Ph.D. 2012
Rima began work in the Ervin lab during Spring semester 2008. She studied population genetics of an invasive grass (Imperata cylindrica) in the southeastern US.
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Rima was employed through the USDA Forest Service SCEP program for the last year of her doctoral studies. She relocated to their SRS lab in Athens, GA shortly after her December 2012 graduation.
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Rima received her B.S. from the University of Texas at Arlington in December 2005, where she spent considerable time working in the lab of Dr. Laura Gough.
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Dissertation: Multi-scale population genetic analysis of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) in the southeastern United States: introduction history, range expansion, and hybridization
Steven Hughes​
M.S. 2011
Steven began work in my lab during Summer 2007. He worked on projects related to invasive plant ecology in the Mid-South US (TN, AL, MS, AR, LA) as part of work funded by the USDA and USGS through MSU's Geosystems Research Institute. His thesis focused on habitat modeling for Blackland Prairie plant species in Mississippi.
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Steven received his B.S. from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. He left my lab for a position with the US Forest Service Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research. He later took a position as Collections Manager for the University of Georgia Herbarium.
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Thesis: Analysis of conservation practices in the Blackland Prairie region of Mississippi and construction of a predictor for locating new sites for conservation efforts.
Mary Catherine Mills ​
M.S. 2011
Mary Catherine began work in my lab during Summer 2008. She worked on projects related to restoration of rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea) as part of research funded by a US EPA, Region 4 Wetlands Development Program grant.
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Mary Catherine received several awards for research presentations at regional conferences and was named MSU GSA Research Assistant of the Year in 2011.
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Mary Catherine received her B.S. from the University of North Carolina in Asheville, NC. After graduation, Mary Catherine returned to NC to serve as a High School Environmental Sciences teacher.
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Thesis: Empirical studies of Arundinaria species for restoration purposes
Lucas Majure​
M.S. 2007
Lucas worked as a graduate student in my lab from Fall 2004 until Summer 2007. He worked on projects related to invasion ecology in the Mid-South US (TN, AL, MS, AR, LA) as part of a larger USGS grant to MSU's Geosystems Research Institute. His primary contribution to that work was mapping of native cactus (Opuntia spp.), in support of efforts at monitoring the invasive cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum.
Lucas received the 2007 GSA Graduate Research Assistant of the Year award at MSU for his research on Opuntia and other floristic work. Lucas' thesis laid the groundwork for his Ph.D. studies in the taxonomy of southeastern Opuntia; that work began in the Department of Botany at The University of Florida in Fall 2007. He received his Ph.D. in summer 2012. He worked for a time as the "Biologist of New World Succulents" at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ prior to taking a position as Assistant Curator at the University of Florida Herbarium.
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Thesis: The Ecology and Morphological Variation of Opuntia (Cactaceae) Species in the Mid-South, United States
Chris Holly​
Ph.D. 2008
Chris Holly began work in my lab during Fall of 2004, after receiving his undergraduate degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. He worked on projects related to invasive plant ecology in the Mid-South US (TN, AL, MS, AR, LA) as part of a larger USGS grant to MSU's Geosystems Research Institute and grants from the USDA. His primary focus was ecology of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) invasion.
Chris received a 2008 GSA Graduate Research Assistant of the Year award at MSU for his research on Imperata cylindrica. He began studies at the University of Mississippi School of Law in Fall 2008. After receiving his law degree, Chris went to work as a biotechnology patent attorney in Washington, DC.
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Dissertation: Multi-scale evaluation of mechanisms associated with the establishment of a model invasive species in Mississippi: Imperata cylindrica
Brook Herman​
M.S. 2005
Brook began work in my lab during the summer of 2002. Brook's work was aimed at development of tools for use in assessment and monitoring of freshwater wetlands, specifically vegetation assessment methods (based on the FQAI approach) and invertebrate assessment techniques (IBI-type approach).
After completion of her M.S. studies, Brook took a temporary position with the Nature Conservancy at the Kankakee Sands Restoration Project. She then worked as a Plant Ecologist with Land Resource Management Group, Inc. in Bradley, Illinois. Brook now is employed with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, MS.
Thesis: Testing the Floristic Quality Assessment Index in natural and created wetlands in Mississippi, USA
Jason Bried​
M.S. 2005
Jason began work in my lab during the summer of 2002. He worked on projects to evaluate the potential effectiveness of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) at indicating freshwater wetland ecological integrity. Specifically, he assessed the short-term direction, pattern, and sensitivity of adult Odonata diversity response to mowing, fire, drainage, and other human activities.
Jason was awarded a Society of Wetland Scientists Student Research Grant (2004) and SWS Regional Best Student Presentation Award (Spring 2005). Jason took a position with the Nature Conservancy's Eastern New York Chapter, where he served as a Preserve Ecologist for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. He completed his Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University and then moved on to a post-doc at the University of Arkansas. Jason later moved to a faculty position at Murray State University.
Thesis: Community and conservation ecology of dragonfly and damselfly adults in Mississippi wetlands
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