The University of Chicago Field Station is dedicated to advancing ecological knowledge, place-based education, and community impact through ecological & social research. It is a place for meaningful inquiry into place, ecology, and human nature through thoughtful experimentation, creative pedagogy, and environmental stewardship.
Research conducted at the field station aims to address the most practical and pressing problems facing nature and humanity in our current era, across disciplines and specialities. We welcome and encourage research proposals from researchers, students, educators, and organizations with interests across the ecological sciences, environmental humanities, social sciences, and beyond.
To learn more about the research proposal process, please contact:
Emily Bretl, EdD, Field Station Managing Director – t-9bretl@uchicago.edu
Ongoing Research & Collaborations
Stella Cousins, PhD – Dr. Stella Cousins is evaluating the rapid progression of beech leaf disease (BLD) in Michigan in order to assess risks and project change in forest ecosystems, with one of her observation sites located at the Field Station.
Alissa Doucet – Alissa is a PhD student in evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History. She is interested in the evolution of nocturnal Lepidoptera under global change, with a special interest in flower-visiting moths. She is particularly interested in trait shifts—such as changes in phenology, geographic range, and life history—that occur in response to climate change and habitat alteration. Alissa integrates fieldwork, museum collections, environmental DNA (eDNA), and AI-assisted camera trap technology to track these changes across space and time. At the Field Statin, she is piloting and evaluating eDNA collection protocol to support her ongoing and future research on nocturnal Lepidoptera.
MNFI Bumble Bee Atlas – From late spring through early fall, Field Station interns survey native bumble bees across the WWEFS ecosystems as part of the Michigan Natural Features Inventory “Bumble Bee Atlas” Project. The Michigan Bumble Bee Atlas (MBBA) was developed by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) to inform a broader understanding of bumble bee biology, diversity, and population trends for species of bumble bees in Michigan.
Hipp Lab & Herbarium Collections – Andrew Hipp and his lab at the Morton Arboretum have visited the field station to collect specimen for Morton Arboretum Herbariuml and virtual Herbarium of the Chicago region collections as well as to support the creation of a teaching herbarium at the WWEFS. When not botanizing at the Field Station, Hipp Lab work focuses evolutionary relationships and the ecological significance of oaks.
Ware Experimental Prairie Surveys – During the summers, Field Station interns conduct two full surveys of the Ware Experimental Prairie seeded plots (72 plots) at the Morton Arboretum. This is a learning experience for the interns, as they become familiar with field survey methods and learn to identify over 100 Midest native prairie plant species. Their work at Morton Arboretum supports efficient and accurate ecological surveys at the field station and while also supporting ongoing observations and research in plant systematics at Morton Arboretum.
Baseline ecological surveys – Ongoing survey efforts are contributing to deeper understanding of the health and biodiversity of the Warren Woods Ecological Field Station. The present focus is on native and introduced species surveys throughout the forest floodplain, mesic hardwood forest, and wet-mesic type “recovering” agricultural fields. Currently, field surveys are conducted primarily by University of Chicago undergraduate summer interns, with support from Dr. Bretl, regional botanists, and plant ecologists. If you are interested in contributing to ecological surveys as a professional, individual, or student (any level), please contact Emily Bretl at t-9bretl@uchicago.edu to learn more.
Past Research & Collaborations
Kronforst Lab – Hsiang-Yu Tsai, UChicago PhD Student in Ecology and Evolution and Doctoral Candidate in the Kronforst Lab, spent two summers (2023, 2024) conducting field work related to monarch migratory behavior and flight strategy. This project focused on the environmental determinants to migration behavior of monarch butterflies. By raising North American monarchs in a growth chamber and outdoor conditions, Hsiang-Yu tested the butterflies’ migration behavior and flight strategy under an open-air area. This study provided better understanding on (1) which environmental factors determine a butterfly to be migratory or not, and (2) how migratory monarchs interact with their habitat and decide to depart for long-distance movement. This important study contributed not only to basic biological studies of monarch butterfly but can also support further research into its conservation biology.
Joy Bergelson, PhD – Dr. Bergelson was the founder of the Warren Woods Ecological Field Station. When based at the Field Station (2014-2021), Bergelson Lab’s work fell largely into two buckets. First, they screened panels of Arabidopsis thaliana plants in order to use GWAS to map the genetic basis of ecologically important plant traits. These include resistance to natural enemies, reproductive output and development characters. They also made use of the site to explore the dynamics of the microbiome and the pathogenic bacteria that live in association with A. thaliana. For example, Bergelson Lab studied how microbiomes develop, how the loss of defensive genes in host plants impacts the development of the microbiome and how ecological dynamics play out in a plant-pathogen coevolutionary context. The field site has been valuable to us in allowing us to test the role of ecologically important genes using genetic knock-outs that could then be studied in natural contexts.