Don Yee (PI): Interests in Medical entomology; Urban ecology; Community and population ecology; Ecological stoichiometry; Taxonomy; Invasive specie;s Feeding ecology and oviposition behavior; Tropical insect ecology

Current Graduate Students:

2026 – Current: Brandon Henriquez (Ph.D.): TBA

2026- Current: Heather Penton (Ph.D.): TBA

2024 – Current: Cassie Urquhart (Ph.D.): Culex antillummagnorum life history, ecology, and lizard malaria (on leave)

2024 – Current: Ella Branham (M.S.): Patterns of mosquito nectar feeding in Puerto Rico

Current Undergraduates:

2026 – Current: Morgan Dale (Honors College Thesis): Blood meal analysis of Mississippi mosquitoes

2025 – Current: Dylan Vo, Function of thoracic setae in mosquito larvae

2024- Current: Jelly James: Jumping spider predation across mosquito species (on leave)

Past Graduate Students:

2017-2025      Limarie Reyes Torres (Ph.D.): Regulation and urbanization on Aedes aegypti population performance and vector competence

                             NIH Pre-Doctoral Awardee, 2022-2005

2017-2023      Catherine Dean (M.S.): The effects of human sewage on the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus

2019-2023      Nathaniel Dahlberg (M.S.): Hide and Seek: An Exploration of antipredator and predator avoidance mechanisms in Orthopodomyia signifera in response to predation from Toxorhynchites rutilus

2019-2022     Patrick Gilkey (M.S.): Rocky real estate: disturbance ecology of aquatic insect larvae inhabiting freshwater rock pools in Puerto Rico

2017-2020      Joseph Nelsen (M.S.): Do mosquito pesticides harm their natural enemies? Ecological consequences and  non-target effects of larvicides on mosquito predators

2017-2020      Nicole Scavo (M.S). Mosquito communities and insect-specific viruses in a heterogenous, urban landscape in Puerto Rico

2017-2020      Nicole Mackey (M.S.): Historical and contemporary variables affecting the range and distribution of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, in the United States

2016-2018       James Deerman (M.S.): Mosquito nutrient stoichiometry and Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus in cemeteries

2016-2017     Dr. Emily Barker (Post doc): Development of spatial repellent test methodology

2012-2013       Dr. Alisa Abuzeineh (Post doc): Environmental filters of container mosquito communities

2010-2015      Nnaemeka Francis Ezeakacha (Ph.D.): Linking effects of different environmental factors across different life history stages of container mosquitoes

2012-2014       Stephanie Schelble (M.S.): The influence of water depth on oviposition behavior and survival of Aedes  albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus

2011-2013       Jeffrey Skiff (M.S.): Interactions between protozoan prey (Phylum Protista) and their mosquito (Order  Diptera; Family Culicidae) predators:  prey size and predator behavior effects.

2009-2012     David Allgood (M.S.): Influence of detritus levels and organic pollution on interspecific resource competition, oviposition behavior, and larval survival of two tire-inhabiting mosquito species

2009-2011      Kristopher Pitcher (M.S.): Interspecific coexistence and competition between two similar species of predacious diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in temporary aquatic habitats

Past Undergraduate Honors Thesis students:

2024-2025    Dylan Russel: Changes in mosquito phenotypes in response to detritus types and amounts across four species:

                                 Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, and Sabethes cyaneus

                              *Best Student Thesis Award

2023-2025   Liz Wynne: Discovery and Description of a Novel Mode of Oviposition in the Culex Mosquito Genus

2021-2023    William Swartzfager: What are the non-consumptive effects of dytiscids on mosquitoes?

2021-2022   Taka Nah Jelah:  Investigating the effects of maize pollen on the development of the mosquitoes Anopheles

                               quadrimaculatus and Culex quinquefasciatus

2019-2020    Shelby Hosch: Temperature affecting egg desiccation and performance of adults of three species of Aedes

2017-2019    Jaclyn Everly: Invertebrate recolonization of Heliconia systems in Puerto Rico

2017-2018   Rachel Rogers: Effects of acorns on populations of Aedes mosquitoes

2013-2014   Silvano Daniels:  Adult interactions between Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus: implications for

oviposition and adult performance

2013-2014   Carmen Bofill:  Differences in consumption rates between larval and adult Laccophilus fasciatus rufus

(Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) on larval Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

2013-2014   John Lloyd Martin: Carbon and nitrogen analysis to determine competitive outcomes for three species of

container mosquitoes

2009-2010  Anne Winters: Development and stable isotope analysis of Aedes and Culex mosquitoes on different detritus types

Past Undergraduate students:

2025        Karina Rivera Fuentes, Camila Kuan Monterrey: Litter invertebrates in Puerto Rico

2024        Jelly James, Carolyn Cruz Crespo, Edwin X. Garcia-Rios: Litter invertebrates in Puerto Rico

2023        Nishrenika Pokhrel: Mosquito phenotypes

2023        Carolyn Cruz Crespo, Edwin X. Garcia-Rios: Litter invertebrates in Puerto Rico

2022        Alycia Johnson, Shania Gregg: Litter invertebrates in Puerto Rico

2022       Liz Wynne: Mosquito ecology

2020       Erin Owens, Shannon O’Meara: Mosquito ecology

2019       Erin Owens, Chrisann Campbell, Shannon O’Meara: Mosquito ecology

2018       Rachel Rogers, Jaclyn Everly: Mosquito ecology
Kelvyn Noa Reyes, Taissae Sanchez Medina: Litter invertebrates in Puerto Rico

2017       James Valentine, Catherine Dean, Rachel Rodgers, Jaclyn Everly: Mosquito ecology

2016       James Valentine, Elizabeth Dobronski, Doressa Williams, Adam Miller, Catherine Dean, Rachel Rodgers,

Jaclyn Everly: Mosquito ecology

2015        Bayley Graves, Timothy Carson: Mosquito ecology

2014        Adrianne Charbonnet, Hunter Deerman, Ashley Bowler, Lee Jennings, Kourtney Dunn: Mosquito ecology

2013        Justin Young, Ashley Bowler:  Mosquito oviposition, spider ecology, dytiscid ecology

2012        Ashton Reeves:  Mosquito ecology

2011         Elizabeth Himel, William Glasgow, Bradley Hopkins, Timothy Stockstill, Ashton Reeves: Mosquito ecology

2011         Thomas Bocek, Timothy Stockstill: Aquatic insect ecology

2010        Thomas Bocek, Bradley Hopkins: Aquatic insect ecology

2010        Elizabeth Himel: Effects of salt concentrations on competitive interactions between Aedes albopictus and

Aedes aegypti

2010        Elizabeth Himel, Anna Reiber: Mosquito and dytiscid beetle communities in aquatic habitats

2009        Jennifer Foster, Elizabeth Himel, Amanda Bonelli, Anna Reiber: Mosquito communities in tires and tree holes;

Dytiscid beetle communities in aquatic habitats