Diane Thomson

Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Professor of Biology

Email: dthomson@kecksci.claremont.edu
Office: Keck Science Center 106A
Phone: 909-607-0029
Office Hours: Tues 2-4 pm, Wed. 2:30-4:30 pm
Web Site: https://sites.google.com/view/thomson-lab/home

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz
M. Phil., Cambridge University
B.S., University of Arizona

Courses Taught

Biostatistics with lab (Biol 174L) Advanced Topics in Environmental Biology (Biol 165) Applied Ecology and Conservation (Biol 138L/139)

Research Interests

Population and community ecology, conservation biology. Areas of particular interest include population modeling, ecology of invasions, and plant/pollinator interactions.

Thesis Topics

Conservation biology (especially for plants and insects), causes and effects of biological invasions, and pollination ecology. Thesis students in my lab carry out projects on a wide range of topics, but some examples of ongoing opportunities include research on:

• Interactions between native annual plants and invasive grasses at the Bernard Field Station.
• Effects of invasive herbivores and climate change on rare plant populations and communities of the California Channel Islands.
• Changes in pollination biology of native plants resulting from habitat fragmentation and introduced bees.
• Modeling extinction risk of rare species.

Selected Publications

1. Thomson, D.M. (2019). Effects of long-term variation in pollinator abundance and diversity on reproduction of a generalist plant. Journal of Ecology 107: 491-502.
2. Thomson, D.M., Jonas M. Kwok and Emily L. Schultz. (2018). Extreme drought alters growth and interactions with exotic grasses, but not survival, for a California annual forb. Plant Ecology  219: 705-717.
3. Thomson, D.M., Rachel A. King and Emily L. Schultz. (2017). Between invaders and a risky place: exotic grasses alter demographic tradeoffs of native forb germination timing. Ecosphere 8: e01987.
4. Thomson. D.M. (2016). Local Bombus decline linked to recovery of honey bees, drought effects on floral resources. Ecology Letters : 1247-1255.
5. Thomson, D.M., Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos, Keala Cummings, and Emily L. Schultz. (2016). Why are native annual abundances low in invaded grasslands? Testing the effects of competition and seed limitation. Plant Ecology   217: 431-442.
6. Thomson, D.M., Baythavong, B.S. and K.J. Rice. (2011). Serpentine invasions and the evolution of range limits. Serpentine: A model for Ecology and Evolution S.P. Harrison and N. Rajakuruna eds. University of California Press: 201-219.
7. Dishman, Diana L., D.M. Thomson and N.J. Karnovsky. (2009). Does simple feeding enrichment raise activity levels of captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Applied Animal Behavior Science 116: 88-95.
8. McEachern, K.A., D.M. Thomson and K. Chess. (2009). Climate alters response of an endemic island plant to removal of invasive herbivores. Ecological Applications 19: 1574-1584.
9. Thomson, D. M. (2007). Do source-sink dynamics promote the spread of an invasive grass into a novel habitat. Ecology 88: 3126-3134.
10. Thomson, D.M. and M.W. Schwartz. (2006). Using population count data to assess the effects of changing river flow on an endangered riparian plant. Conservation Biology  20: 1132-1142.
11. Thomson, D.M. (2006). Detecting the effects of introduced species: a case study of competition between Apis and Bombus. Oikos  114: 407-418.
12. Thomson, D. M. (2005). Measuring the effects of invasive species on the demography of a rare endemic plant. Biological Invasions  7: 615-624.
13. Thomson, D.M. (2005). Matrix models as a tool for understanding invasive plant and native plant interactions. Conservation Biology 19: 917-928.
14. Hastings, A., K. Cudddington, K. Davies, C. Dugaw, S. Elmendorf, A. Freestone, S. Harrison, M. Holland, J. Lambrinos, B. Melbourne, C. Taylor and D. Thomson. (2005). The spatial spread of invasions: new developments in theory and evidence. Ecology Letters 8: 91-101.
15. Thomson, D.M. (2004). Competitive effects of the invasive European honey bee on the reproductive success of a native bumble bee. Ecology 85: 458-470.
16. Brigham, C.A. and D.M. Thomson. (2003). Approaches to modeling population viability in plants. Population Viability in Plants. Brigham, C.A. and M.W. Schwartz, eds. Springer-Verlag: 145-171.
17. Doak, D.F., D.M. Thomson and E.S. Jules. (2002). PVA for plants: understanding the demographic consequences of seed banks for population health. Population Viability Analysis. Beissinger, S. and D. McCullough, eds.: 312-337.
18. Harding, E.E., B.D. Elderd, J. Hoekstra, A. McKerrow, J. Perrin, J. Regetz, L. Rissler, A. Stanley, E. Walters, and NCEAS HCP Working Group. (2001). The scientific foundations of habitat conservation plans: a quantitative assessment. Conservation Biology 15: 488-500.
19. Morris, W.F., D.F. Doak, M. Groom, P. Kareiva, J. Fieburg, L. Gerber, P. Murphy, and D. Thomson. (1999). A practical handbook for population viability analysis  The Nature Conservancy Press: 80 pp.
20. Doak, D.F., D. Bigger, E. Harding, M.A. Marvier, R. O’Malley, and D. Thomson. (1998). The statistical inevitability of stability-diversity relationships in community ecology. American Naturalist 151: 264-276.