Biography

Melissa obtained her BS in Ecology and Evolution from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2012.  While she was an undergraduate at UCSC, Melissa spent a semester abroad at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. There, she studied South African terrestrial ecology, which sparked her interest in African savanna ecology. Once she graduated from UCSC, Melissa returned to University of KwaZulu-Natal to do a Ph.D. focused on the influences of plant secondary metabolites on the foraging behaviour and carrying capacities of the African elephant, Loxodonta africana.  She finished her Ph.D. in 2017 and worked with Dr. Dave Thompson at the South African Environmental Observation Network and the Burkepile lab at UC Santa Barbara as a postdoctoral researcher. Her postdoc research focused on tri-trophic relationships in engineered savannas. She is now an Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota.

Research Area

Melissa's work focused on tri-trophic interactions in African savannas. She is particularly interested in understanding how changes in savanna vegetation structure alter herbivore and carnivore communities as well as the feedback between herbivory pressure and plant chemical defences in savanna trees.