Welcome to the Hung pollinator lab at the University of Oklahoma! We seek to understand the impacts of environmental change on plant-pollinator mutualisms and to quantify the consequences of such impacts on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function. To that end, we apply techniques from various disciplines of biology to our studies in both natural and human-modified ecosystems. Currently, research foci include impacts of climate change on plant-pollinator systems, pollinator conservation in the Great Plains, ecosystem functionality of restored habitats, and refining techniques for effective monitoring of pollinator populations.
As a member of the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, we are also working to construct an inventory and distribution map of pollinator taxa within the state of Oklahoma, starting with native bees.
In the fall of 2026, we will move to Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada! Please reach out if you would like to join the team at our new home!
As a member of the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, we are also working to construct an inventory and distribution map of pollinator taxa within the state of Oklahoma, starting with native bees.
In the fall of 2026, we will move to Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada! Please reach out if you would like to join the team at our new home!
Lab News
04/2026
April has been a big month for us! Congratulations to Jasmine Cates, Izzy Gonzales, Ben Turnley, and Dineesha Premathilake for each receiving 100% of the OU internal graduate student grants and fellowships they applied for! What an accomplishment for this group of students!
We also took up nearly an entire session at the annual Oklahoma Natural Resources Conference, with presentations from Ben, Jackson, Dineesha, and James (on behalf of alumna Lauren Rosenfelt). Congratulations to Ben for taking home second place out of dozens of student presentations!!
We also had a paper published this month in Southwestern Entomologist! This study was led by former MSc student Jackson Wingert, where we report a new state record of the invasive ant Tetramorium bicarinatum, right here on OU's campus, and discuss the possibility that warmer winters due to climate change might allow this currently indoor-restricted invader to establish outdoor populations and spread beyond their points of introduction.
12/2025
Congratulations to Jackson Wingert for successfully defending his MSc thesis! Jackson is moving on to Dr. Mark Genung's lab at University of Louisiana Lafayette. We'll miss you, Jackson!
11/2025
Our lab was represented at the Entomological Society of America meeting in Portland, OR by Ben Turnley and Jackson Wingert this year. Congratulations to Jackson for winning second place in the student presentation competition!!
08/2025
We welcome Jasmine Cates to our lab! Jasmine comes to us from the Auburn Bee Lab with a strong background in bee diversity and educational outreach. She plans to study the use of roadside habitat for wild bee conservation for her PhD. We also congratulate Izzy Gonzales, who has transitioned from the position of Research Technician to MSc student! She will be spearheading our lab's efforts to document patterns of persistence in the rare Arogos Skipper, Atrytone arogos.
07/2025
Our study on pollen exploitation by feral honey bees, led by friend and colleague Dr. Dillon Travis, is published in Insect Conservation & Diversity! This is "yet another" study on exploitative competition that honey bees may exert upon native bees, but with a couple of fresh takes in that we (1) estimated the relative biomass in addition to the relative abundances of feral honey bees and the native bee community, and (2) quantified per-visit pollen grain removal by honey bees to scale up their role in pollen depletion for three key native plant species. Take-home message: when honey bees become abundant, they can harvest prodigious amounts of pollen that could otherwise turn into many more native bees, so we should really start thinking about ways to minimize conflicts between honey bees and native pollinators.
04/2025
Our study on persistence of foliar (i.e., not systemically applied) pesticides in pumpkin pollen, nectar, and leaf tissue is published in PLOS ONE! This is a collaboration with a "dream team" of lab mates from my postdoc days, led by Dr. Jessie Novotny. Take-home message: even when growers apply foliar insecticides and fungicides when pumpkin flowers are tightly closed, some of these chemicals still manage to translocate into the pollen and nectar, posing a hazard for pollinators that use those resources--so minimizing these sprays when pumpkin flowers are present at all, regardless of open or closed, would be best.
03/2025
We welcome Dineesha Premathilake to our lab! Dineesha comes with a strong background in data analysis, and will be spearheading some exciting bee biodiversity data projects for her PhD.
04/2026
April has been a big month for us! Congratulations to Jasmine Cates, Izzy Gonzales, Ben Turnley, and Dineesha Premathilake for each receiving 100% of the OU internal graduate student grants and fellowships they applied for! What an accomplishment for this group of students!
We also took up nearly an entire session at the annual Oklahoma Natural Resources Conference, with presentations from Ben, Jackson, Dineesha, and James (on behalf of alumna Lauren Rosenfelt). Congratulations to Ben for taking home second place out of dozens of student presentations!!
We also had a paper published this month in Southwestern Entomologist! This study was led by former MSc student Jackson Wingert, where we report a new state record of the invasive ant Tetramorium bicarinatum, right here on OU's campus, and discuss the possibility that warmer winters due to climate change might allow this currently indoor-restricted invader to establish outdoor populations and spread beyond their points of introduction.
12/2025
Congratulations to Jackson Wingert for successfully defending his MSc thesis! Jackson is moving on to Dr. Mark Genung's lab at University of Louisiana Lafayette. We'll miss you, Jackson!
11/2025
Our lab was represented at the Entomological Society of America meeting in Portland, OR by Ben Turnley and Jackson Wingert this year. Congratulations to Jackson for winning second place in the student presentation competition!!
08/2025
We welcome Jasmine Cates to our lab! Jasmine comes to us from the Auburn Bee Lab with a strong background in bee diversity and educational outreach. She plans to study the use of roadside habitat for wild bee conservation for her PhD. We also congratulate Izzy Gonzales, who has transitioned from the position of Research Technician to MSc student! She will be spearheading our lab's efforts to document patterns of persistence in the rare Arogos Skipper, Atrytone arogos.
07/2025
Our study on pollen exploitation by feral honey bees, led by friend and colleague Dr. Dillon Travis, is published in Insect Conservation & Diversity! This is "yet another" study on exploitative competition that honey bees may exert upon native bees, but with a couple of fresh takes in that we (1) estimated the relative biomass in addition to the relative abundances of feral honey bees and the native bee community, and (2) quantified per-visit pollen grain removal by honey bees to scale up their role in pollen depletion for three key native plant species. Take-home message: when honey bees become abundant, they can harvest prodigious amounts of pollen that could otherwise turn into many more native bees, so we should really start thinking about ways to minimize conflicts between honey bees and native pollinators.
04/2025
Our study on persistence of foliar (i.e., not systemically applied) pesticides in pumpkin pollen, nectar, and leaf tissue is published in PLOS ONE! This is a collaboration with a "dream team" of lab mates from my postdoc days, led by Dr. Jessie Novotny. Take-home message: even when growers apply foliar insecticides and fungicides when pumpkin flowers are tightly closed, some of these chemicals still manage to translocate into the pollen and nectar, posing a hazard for pollinators that use those resources--so minimizing these sprays when pumpkin flowers are present at all, regardless of open or closed, would be best.
03/2025
We welcome Dineesha Premathilake to our lab! Dineesha comes with a strong background in data analysis, and will be spearheading some exciting bee biodiversity data projects for her PhD.
