Education
- University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
Ph.D. in Environmental Biology - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
M.S. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology - Brown University, Providence, RI
A.B. in Biology
What I Teach
- BIOL 104 Introduction to Environmental Science
- BIOL 113 General Biology
- BIOL 243 Environmental Sustainability (with LC201: Sustaining a Non-profit)
- BIOL 245 Ecology
- BIOL 322 Evolutionary Biology
- BIOL 339 Special Topics, Conservation and the Climate
- BIOL 340 Plant Biology
- BIOL 370 Internship
- ENVI 200 Environmental Forum
Research/Creative Activities
My lab focuses on questions of plant ecology. My current research projects include:
- Understanding the invasion mechanisms of local invasive plant species
- Developing eDNA techniques to study plant-pollinator dynamics and pollinator community ecology
- Exploring the impact of PFAS chemicals on germination, growth, and development of plants
Publications
Vikki L Rodgers, Sara E Scanga, Mary Beth Kolozsvary, Danielle E Garneau, Jason S Kilgore, Laurel J Anderson, Kristine N Hopfensperger, Anna G Aguilera, Rebecca A Urban, Kevyn J Juneau. 2022. Where Is Garlic Mustard? Understanding the Ecological Context for Invasions of Alliaria petiolate. Bioscience. Volume 72, Issue 6, June 2022, Pages 521–537.
Hornbach, DJ, KL Shea, JJ Dosch, CL Thomas, TB Garter, AG Aguilera, LJ Anderson, K Geedey, C Mankiewicz, BR Pohlad, RE Schultz. 2021. Decomposition of leaf litter from native and non-native woody plants in terrestrial and aquatic systems in the eastern and upper midwestern US. American Midland Naturalist 186: 51-75.
Anna G. Aguilera, Stuart Morey, Melinda Gammon, Monica Jiang, Saimom Ramos, Rick Kesseli. 2017. Effect of plant-soil feedbacks on the growth and competition of Lactuca species. Plant Ecology 218(3):359-372.
Cassandra Saitow and Anna G. Aguilera. 2017. Using iterative group presentations in an introductory biology course to enhance student engagement and critical thinking. American Biology Teacher.
Aguilera, Anna G., Sara Williams, Tiffany Armstrong. 2016. Communication between two Lactuca species. Open Journal of Ecology. 6:767-774
Aguilera, Anna G., Adan Colon-Carmona, Rick Kesseli, Jeffrey S. Dukes. 2011. No accession-specific effect of rhizosphere soil communities on the growth and competition of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. PLoS ONE.
Aguilera, Anna G. 2011. The influence of soil community density on plant-soil feedbacks: an important unknown in plant invasion. Ecological Modelling 222:3413-3420
Heidrun Huber, Eric J von Wettberrg, Anna Aguilera, Johanna Schmitt. 2011. Testing mechanisms and context dependence of costs of plastic shade avoidance responses in Impatiens capensis (Balsaminaceae). American Journal of Botany 98:1602-1612.
Aguilera, Anna G., Peter Alpert, Jeffrey S. Dukes, and Robin Harrington, 2010. Ecosystem impacts of the
invasive plant, Fallopia japonica. Biological Invasions, 12:1243-1252.
Donohue, K., Lisa Dorn, Converse Griffith, EunSuk Kim, Anna Aguilera, Chandra R. Polisetty, and Johanna Schmitt, 2005. Environmental and genetic influences on germination of Arabidopsis thaliana in the field. Evolution, 59(4):740-757.
Donohue, K., Lisa Dorn, Converse Griffith, EunSuk Kim, Anna Aguilera, Chandra R. Polisetty, and Johanna Schmitt, 2005. The Evolutionary Ecology of Seed Germination of Arabidopsis thaliana: variable natural selection on germination timing. Evolution, 59(4):758-770.
Donohue, K., Lisa Dorn, Converse Griffith, EunSuk Kim, Anna Aguilera, Chandra R. Polisetty, and Johanna Schmitt, 2005. Niche construction through germination cueing: Life-History responses to timing of germination in Arabiodpsis thaliana. Evolution, 59(4):771-785.