Fabulous Chrismakah holiday door decoration by Rachael, J and Anthony!
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Back row left to right: Jake White, David Traub, Caerwyn Nelson, Josh Lopez-Binder, Savannah Sanchez.Derek Kober, Savanna Sanchez. Front Row left to right: Rae DeVan, Rachael Auer, Marcy Litvak, Hang Duong, Derek Kober
Litvak Lab photo Fall 2025 |
Dr. Marcy Litvak (PI) (she/her)
Marcy is a Professor in the Biology Department of University of New Mexico. She received her B.A. with honors in 1989 from Colorado College, and her Ph.D. in Plant Physiological Ecology in 1998 from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research focus is on understanding how ecosystem processes vary across ecological gradients in semi-arid biomes. She is particularly interested in quantifying how climate and disturbance alter carbon, water and energy dynamics in the Southwestern U.S.
For more information: CV, Google Scholar, or Research Gate.
Contact info: faculty web page
Marcy is a Professor in the Biology Department of University of New Mexico. She received her B.A. with honors in 1989 from Colorado College, and her Ph.D. in Plant Physiological Ecology in 1998 from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research focus is on understanding how ecosystem processes vary across ecological gradients in semi-arid biomes. She is particularly interested in quantifying how climate and disturbance alter carbon, water and energy dynamics in the Southwestern U.S.
For more information: CV, Google Scholar, or Research Gate.
Contact info: faculty web page
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Research Professor
Dr. Megan (Rae) DeVan, is a research assistant professor working on the FOR-NM project who research focuses on the drivers of microbial and fungal diversity and their impact on ecosystem function. She is particularly interested in terrestrial symbioses and decomposition and how they influence and feedback with ecosystem nutrient cycles. Rae’s past research has covered how fungi, microbes, and roots respond to climate change and disturbance and influence ecosystem recovery, feedbacks between microbial processes and nutrient cycling, and how microbial composition influences the balance of soil carbon sequestration and respiration during decomposition.
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Data Manager, Data Scientist FOR-NM
Kai Del Regno is our new data manager for the NMEG, and a Data Scientist working with Dr. Dan Krofcheck (Sandia National Lab) on using machine learning to estimate carbon, water and energy fluxes at the watershed scale for NM TOP 500 priority watersheds for our FOR-NM project.
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Program Manager
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Technicians
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Jacob White
Jake is the program manager for our new NSF ERISE RII award, FOR-NM (Forest Research for NM Water and Carbon Management. He received his B.S. from University of Wyoming in Wildlife Biology and Environment and Natural Resources. He worked with the National Ecological Observatory Network for 8 years, managing teams to collect ecological data from flux towers, terrestrial plots, and aquatic sites. Jake helps the lab with his experience working in a wide variety of ecosystems and disciplines.
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Bishop Cervantes
Bishop Cervantes is the lab’s lead technician, responsible for maintaining flux tower instrumentation and keeping systems running smoothly across all NMEG tower sites. He received his B.S. in Mathematics with a minor in Secondary Education with honors in 2024 and his M.S. in Mathematics with a Specialization in Industrial Mathematics in 2025, both from the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology. He brings experience in epidemiological modeling, ecological modeling, and soil monitoring, with a strong foundation in data-driven analysis and field-based environmental research. He supports the installation, troubleshooting, and upkeep of tower equipment to ensure consistent, high-quality data collection."
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Christian Von Hoyningen-Huene
Christian is our technician in charge of running instrument packages to intensively monitor tree and ecosystem function in watersheds impacted by management and/or disturbance.
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Graduate/Undergraduate Students
Savannah SanchezI am currently a master's student looking at plant contributions to CO2 fluxes at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. I received my B.S. in Biology at New Mexico Highlands University in 2022. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico and my love for plants started through an internship through NMHU working for Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge collecting different native plants to add to our herbarium. I am an avid houseplant collector, hiker, and skier and New Mexico is the perfect place to be able to do all three!"
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Josh Lopez-BinderJosh is a masters student investigating tree responses to climatic changes. He received a BS in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014. Since then he worked as a mechanical engineer, programmer and tree-trimmer. Studying ecology combines elements of his past experiences and he is thrilled to be applying them to the study of trees.
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Rachael Auer
Rachael used to be our technician in charge of making all ecological measurements across the NMEG. She started graduate school as a Master's student in Fall 2024. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, focusing on botany and plant ecology. She is fascinated by plant ecosystems and how they are changing in response to climate change. Her graduate research focuses on phenology and how it can be used to investigate range expansions and contractions at the Sevilleta LTER
Derek Kober
Derek is a graduate student studying how piñon and juniper trees respond to drought stress. His research uses thermal remote sensing to detect patterns of tree water use and drought stress from canopy temperatures. Before joining the Litvak Lab, he earned his B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Plant Biology and a minor in Computer Science from the University of Utah, and worked as a field technician for NEON and at a garden center planting trees.
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David Traub
David is an undergraduate working in our lab on an honors thesis investigating the effect of Pinyon mortality on soil respiration within piñon-juniper woodlands. He has worked previously in labs relating to fungal bioremediation, and is receiving a B.S. in biology at the University of New Mexico. He has an interest in microbial and fungal ecology.
Caerwyn Nelson
Caerwyn is a master's student exploring how thinning influences tree growth, snowpack dynamics, and ecosystem fluxes. They received their BS with honors in Environmental Science at Willamette University, where they investigated post-fire vegetation regeneration using dendrochronological methods. Caerwyn has also contributed to ecological monitoring through the OSU Institute for Natural Resources and the BLM AIM program, as well as ecosystem modeling for the Puget Sound Integrated Modeling Framework as part of the EPA's VELMA team. In their spare time, Caerwyn can be found participating in conservation programs or playing roller derby.
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Past Lab Members
Huge shout out to all the people who have worked in the Litvak Lab in the past and who poured an enormous amount of time and energy into building up our flux tower gradient and datasets. It would not have been possible without their enormous efforts. They are listed here in no particular order.
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Graduate Students
University of New Mexico
Alesia Hallmark, PhD Amanda (Leibrecht) Stanfield, PhD Dan Krofcheck, PhD Amanda Sacks, MS Michelle Nuanez, MS Daniel Brese, MS Plan II Amy Bennett, MS Plan II Theodore Roper, MS Ryan Schulz, MS Corrie Gonzalez, MS Sasha Escamilla, MS University of Texas, Austin M. Shawn Brumbaugh, PhD Ann Thijs, PhD Tamara Basham, PhD |
Postdocs
Cameron McIntire Krista Anderson Teixera Andy Fox Tim Hilton Greg Maurer Dan Krofcheck Rob Pangle Laura Morillas Gonzalez Mike Fuller Cheng-Wei Huang Tomer Duman
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Lead Instrument Technicians
Anthony Luketich
Mikael Schlumpf Steven Crisp Alex Moody Andy Hawk Leo Stoscheck Skyler Hackley Jonathan Furst Christopher Russell Lead Ecology Technicians
Nicholas Smith Margaret Schluter Stephanie Schmiege Christy Lowney Bobby Mullin Melissa Baciagalupa Andrea Urioste |
Field Technicians, Field Crew and Undergraduate Students
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Laura Pages Barcelo
Grady Ball Sarah Lujan Pavel Vahkhlamov Emma Elliot-Smith Anita Enriquez Tallie Segel Eva Detweiler-Robinson |
Teresa Conway
Kelly Williamson Caitlin Wolf Gaea McGahee Nate Ritz Cecilia Payan Shaila Cochran Amanda Solnitzky Will Crockett |
Sarah Hicks Dean
Kathryn Harris Devon Fisher-Chavez Thommy Thompson Nina Vakhlamova Sabrina McNew Ryan Evansen Matthew McNair Ryan Ozatalar |