Claire Winfrey

Microorganisms are the foundation of every ecosystem, but their small size, the staggering number of microbial species, and ongoing anthropogenic environmental change mean that central questions about their natural histories persist. I research the spatial patterns and traits of soil and airborne bacteria, archaea, and fungi, in an experimentally fragmented landscape in South Carolina and, for more recent work, across the United States. My goal with this work is to increase our understanding of which microbes are where and why, to inform management and satisfy my own curiosity!