Our team explores ecological patterns and processes in human-dominated ecosystems. We conduct basic and use-inspired research through multi-disciplinary collaborations to inform environmental policy, protect and restore wildlands, and enhance human benefits from nature.
Latest News from the Hall Lab
✿ The Hall and Bateman labs are looking for a new graduate student!
Ph.D. graduate student opportunity focused on urban wildlife and human-environment interactions at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Application deadline: December 1, 2019 We are looking for a motivated student to join our interdisciplinary...
✿ Megan Wheeler teaches data analysis and critical thinking in her Urban Ecological Research course at ASU
If you're thinking about a career at a liberal arts institution, consider leading a course as the 'instructor-of-record'. On your CV, this signals to employers that you've gone beyond a TA to design a course as well as teach it. @megmwheeler teaches...
✿ Outdoor and environmental jobs, field research, and conservation leadership opportunities for students
Are you an student who loves the outdoors and wildlife? Do you wish to pursue a career in conservation biology or ecology? If so, do these things: 1. If you are at ASU, consider joining one or both of these active and exciting student groups, Nature at ASU and the...
✿ Kinley Ragan shines at the 2019 JAM AZ/NM Wildlife Conference
Congratulations to MS student Kinley Ragan for a successful first scientific poster presentation of her career! Kinley joined ASU and other regional wildlife biologists at this annual conference to share her research on wildlife and roads along the US-Mexico...
✿ Hall Lab Visiting Scholar Rija Manandhar wins Best Oral Presentation Award at the International Mountains in the Changing World (MoChWo) conference
We are proud to announce that Rija Manandhar, our collaborator and friend at ISER-N, has won the Best Oral Presentation Award at the International Mountains in the Changing World (MoChWo) conference for her talk, "Assessing a low-technology intervention to control...
✿ New report on lead and cadmium in Phoenix-area community gardens
Former Hall lab student Caitlin Holmes and colleagues have published a report that documents lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) content of plants and soils in five Phoenix-area community gardens. Check out the report here!
✿ Check out Ph.D. student Jeff Haight’s new paper on sociopolitical drivers of watershed impairment
https://twitter.com/SJHall_Nature/status/1046257923855286272
✿ Undergraduate Job Opportunity: TA for BIO 322 Conservation of Biodiversity, Fall 2018
Job Description: We are seeking a dedicated undergraduate student to serve as an undergraduate teaching assistant for BIO 322, Conservation of Biodiversity, offered in person on the Tempe campus during Fall Semester 2018. This student must be available to attend the...
✿ Ivanna Caspeta, Nature at ASU member, selected as 2018 UCSC Doris Duke Conservation Scholar
Ivanna has been selected as a member of the prestigious Doris Duke Conservation Scholar Program, beginning this summer 2018! She'll travel to UCSC to join a team of future conservation leaders. Congratulations, Ivanna! Check out these news stories:...
✿ New Nature at ASU website is live!
The Nature at ASU professional development community for ASU undergraduates is now live! Nature at ASU's mission is to build, unite, empower, and sustain an inclusive community of students to study and protect Earth's diverse community of life and its wild habitats. ...
✿ Anna He crushes her valedictorian speech and heads to Duke University
Our high school Hall lab member, Anna He, gave a terrific valedictorian speech at her graduation from BASIS Chandler, and now she is headed to North Carolina for her freshman year at Duke. We are proud of you, Anna!
✿ Kinley Ragan awarded prestigious Udall Fellowship
Read about Kinley's incredible news here. Congratulations, Kinley -- we are so proud of you! https://www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/Scholarship/MeetScholars.aspx?webid=5650
✿ Newest Hall lab member, Jeff Haight, defends his M.S.
Kudos to Jeffrey Haight for successfully defending his Utah State University M.S. thesis, “Landscape Planning for Climate Change Resilience in the Southern Rockies”. Check out his slides and his public presentation here. We are proud of you, Jeff!
✿ Kate Weiss wins a 2018 CAP Grad Grant
Congratulations, Kate, for receiving a grad grant from the CAP LTER! This summer, Kate will explore mammalian functional diversity across a gradient of urbanization in the Phoenix Valley. She'll be working with Sharon and members of the Lewis lab, who are setting up...
✿ Introducing our Urban Ecology blogger, Anna He
Hey everyone -- have you all seen the incredible blog by our newest lab member, high school senior Anna He? Anna is interning with our Residential Landscapes research group this spring, and she has been documenting her experiences and things she's learned for her...
✿ Hats off to Kate Weiss for winning a Graduate College Fellowship for 2018-19!
We just got some great news! Kate Weiss has just won a fellowship from the Graduate College for the 2018-19 academic year. This competitive fellowship was awarded to a handful of our top scholars in the Environmental Life Sciences Ph.D. program. We are cheering...
✿ Hall Lab publishes new report on potential ozone precursor emissions from composting facilities in Maricopa County
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has published a new report on potential ozone precursor emissions from compositing facilities in Maricopa County. Contributing authors were Laura Steger, Kiki Hooton, Sharon J Hall, and members of the Walton Global...
✿ Nature at ASU Director Corey Caulkins awarded Student of the Year in Conservation Biology & Ecology
Congratulations to ASU undergraduate Corey Caulkins for his tremendous achievement as the 2018 SOLS Conservation Biology & Ecology Student of the Year! Corey is the current Director of the Nature at ASU Professional development group and an all-around excellent...
✿ Ph.D. candidate Megan Wheeler awarded the Lisa Dent Memorial Award
We are proud to announce that Megan Wheeler was the recipient of the Lisa Dent Memorial Award for 2018! This award is given to an exceptional female Ph.D. student in ecology. Megan's commitment to research, teaching, and service towards the community embraces the...
✿ NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Opportunity with the Hall Lab
Are you an undergraduate student who is interested in ecology, plant biology, and sustainability? The Hall Lab is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated undergraduate student to participate in research activities in urban ecology during the summer of 2018. The...
✿ ConBio & Eco student Allyson Shaw presents research poster at the 2018 WAESO Alliance Symposium
Congratulations to ASU undergraduate Allyson Shaw for winning a Second Place award at the 2018 WAESO conference for her research poster on disease ecology of urban finches! Allyson is a Conservation Biology & Ecology major and the Recruitment Lead at Nature at...
✿ Sharon J. Hall nominated for the 2017-18 Zebulon Pearce Distinguished Teaching Award
This prestigious College of Liberal Arts and Sciences teaching award recognizes faculty members who inspire academic excellence, exhibit enthusiasm for the subjects they teach, and are known for supporting student success through mentoring relationships.
✿ Hall Lab presents three posters at the 2018 CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium
Beauclaire Reyes, C., A. Bailey, L. Steger, M. M. Wheeler, S. J. Hall. Plant species diversity and community composition of yard types in Phoenix, AZ Ribeiro, C., M.M. Wheeler, L. Steger, and S.J. Hall. Shrubs alter patterns of inorganic soil nitrogen availability in...
✿ Congratulations to Hall Lab new graduate, Caitlin Ribeiro!
Caitlin now holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Astrobiology and Biogeosciences from the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. Caitlin has been an invaluable team member on the Macrosystems Project - we couldn't have done the field work...
✿ Congratulations to Hall Lab student Megan Wheeler for winning the Graduate & Professional Student Association’s Teaching Excellence Award
✿ Congratulations to Hall Lab student Megan Wheeler for passing her comprehensive examination
✿ LTER news article featuring the work of Megan Wheeler and Sharon J Hall
Species shrinkage in America's national suburban ecosystem published by Amanda Kelley on Thu, 2017-10-12 16:19 Article at: https://lternet.edu/node/84517 Supporting science at: Wheeler, M. M., Neill, C., Groffman, P. M., Avolio, M., Bettez, N., Cavender-Bares, J., ......
✿ Congratulations to Hall Lab student Megan Wheeler for her publication in Landscape and Urban Planning!
Continental-scale homogenization of residential lawn plant communities Wheeler, M. M., Neill, C., Groffman, P. M., Avolio, M., Bettez, N., Cavender-Bares, J., ... & Heffernan, J. B. (2017). Continental-scale homogenization of residential lawn plant...
✿ Congratulations to new Hall Lab student Kate Weiss for her publication in PLoS One!
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0183210 Impacts of forest restoration on water yield: A systematic review Authors: Solange Filoso, Maíra Ometto Bezerra, Katherine C. B. Weiss, and Margaret A. Palmer Background Enhancing water...
✿ News article about social-ecological consequences of Mikania micrantha invasion in Nepal
Fighting a Plant to Save Rhinos in Nepal
✿ Sharon J. Hall awarded 2017 ASU Faculty Teaching Achievement Award
Three faculty members were honored for their scholarly achievements, teaching, and service at the 2017 Founders Day award ceremony and dinner at the historic Arizona Biltmore in March. I am grateful to all of my current and former students for helping to make this...
✿ ELS Ph.D. student Michele Clark wins Fulbright Award to Nepal
Congratulations to Hall Lab ELS student Michele Clark for receiving a Fulbright Award to study in Nepal! Terrific work, Michele!
✿ Ph.D student Megan Wheeler wins Best Poster at the 2017 CAP LTER Annual Symposium!
Congratulations to Megan! She presented a poster on her modeling work with Dr. Enrique Vivoni to explore soil moisture dynamics in managed landscapes. See more about here poster here: https://sustainability.asu.edu/caplter/2016-cap-student-poster-symposium-winners/...
✿ New media coverage of Hannah’s lawn-to-xeriscape research
Hey everyone -- take a look at this news story of Hannah's lawn-to-xeriscape research! ASU NOW Story on the Ecological Consequences of the Turfgrass-to-Xeriscape Transition
✿ New article on the fate of nitrogen in residential landscapes
Check it out! Former M.S. student Hannah Heavenrich just published a new article in Environmental Research Letters:...
✿ New article in Slate magazine by colleague Netra Chhetri on invasive species and coupled human-environment vulnerability in Nepal
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/05/what_an_invasive_species_in_nepal_tells_us_about_our_climate_future.html
✿ New video on the Conservation Biology & Ecology program
Check out the new video on the SOLS website, featuring many of our CB & E undergraduates! https://sols.asu.edu/node/808
✿ Read about the new Nature at ASU community on ASU Now
Are you an ASU student who is interested in nature and the environment? Are you curious about career opportunities in conservation and environmental protection? Visit Nature at ASU's website to learn more! Nature at ASU's mission is to build, unite, empower, and...
✿ ASU Conservation Students Featured in Society for Conservation Biology Newsletter
Congratulations to Jessica Givens and the entire Central Arizona Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (CACSCB) for a great feature on the club in the SCB Newsletter! Click here to read...
✿ Ph.D. student Megan Wheeler accepted to international workshop on ecosystem modeling
Congratulations to Megan for her acceptance into an international workshop in St. Pete's Beach, Florida titled "Frontiers in terrestrial climate feedbacks: Integrating models and experiments to explore climate feedbacks in an increasingly managed and warming world.”...
✿ Check out our new article in Landscape Ecology!
Convergence of microclimate in residential landscapes across diverse cities in the United States...
✿ Find out about our new Center for Biodiversity Outcomes
Sharon has joined the leadership of the new ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes as Associate Director of Diversity and Education. CBO's mission is to enable the discoveries and solutions needed to conserve and sustainably manage the Earth’s biodiversity in a time of...
✿ Caitlin Holmes networks with soil ecologists at ESA 2015
Caitlin was mentored by Dr. Jayne Belnap (USGS) as a part of the SEEDS program at the 2015 meeting of the Ecological Society of America. What a terrific opportunity, Caitlin!
✿ Julea Shaw presents her research at the 100th anniversary of the Ecological Society of America
You're well on your way to succeeding in graduate school, Julea. Congratulations!
✿ See what’s happening in the Hall Lab on Flickr
We're building a website with photos from our fun-filled activities. Check it out here! https://www.flickr.com/photos/131860757@N02/sets
✿ Hall lab undergrads to receive ESA SEEDS Fellowships
Congratulations to Caitlin Holmes and Julea Shaw for receiving prestigious fellowships from the SEEDS program to attend the Ecological Society of America 100th Anniversary meeting in Baltimore, MD!
✿ Welcome to the new Hall Lab website!
Welcome to our new website! While we are working out some of the kinks, please let me know if you find any errors or omissions. You can email me (Sharon) with comments here.
Recent papers
2019. Word, M.L., S.J. Hall, B. Robinson, B. Manneh, A. Beye, and A.J. Cease.Soil-targeted interventions could alleviate locust and grasshopper pressure in West Africa. Science of the Total Environment. Science of the Total Environment, 663: 632-643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.313
2018. Padullés Cubino, J. Cavender-Bares, S. E. Hobbie, D.E. Pataki, M.L. Avolio, L.E. Darling, K.L. Larson, S.J. Hall, P.M. Groffman, T.L.E. Trammell, M.K. Steele, J.M. Grove& C. Neill. Drivers of plant richness and phylogenetic composition in urban yards at the continental scale. Landscape Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0744-7.
2018. C. Holmes, H. Heavenrich, E. Shock, and S.J. Hall. Trace Metal Content of Community Garden Soils and Plants in metro Phoenix, AZ. Report prepared for a coalition of community gardens in metro Phoenix.
2018. S.J. Hall, D.P. Huber, R. Flint Hughes. Invasion of Hawaiian rainforests by an introduced amphibian predator and N2-fixing tree increases soil N2O emissions. Ecosphere, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2416