Annise Dobson
Annise Dobson’s work spans the bridge between jumping worm spread, impact, and restoration. As an Associate Research Scientist and Lecturer at Yale University, with a PhD in natural resources from Cornell University, Dobson studies the above- and below-ground interactions of all the key players in a soil community, including plants and their roots, microbes, fungi, associated food webs, invasive earthworms—and what consequences their interactions might have for the ecosystem.
In collaboration with other labs in the Healthy Soil Collaborative, Dobson has used genetic variants to track the spread of jumping worms through New York state, and studied the ecological changes in landscapes as the invasion progresses. Some of her most pressing ecological questions center around how the worms impact plant health and why. Finally, as she tracks the worms’ spread and impacts, Dobson is also identifying those native plants that survive, and even thrive, in the presence of jumping worms, with an eye towards future restoration.
As an Ontario native who grew up on a farm, Dobson still loves being outside for both work and play. She’ll often go swimming and paddle-boarding with her dog, Emmy. She also reads science fiction and fantasy in her downtime, and takes the occasional lap around the thrift stores.
