NESB B206
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Campus Mail 1499
Ft. Collins , CO 80523-1499 USA

Phone: (970) 491-3552
Fax: (970) 491-1965
Email: breana@nrel.colostate.edu

Areas of Interest:

• Impacts of disturbance on soil communities
• Soil organism biodiversity
• Effects of the soil fauna on ecosystem function
• Resource partitioning in soil invertebrates
• Soil food web function and structure

Current Projects and Links:

• Soil Biodiversity Lab

Biography: Dr. Breana Simmons loves soil animals. She received her MS in entomology from Michigan State University, and her PhD in ecology from The University of Georgia. While at UGA, she worked under the direction of Dr. David Coleman, studying the effects of land management and soil type on soil ecology of cotton fields. Working with Dr. Coleman and Dr. DAC Crossley, Dr. Simmons became interested in soil microarthropods and their effects on ecosystem function. Along the way, she also worked for Drs. Peter Vitousek and David Rothstein at the Magma Lab in Hawai'i, studying litter invertebrates beneath native and non-native tree species. Dr. Simmons is never happier than when peering down the microscope, and is extremely familiar with most soil invertebrate groups, specializing in Collembola and Acari. Dr. Simmons is currently involved with the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER in Antarctica. She is working with Dr. Diana Wall to understand the soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in this extreme polar desert environment. With the help of Dr. Wall and her lab group, Dr. Simmons has added nematodes to her lengthy list of favorite soil animals.