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I am a broadly trained ecologist fascinated by the small things of this world. I study plants, insects, and how they interact. Becoming interested in ecology as an undergraduate at Duke University, I decided to focus on plant-insect interactions in my graduate studies at the University of Maryland. These small organisms are incredibly diverse, form the base of many food webs, and are important in agriculture, forestry, and environmental management. What’s more, they are easy to work with experimentally and are found in virtually every terrestrial habitat.

In this era of global environmental change, my work focuses on how human impacts change plant-insect interactions, food webs, and biodiversity. My current research includes understanding pollinator ecology at the College’s environmental property, mitigating effects of invasive insects such as the spotted lanternfly, and investigating how urbanization alters herbivore-plant interactions. In collaboration with McDaniel students, I have also set up a long-term ecological experiment investigating how land-use change and altered nutrient cycles affect grassland plants and insects. As part of a large, international collaboration (https://nutnet.org/), the data we collect in summer research and in my Ecology class contributes to a global understanding of ecological processes.

Education

2009
Ph.D., University of Maryland College Park
2001
B.S. in Biology with a minor in English, Duke University

Research Interests

  • Effects of global environmental change on plant-insect interactions

  • Predicting impacts and spread of invasive insects

  • Ecological synthesis via meta-analysis and distributed ecological experiments

Recent Courses

  • BIO 3317: Ecology Lecture and Lab

  • BIO 2204: Botany Lecture and Lab

  • BIO 1117: Topics in Biology: People, Pests, and Plagues

Selected Publications

  • Karp, DS et al. (2018) Crop pests and predators exhibit inconsistent responses to surrounding landscape composition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115: E7865-E7870

  • Martinson, HM, EJ Bergmann, PD Venugopal, CB Riley, PM Shrewsbury, and MJ Raupp (2016) Invasive stink bug favors naïve plants: Testing the role of plant geographic origin in diverse, managed environments. Scientific Reports 6: 32646

  • Bergmann, EJ, PD Venugopal, HM Martinson, MJ Raupp, and PM Shrewsbury (2016) Host plant use by the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål) on woody ornamental trees and shrubs. PLoS ONE 11 (2): e0149975. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0149975

  • Martinson, HM, PD Venugopal, EJ Bergmann, PM Shrewsbury, and MJ Raupp (2015) Fruit availability influences the seasonal abundance of invasive stink bugs in ornamental tree nurseries. Journal of Pest Science 3: 461-468. DOI: 10.1007/s10340-015-0677-8

  • Martinson, HM, and WF Fagan (2014) Trophic disruption: A meta-analysis of how habitat fragmentation affects resource consumption in terrestrial arthropod systems. Ecology Letters 17: 1178-1189

Awards and Honors

  • 2019 Charles A. Boehlke Engaged Faculty Fellowship

  • 2019 Mentor for two students receiving Research and Creativity Grants

  • 2019 Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Grant

  • 2018 Faculty Development Grant

  • 2018 Faculty Grant Award with Drs. Katie Staab (Biology) and Jason Scullion (Environmental Studies)

  • 2018 Grant from HeidelbergCement for funding to compete in their Quarry Life Award

  • 2018 Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Grant