Diane Thomson
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Associate Professor of Biology
 
Email: dthomson@kecksci.claremont.edu
Office: Keck Science Center 106A
Phone: 909-607-0029
Office Hours: Mon 3-5:30 pm, Tues 1-pm, by appt.
Web Site: http://faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dthomson
   
Educational Background:
B.S., University of Arizona
M. Phil., Cambridge University
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz
Courses Taught:
Biostatistics (Biol 175) Applied Ecology and Conservation (Biol 138L/139) Introduction to Biology (Biol 44L) Field Biology (Biol 135L) (not offered every year)
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 List: Click to open new window.
1.   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.
 
2.   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   In press: .
 
3.   Thomson, D. M . (2007). Do source-sink dynamics promote the spread of an invasive grass into a novel habitat. Ecology   88: 3126-3134.
 
4.   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.
 
5.   Thomson, D.M. . (2006). Detecting the effects of introduced species: a case study of competition between Apis and Bombus. Oikos   114: 407-418.
 
6.   Thomson, D. M . (2005). Measuring the effects of invasive species on the demography of a rare endemic plant. Biological Invasions   7: 615-624.
 
7.   Thomson, D.M . (2005). Matrix models as a tool for understanding invasive plant and native plant interactions. Conservation Biology   19: 917-928.
 
8.   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.
 
9.   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.
 
10.   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.
 
11.   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.
 
12.   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.
 
13.   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.
 
14.   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.