David Zaya, University of Illinois at Chicago


	David N. Zaya University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Biological Sciences Ecology and Evolution
	Address: Biological Sciences, MC 066 University of Illinois at Chicago 845 W. Taylor Chicago, IL 60607 Email: dzaya1 <at> uic ((dot)) edu Lab: 1027/1031 SEL Office: 1014 SEL

	GRADUATE RESEARCH:
	I use molecular markers and field observations to study biological invasion, hybridization, and gene flow. My research centers on the interaction between an introduced vine, oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), and an increasingly rare native vine in the same genus, American bittersweet (C. scandens). My molecular weapons of choice are microsatellite DNA markers and other DNA-based tools. I am investigating the hypothesis that the two species are hybridizing, and that hybridization is causing the decline of American bittersweet. I am collaborating with Dr. Stacey Leicht-Young, Dr. Noel Pavlovic, and Dr. Mary Ashley. I joined Dr. Mary Ashley's lab in 2008, and am currently pursuing a PhD in Biological Sciences.		Below, a bittersweet individual with floral characteristics intermediate between C. scandens and C. orbiculatus Photo by Gina Morgan

	OTHER RESEARCH INTERESTS:
	Some have speculated that the legume and seed of the Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus), shown below, are adapted for dispersal by 'megafauna' that have been extinct for over 10,000 years (Janzen & Martin 1982, Barlow 2000). Odd life history characteristics of the coffeetree also suggest it is adapted to extinct habitats. Image courtesy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database Symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria is common in the legume family (Leguminosae), though not universal. How, and how many times, has the symbiosis evolved?		Why are seedlings of the federally endangered scrub plum (Prunus geniculata) so rare in the wild? Scrub plum is a shrub endemic to the highlands of central Florida. An elusive seedling is shown below. Photo by Lauren Sullivan Illinois populations of the state-endangered sidecluster milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa) almost never set fruit and seeds. Investigating potential causes of the lack of sexual reproduction is essential to any effort to save the species from extirpation in Illinois. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for the lack of seed set: self incompatibility, pollinator or pollen limitation, and inbreeding depression.

	EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:		PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
	B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005 Field and lab technician, Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station (USGS), Porter, IN, 2006, 2007, 2008 Plant ecology research intern, Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, FL, 2007		Botanical Society of America Ecological Society of America Illinois State Academy of Science Society for the Study of Evolution

	RESEARCH FUNDING:
	Chicago Wilderness Small Grant (May 2008 - Dec 2009) Co-PI with Dr. Mary Ashley Great Lakes Research and Education Center Mini-Grant (May 2008 - Dec 2008) Illinois State Academy of Sciences Student Research Award (2009) Provost’s Award for Graduate Research, UIC Graduate College (2010) Elmer Hadley Award for Graduate Research in Ecology and Evolution (2010) Illinois State Academy of Sciences Botanical Division Travel Grant (2010) Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board Research Program Grant (2010-2011) Co-PI with Dr. Jeremie Fant of the Chicago Botanic Garden

	PUBLICATIONS:
	1. Zaya DN, Howe HF. 2009. The anomalous Kentucky Coffeetree: megafaunal fruit sinking to extinction? Oecologia 161(2): 221-226 2. Weekley CW, Zaya DN, Menges ES, Faivre AE. 2010. Multiple causes of seedling rarity in scrub plum, Prunus geniculata (Rosaceae), an endangered shrub of the Florida scrub. American Journal of Botany 97(1): 144-155 3. Abraham ST, Zaya DN, Koenig WD, Ashley MV. 2011. Inter- and intraspecific pollination patterns of valley oak, Quercus lobata, in a mixed stand in central coastal California. International Journal of Plant Sciences 172(5): 691-699