Curriculum Vitae University of California, Irvine

Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine CA 92697

Wilnelia Recart wrecartg@uci.edu

www.wrecart.wordpress.com

EDUCATION
2013 – present Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Dept. EEB),
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) | GPA: 4.00/4.00
Research: Interactive effects of drought and invasive plants to the
pollinator-mediated selection on and seed production of native plants
Advisor: Diane R. Campbell, Ph.D.
2013 – 2017 M.Sc. Biological Sciences
Dept. EEB at UC Irvine | GPA: 4.00/4.00
Oral examination; Advisor: Diane R. Campbell, Ph.D.
2006 – 2011 B.Sc. Integrative Biology and a minor in Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (UPR Río Piedras) | GPA: 3.55/4.00
Undergraduate research: Apparent competition between an invasive and a
native orchid mediated by a native specialist florivorous weevil
Advisor: James D. Ackerman, Ph.D.

AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

φ Research grants: 8 in total, $154,460
2017 California Native Plant Society Conference Travel Award ($200)
2017-2018 φ RockyMountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) Langenheim Research
Award ($6,000)
2015, 2016 φ RMBL Graduate Student Fellowship ($960)
2015 φ Botanical Society of America Graduate Student Research Award ($500)
2013 – 2017 Travel Awards of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and
the School of Biological Sciences, UC Irvine ($2,500)
2013 – 2018 φ National
Science Foundation (NSF), Graduate Research Fellowships
Program ($136,000)
2013 – 2018 UC Irvine, Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship ($100,454)
2013 UC Irvine, Graduate Dean’s Recruitment Fellowship ($10,000)
August 2013 Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting travel scholarship
from SEEDS (Student Educators for Environmental Development and
Sustainability) in collaboration with Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher
Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS PHD’S) (~$1,000)
2012 – 2014 MS PHD’S Mentoring Program – Cohort IX (~$3,000)
2011 φ NSF, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program ($5,000)
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February 2011 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
Annual Meeting travel scholarship (~$200)
August 2010 ESA Annual Meeting SEEDS travel scholarship (~$1,000)
2010 φ USDA Faculty and Student Teams (FaST) Program ($6,000)
2009 – 2010 φ Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) Fellowship
2008 – 2010 National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant

PUBLICATIONS
Hansen W, J Scholl, A Sorensen, K Fisher, J Klassen, L Calle, G Kandlikar, N Kortessis, D
Kucera, D Marias, D Narango, K O'Keeffe, W Recart, E Ridolfi, M Shea. In press. How do
we ensure the future of our discipline is vibrant? Student reflections on careers and
culture of ecology. Ecosphere. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2099
Falcón W, JD Ackerman, W Recart, and C Daehler. 2013. Biology and Impacts of Pacific
Island Invasive Species. X. Iguana iguana, the green iguana (Squamata: Iguanidae).
Pacific Science. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.2984/67.2.2
Recart W, JD Ackerman and AA Cuevas. 2013. There goes the neighborhood: apparent
competition between invasive and native orchids mediated by a specialist florivorous
weevil. Biological Invasions. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0283-0
Ackerman JD, W Falcón and W Recart. 2011. New Records of Naturalized Orchids for the
Hawaiian Islands. Records of the Hawaiian Biological Survey, Occasional Papers 110:1-4

RESEARCH EXPERIENCES
Since 2015 Graduate researcher, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL).
Research: Effects of the invasive plant species Linaria vulgaris on pollinator-
mediated selection and seed production of the native plant, Penstemon
strictus. Advisor: Diane R. Campbell.
Since 2013 Graduate researcher, Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine.
Research: Effects of the invasive plant species Brassica nigra and changes
to water availability on the pollinator-mediated selection and seed
production of native Phacelia parryi. Advisor: Diane R. Campbell.
Summer 2014 Research assistant, RMBL. Research: Ecological speciation and hybrid
zones of two Ipomopsis species. Investigator: Diane R. Campbell.
2010–2013 Research assistant, Center for Advanced Tropical Ecology and Conservation,
UPR Río Piedras. Tasks: Worked in several projects related to invasive plant
species in the tropics. Investigator: James D. Ackerman.
Summer 2011 Undergraduate researcher, REU of the Center for Research on Invasive
Species and Small Populations (CRISSP) of the University of Idaho.
Research: Conducted invasive species assessments to biological controls.
Advisor: Mark Schwarzländer.

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2010–2011 Research assistant, Department of Biology, UPR Río Piedras. Research:
Worked with extractions and purification of DNA material to profile benthic
biofilms exposed to different nutrient treatments. Investigator: Sofía Burgos.
Summer 2010 Undergraduate researcher, USDA FaST Program, University of Hawaii.
Research: Developing species distribution models for Iguana iguana and
Arundina graminifolia. Advisors: Curt Daehler and James D. Ackerman.
2009–2010 Undergraduate researcher, UMEB Program at UPR Río Piedras. Research:
Apparent competition between an invasive and a native orchid. Advisor:
James D. Ackerman.
2008 Research assistant, Department of Biology, UPR Río Piedras. Tasks: Worked
banding and measuring birds in Cabo Rojo, PR and at the Guánica Dry
Forest Reserve in Puerto Rico. Investigator: William Beltrán.

TEACHING AND WORK EXPERIENCE

2014 – 2015 Teaching assistant for Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine
Courses: Organisms to Ecosystems (BIO 94); Habitats and Organisms
Laboratory (BIO E106L)
2012 Guest lecturer for the "Invasive Species Biology and Management" course
at UPR Río Piedras. Topic: Introduction to Biological Controls.
2012 – 2013 Herbarium technician at the UPR Río Piedras Herbarium
2008 – 2009 Herbarium technician at the UPR Río Piedras Herbarium
2006 – 2007 Math tutor for the Talent Search Program of UPR Río Piedras

ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS – LAST FIVE YEARS

In bold presenter’s name, underlined: mentored student |OP=oral | PP=poster
Recart W and D Campbell. 2017. Ecological and evolutionary impacts of water availability on
pollination: Lessons for translocation of species. California Native Plant Society
Conservation Conference. (Invited OP)
Ottoson B, W Recart and D Campbell. 2017. Water influences how seed production
responds to conspecific pollen and to pollen from invasive species. California Native Plant
Society Conservation Conference. (PP)
Recart W. 2017. Effects of biological invasions on the pollination of a native plant. SEEDS
Program Field Trip. RMBL, Colorado, USA. (OP)
Recart W. 2017. Water influences how seed production responds to conspecific pollen and
pollen from an invasive species. RMBL Graduate Seminar Series. Colorado, USA. (OP)
Campbell D and W Recart. 2017. Ecological and evolutionary impacts of climate on
pollinator-mediated interactions between native and invasive plants. 102nd ESA Annual
Meeting. Oregon, USA. (OP)
Recart W. 2017. Stressors to Pollination in the Anthropocene. Science Blitz, NSF GRFP
Research Symposium. UC Irvine, California, USA. (OP)

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Recart W. 2017. Effects of water availability and an invasive plant to the reproductive
success and selection of a native plant species. Winter Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Graduate Student Symposium. UC Irvine, California, USA. (OP)
Recart W and D Campbell. 2016. Translating pollen receipt into seeds produced: effects of
water availability on female reproductive success. 101th ESA Annual Meeting. Florida, USA.
(PP)
Recart W. 2015. Translating pollen receipt into seeds produced: effects of water availability
on female reproductive success. Winter Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate
Student Symposium. UC Irvine, California, USA. (OP)
Recart W, JD Ackerman, W Falcón and P Hernández. 2014. Here and there and everywhere:
the invasion experience differs among islands for the bamboo orchid. National Science
Foundation. Washington, D.C., USA. (PP)
Recart W, JD Ackerman, W Falcón and P Hernández. 2014. Here and there and everywhere:
the invasion experience differs among islands for the bamboo orchid. 99th ESA Annual
Meeting. California, USA. (PP)
Recart W, JD Ackerman, W Falcón and J Lazcano. 2013. Using species distribution modeling
to understand the spread of the naturalized Honduran pine in Puerto Rico. 98th ESA
Annual Meeting. Minnesota, USA. (PP)

ADDITIONAL TRAINING
2015 Current Issues in Statistical Ecology – Graduate Workshop
Provided by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) and the Ecological Society of America
2011 Tropical Lichenology Workshop: Micro and Macro Lichens of Puerto Rico (Part of the
Neotropical epiphytic microlichens) by Robert Lucking, Ph.D.
Provided by the UPR Río Piedras
2011 1st Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Plant Conservation Workshop
Provided by the USDA Forest Service in collaboration with Fundación Puertorriqueña
de Conservación, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Kew Botanical
Gardens, and the UPR Mayagüez
2010 Advanced geospatial training program in natural resource management and
conservation by Humberto Perotto-Baldivieso, Ph.D.
Provided by the Texas A&M University

MENTORING EXERIENCE
(14 students for ~ 875 total hours; λ independent research project; ф current career in STEM)
UC Irvine Bio199 research credits program:
λ Maren Rascon McClanahan (2017), λ Isabel Rivera (2017), λ Yichen Sun (2017), Syed

Irfanul Haque (2016-2017), λ ф Kei Lin Chang (2014-2016), λ ф Brittany Ottoson (2015-
2016), Christine Park (2015), ф Azam Saghaeidehkordi (2015), Jessica Miller (2015)
RMBL Undergraduate Research Program:
λ Ashley Morse (2017)

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Non-research related mentees: Women and Monitories in STEM Mentorship Program:
Madeline Sands (2017) and Andrianna Lu (2017); SACNAS UC Irvine Chapter:
ф Sarah Yvette Valles (2014); SEEDS ESA Meeting Mentoring Program: ф Tiffany Carey

(2014)

NEWS AND MEDIA

2017 RMBL Ph.D. research showcased in the Crested Butte Land Trust Monthly
Newsletter: https://www.cblandtrust.org/lupine-research/
2017 Article about the invasive orchid research published in the local Puerto Rican
newspaper, Nuevo Día, January 7, 2017: https://goo.gl/csyURX
2013 Interviewed for an episode of the Biología Boricua podcast, a podcast created to
showcase science in Puerto Rico and research done by Puerto Rican scientists.

SERVICE
ACADEMIC
Since 2013 Ad Hoc Reviewer: Plant Ecology (2 manuscripts), PLOS ONE (1 manuscript)
2017 Member of the Graduate Admissions Committee in the Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine.
2017 NSF GRFP Writing Mentor for students in the School of Biological Sciences, UC
Irvine.
2015 – 2017 Panelist for the Graduate School Informational Workshop of the Rocky
Mountain Biological Laboratory.
2013 – 2015 Developer and presenter of the REU Program Informational Workshop given
and 2017 to undergraduate students of UC Irvine.
2016 Organizer of the Winter Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student
Symposium of UC Irvine.
2016 Member of EcoFutures, an initiative of the Student Section of the Ecological
Society of America to assess the future challenges and opportunities within
ecology focused careers.
2016 Judge for the Poster Session of the Global Sustainability class of UC Irvine
2014, 2015 Panelist for the SOAR STEM Graduate Student Panel of the Student Outreach
and Retention Center of UC Irvine.
2015 Organizer of the workshop, Science Speed Dating: Networking for the Career
Ecologist, a networking workshop given to the attendees of the 100th ESA
Annual Meeting.
2014 Presider at the 2014 ESA Annual Meeting. Introduced speakers and
moderated the “Pollination I” contributed oral session.
Spring 2013 Organizer of the Invasive Species Awareness Week at UPR Río Piedras.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Since 2016 Founder and organizer of the RMBL Diversity Committee.

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2017 Chair of the Inclusive Ecology Section of the ESA.
2017 Organizer of the special session, Our Living Environment: Causes and
Strategies for Alleviating Impacts of Environmental Change on Minority
Communities, given to attendees of the 102nd ESA Annual Meeting.
2017 Developer and presenter of the workshop, Inclusive Communication:
Improving Conversations Through Consideration and Empathy, given to
attendees of the 102nd ESA Annual Meeting.
2017 Founder of SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and
Native Americans in Science) UC Irvine Chapter.
2016 Vice-chair of the Inclusive Ecology Section of the ESA.
2014 – 2015 Founder and co-advisor of the ecoUCI ESA SEEDS Chapter of UC Irvine.
2015 SEEDS Alumnus for the ESA SEEDS Leadership Meeting held in North End,
M.D, USA titled “Pollination Science, Communication and Policy”. Helped
coordinate the event and mentored participants.
2013 SEEDS Alumnus of the ESA Annual Meeting SEEDS program. Helped SEEDS
ESA Annual Meeting participants throughout the meeting.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
2018 Guest lecturer at the Bernice Ayer Middle School: gave hands-on talk and
laboratory work for three 6th grade classrooms about the functioning of the
stomata in plants as it relates to photosynthesis. Teacher: Adriana Burton.
Lecture given in Spanish.
2018 Writer of exam questions and supervisor for the Ecology Section test for the
Orange County Regional Science Olympiad event.
2017 Interviewer of senior students during the Godinez High School Exit Interviews.
2017 Developer and presenter of the “What stresses you out” workshop. Presented
at the Expand Your Horizons! San Diego Conference held at the University of
San Diego, San Diego, CA. The EYH Conference is a unique opportunity for
girls in grades 6 through 10 to engage in hands-on workshops in science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
2016 Developer and presenter of the “Pest, Plants, and Pollinators” workshop.
Presented at the Expand Your Horizons! San Diego Conference held at the
University of San Diego, San Diego, CA.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ecological Society of America,
Botanical Society of America, Society for the Study of Evolution

LANGUAGES
Fluent in Spanish (native language) and English.

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