• Professor of Instruction, Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University
• Graduate School Faculty, Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University
• Principal Investigator, The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, CO

• Ecological Society of America

• Population & community ecology
• Importance of species interactions
• Ecological networks
• Plant-pollinator interactions
• Temporal ecology and phenology
• Ecology of climate change
• Pollinator declines

Research in the CaraDonna Lab investigates the interplay among species interactions, population dynamics, and community patterns. We use the mutualistic interactions among plants and pollinators as a model system to ask fundamental ecological questions about the importance of species interactions and to understand the ecological consequences of global change (e.g., climate change, biodiversity loss, pollinator declines, urbanization). We are also particularly interested in temporal ecology and the flexibility of species interactions. We address research questions using a variety of approaches including: observational field studies that leverage existing natural variation; field and laboratory experiments that build upon knowledge of this natural variation; analysis of long-term datasets and natural history collections; and quantitative tools like network analysis and simulation models. We also very much value basic natural history and we love working as a collaborative team.ÌýThese days, most of our research takes place in the Colorado Rocky Mountains at the Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryÌýand also within The City of Chicago.

A handful of selected publications!

The shifting importance of abiotic and biotic factors across the life cycles of wild pollinators. 2022.ÌýOgilvie, J.E. and P.J. CaraDonna. Journal of Animal Ecology

Sodium-enriched floral nectar increases pollinator visitation rate and diversity. 2022. Finkelstein, P.J. CaraDonna, A.M. Gruver, E. Welti, M. Kaspari, and N.J. Sanders.ÌýBiology Letters 19:20220016Ìý

Seeing through the static: the temporal dimension of plant-animal mutualistic interactions.Ìý 2021.ÌýCaraDonna,ÌýP.J., L. Burkle, B. Schwarz, J. Resasco, T. Knight, G. Benadi, C. Dormann, Q. Fang, J. Fründ, B. Gauzens, C. Kaiser-Bunbury, R. Winfree, andÌýD.P. Vázquez.ÌýEcology LettersÌý24: 149–161Ìý

Chicago Bees: Urban areas support diverse wild bee communities, but with more non-native species compared to suburban areas. Gruver, A.M. and P.J. CaraDonna.Ìý2021.ÌýEnvironmental Entomology 50: 982–994Ìý

Temporal flexibility in the structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks.Ìý
2020.ÌýCaraDonna, P.J.Ìýand N.W. Waser.ÌýÌýOikos,Ìý129: 1369-1380. doi:

Two-year bee, or not two-year bee? How voltinism is affected by temperature and season-length in a high-elevation solitary bee. 2019. Forrest, J.R.K., R. Cros, and P.J. CaraDonna. The American Naturalist.193: 560–574.

Experimental warming in the field delays phenology and reduces body mass and survival: implications for the persistence of a pollinator under climate change. CaraDonna, P. J., J.L. Cunningham and A.M. Iler. 2018.ÌýFunctional EcologyÌý32: 2345–2356.Ìý

Atypical flowers can be as profitable as typical hummingbird flowers. Waser, N.M., P. J. CaraDonna, M.V. Price. 2018.ÌýThe American NaturalistÌý192: 644–653.Ìý

Interaction rewiring and the rapid turnover of plant-pollinator networks. CaraDonna, P. J., W.K. Petry, R.M. Brennan, J.L. Cunningham, N.M. Waser, J.L. Bronstein, and N.J. Sanders. 2017.ÌýÌýEcology Letters 20: 385–394.Ìý

Shifts in flowering phenology reshape a subalpine plant community. CaraDonna, P. J.*, A.M. Iler* and D.W. Inouye. 2014. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 111: 1619–1621. *equal author contributions.Ìý

http://paulcaradonna.weebly.com/