Nicole M. Spanier

ABOUT

I am a fourth year Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University Bloomington. I have a keen interest in ecosystem ecology, specifically in how plants and their neighboring microbes are affected by stressful abiotic conditions that are possible with climate change. Currently, I am in the lab of Richard Phillips studying how mycorrhizal fungi and free-living microbes can possibly alter the physiological response of trees in drought conditions.

Before coming to Indiana University Bloomington, I was enrolled in a 5-year B.S./M.S. program at Villanova University under the direction of Samantha Chapman. At Villanova, I researched how fiddler crab bioturbation could impact mangrove trees at the ecotone of mangrove and marsh in northeastern Florida.

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Besides my academic endeavors, I love to sing, play clarinet, watch college basketball, travel, do jigsaw puzzles, hammock, befriend dogs, and drive!