Education
PhD Colorado State University, Botany 2014 to 2020
Dissertation: “The Phylogeny and Evolution of the Carduus-Cirsium Group
(“thistles”; Cardueae: Compositae)”
Committee: Dr. Mark Simmons (chair), Dr. Vicki Funk (Smithsonian Institution), Dr. David Steingraeber, Dr. Boris Kondratieff, Dr. Melinda Smith
Research Objectives:
MS Colorado State University, Botany 1998 to 2001
Thesis: “The Systematics and Biogeography of Hedera L., the Ivy Genus (Araliaceae)”
Advisor: Dr. Jun Wen
BS Colorado State University, Botany 1993 to 1996
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
Minored in Horticulture
Current Position
Head Curator of Natural History Collections and Associate Director of
Biodiversity Research, Denver Botanic Gardens 2020 to present
Relevant Work Experience
Assistant Curator, Charles Maurer Herbarium Collection
(formerly the Colorado State University Herbarium) 1998 to 2020
Publications
Books
Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas. 818 pp.
Journal Publications
Ackerfield, J. 2001. Trichome morphology in Hedera L. Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 58: 259-267.
Ackerfield, J. & J. Wen. 2002. A morphometric analysis of Hedera L. (the ivy genus, Araliaceae) and its taxonomic implications. Adansonia. 24 (2): 197-212.
Ackerfield J. & J. Wen. 2003. Evolution of Hedera (the ivy genus, Araliaceae): insights from chloroplast DNA data. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164: 593-602.
Ackerfield, J. & W.F. Jennings. 2008. The genus Abronia (Nyctaginaceae) in Colorado, with notes on Abronia bolackii in New Mexico. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2(1): 419-423.
Journal Papers In Press
Ackerfield, J., A. Susanna, V. Funk, D. Kelch, D.S. Park, A.H. Thornhill, & T. Arabaci. 2020. A Prickly Puzzle: Generic delimitations in the Carduus-Cirsium group (Compositae: Cardueae: Carduinae). To be published in: Taxon.
Journal Papers in Review
Ackerfield, J., D.J. Keil, W.C. Hodgson, S.D. Fehlberg, & V.A. Funk. 2020. Thistle be a mess: Untangling the taxonomy of Cirsium (Cardueae: Compositae) in North America. To be published in: Journal of Systematics and Evolution
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
Botanical Society of America J.S. Karling Graduate Student Research Award 2019
Best graduate student research proposal for the BSA research award
Botanical Society of America Graduate Student Research Award 2019
Phylogeography of hanging garden thistles ($1500)
Colorado State University, Stavros Family Fund 2019
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($2500)
Society of Systematic Biologists, Mini-Arts Grant 2019
Preparation of a monograph of Cirsium for North America ($2000)
Utah Native Plant Society Research Grant 2019
Untangling the taxonomy of rare Utah thistles using phylogenomics ($1000)
Colorado Mountain Club Foundation research grant 2018
Speciation on sky islands: the evolution and systematics of the Cirsium eatonii
complex in North America ($1000)
Colorado Native Plant Society, Steinkamp Fund 2018
Rare thistles of Colorado ($1000)
Colorado State University, Harrington Fund 2018
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($1800)
Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship 2018
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($4000)
American Society of Plant Taxonomists Graduate Student Research Award 2017
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($1000)
Colorado Native Plant Society, Marr Grant 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in Colorado ($1000)
Colorado State University, Harrington Fund 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in North America ($1800)
Colorado State University, Stavros Family Fund 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in North America ($1000)
Society of Herbarium Curators Student Research Award 2016
Increasing collections of thistles from the Rocky Mountains ($500)
National Science Foundation, Biological Research Collection Program 2011
Digitizing the Colorado State University Herbarium (Award number 1055334; $500,000)
Botanical Society of the British Isles Bequest Fund 1999
Systematics and evolution of Hedera (English ivy; $1000)
Linnaean Society of London, A. G. Side Fund 1999
Systematics and evolution of Hedera (English ivy; $2000)
Research Experience
Evolution and Biogeography of Cirsium in North America, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C. 2018 to 2020
Advisor: Dr. Vicki Funk
Teaching Experience
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 2003 to 2020
Instructor, Department of Biology
Awards Received
Colorado State University faculty and staff excellence in undergraduate teaching and/or mentoring award (2009, 2018)
Mentoring
I mentored two to five interns in the Colorado State University Herbarium each
Semester. Each intern completed a project related to natural history collections.
This totaled approximately 75 students. 1999 to 2019
I mentored several students completing floristic projects at Colorado State University:
Floristic Study of Baca Ranch, Honor’s Thesis Project 2008
Student: Elin Franzen
Floristic Study of Soapstone and Red Mountain Open Spaces, Master’s Project 2011 to 2013
Student: Jenna McAleer
Floristic Study of Gunnison County, Master’s Project 2016 to 2018
Student: Madelaine Maher
Floristic Study of the Rabbit Ears Range, Undergraduate Research Project 2018 to 2019
Student: Austin Rosen
Selected Speaking Presentations and Invited Lectures
Keynote Address
“The Flora of the Future,” Colorado Native Plant Society annual meeting, 2013
Speaking Presentations
“Rare Plants of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society Fort Collins Chapter, 2005
“Online Resources for Botanical Research,” Colorado Native Plant Society Fort Collins Chapter, 2010
“Update on the Flora of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2014
“Botany is Not Dead but This Plant Is: The Importance of Natural History Collections,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2016
“Alpine Plants of Colorado,” American Rock Garden Society Annual Meeting, 2016
“Native and Non-native Thistles in Colorado,” Colorado Weed Management Association, 2016
“Herbarium Link, a method of barcoding and digitizing herbarium collections,” Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, 2017
“The Importance of Science and Science Communication,” Denver Science March, 2017
“When Citizen Science and Natural History Collections Collide,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2018
“A Prickly Puzzle: The Evolution and Systematics of the Carduus-Cirsium Group,” Botany Conference, 2018
“Prickly Puzzles: The Study of the Flora of Colorado and Cirsium in the Rocky Mountains,” University of Wyoming Center for Biodiversity Lecture Series, 2018
“A Prickly Puzzle: Disentangling Relationships Among North American Cirsium,” Smithsonian Institution Department of Botany Seminar Series, 2019
“A Prickly Puzzle: The Evolution and Systematics of the Carduus-Cirsium Group,” University of Northern Colorado Biology Department Seminar Series, 2019
“Speciation on Sky Islands: Unraveling the taxonomy of the Cirsium eatonii complex in North America,” Botany Conference, 2019
“Importance of Natural History Collections in a Changing World,” Invited lecture, Systematic Zoology, Colorado State University, 2019, 2020
“Incorporating Natural History Collections Into Systematic Research,” Invited lecture, Evolutionary Biology, Colorado College, 2020
Webinar Presentations
“Denver EcoFlora Project,” Denver Botanic Gardens docents and interns, 2020
“Fantastic Wildflowers and Where to Find them,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2020
“Identification Tools in Your Identification Toolbox,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2020
Poster Presentations
“Trichome Morphology in Hedera,” International Botanical Congress, 1999
“The Flora of Colorado,” Botany Conference, 2016
“Ecological Niche Modeling of an Adaptive Radiation in California,” Botany Conference, 2017
Award received: best graduate student poster presentation, ecology section
Workshops Presented
“How to identify plants using a dichotomous key,” Colorado Native Plant Masters, 2015
“Brassicaceae of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2015
“Astragalus of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2016
“Botany in Half a Day,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2017, 2018, 2019
“Identifying Chenopodiaceae in Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2017
“Asters, Brasses, and Grasses,” Boulder County Nature Association, 2018
“Asteraceae Family in Colorado, an identification how-to,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2018
“Grasses and Grass-like Families,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2019
“Defining a Species,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2020
Professional Training
Futureproofing Natural History Collections: Creating Sustainable Financial Models for Research Resources Webinar
American Alliance of Museums, online, 2020
Description: Explored projects that have created steady income streams, as well as short-term projects that nurture long-term relationships and cultivate fans for museums and their research collections.
Phylogenomic Bioinformatics Workshop
University of Memphis, Tennessee, 2019
Description: Learned how to process phylogenomic data, including use of the programs Trimmomatic, Hyb-Piper, and PHYLUCE.
Strategic Planning for Herbaria Webinar Series
iDigBio, online, 2018
Description: Produced a strategic plan addressing the vision, mission, stakeholders, strategies, goals, objectives, evaluation, and sustainability of the CSU Herbarium.
Ecological Niche Modeling Workshop
Pam Soltis, Denver, Colorado, 2017
Description: Learned the techniques for generating ecological niche maps for plant species and how to evaluate them.
Next-generation Sequencing Workshop
Botany Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, 2017
Description: Learned techniques for visualizing and analyzing next-generation sequencing data.
Professional Service
Peer-Reviewed Articles for:
Community Service
Boy Scouts of America
Field trip leader; 2016, 2017
Colorado College Botany Course
Field trip leader; 2018
Colorado Native Plant Masters
Instructor and field trip leader; 2015, 2016
Colorado Native Plant Society
Field trip leader; 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Crested Butte Wildflower Festival
Field trip leader; 2016, 2017, 2019
Girls & Science event at the Denver Museum of Science
Provided hands-on activities for children to inspire them to pursue careers in the STEM fields; 2017
Rocky Mountain National Park
Plant identification training for field crews; 2016, 2017
City Nature Challenge, Denver
Assisted in coordinating the City Nature Challenge and provided identifications on iNaturalist; 2020
Professional Affiliations
PhD Colorado State University, Botany 2014 to 2020
Dissertation: “The Phylogeny and Evolution of the Carduus-Cirsium Group
(“thistles”; Cardueae: Compositae)”
Committee: Dr. Mark Simmons (chair), Dr. Vicki Funk (Smithsonian Institution), Dr. David Steingraeber, Dr. Boris Kondratieff, Dr. Melinda Smith
Research Objectives:
- Clarify phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships within North American thistles using traditional as well as cutting-edge, next-generation sequencing technology.
- Construct a broadly-sampled phylogeny for the Carduus-Cirsium group to delimit monophyletic genera, reconstruct the evolution of pappus type, and infer the timing of dispersal to North America.
MS Colorado State University, Botany 1998 to 2001
Thesis: “The Systematics and Biogeography of Hedera L., the Ivy Genus (Araliaceae)”
Advisor: Dr. Jun Wen
BS Colorado State University, Botany 1993 to 1996
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
Minored in Horticulture
Current Position
Head Curator of Natural History Collections and Associate Director of
Biodiversity Research, Denver Botanic Gardens 2020 to present
- Direct the Kathryn Kalmbach Vascular Plant Herbarium, the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi, Denver Botanic Gardens Collection of Arthropods, and the Gardens Biorepository.
- Oversee the growth and curation of both the physical and digital natural history and biorepository collections.
- Develop and oversee collections policies and procedures for natural history collections.
- Respond to inquiries from public and other agencies and organizations.
- Provide outreach and professional presentations on the work of the Gardens natural history collections to internal and external audiences including members of the public and professional societies.
- Secure and manage financial support for natural history collections and projects which build and utilize the collections.
- Develop new research projects which complements and enhance existing Gardens research and write grand proposals to support these new projects.
- Coordinate and lead collections-focused fieldwork, including but not limited to managing crews.
Relevant Work Experience
Assistant Curator, Charles Maurer Herbarium Collection
(formerly the Colorado State University Herbarium) 1998 to 2020
- Managed the maintenance and directed the growth of the collections of the Charles Maurer Herbarium Collection of approximately 100,000 specimens. During this time, I oversaw the acquisition of the Forestry and Range Science Herbarium at Colorado State University (approximately 10,000 specimens) and the Miriam Denham Collection (approximately 15,000 specimens).
- Provided a taxonomic authority for the local community and university, assisting with questions concerning the flora of Colorado and identifying plant specimens from Colorado and the world.
- Led collections-based field work. I worked with local organizations and land owners to provide floristic inventories, participated in bioblitzes as a taxonomic authority, and performed field work for my own research.
- Led tours of the herbarium for local school groups, CSU botany classes, organizations such as the Colorado Native Plant Society, and potential donors.
- Supervised student interns and volunteers consisting of 2–5 interns each semester. I began this program in 1999 and mentored over 75 students since its inception. I also provided mentorship for undergraduates through honor’s thesis advising and undergraduate teaching assistantships.
- Mentored and obtained funding for graduate students’ Master’s floristic projects. Recent projects include the Flora of Soapstone and Red Mountain (Jenna McAleer), Flora of Gunnison County (Maddie Maher), and Flora of the Rabbit Ears Range (Austin Rosen).
- Managed herbarium operation and grant budgets.
Publications
Books
Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas. 818 pp.
Journal Publications
Ackerfield, J. 2001. Trichome morphology in Hedera L. Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 58: 259-267.
Ackerfield, J. & J. Wen. 2002. A morphometric analysis of Hedera L. (the ivy genus, Araliaceae) and its taxonomic implications. Adansonia. 24 (2): 197-212.
Ackerfield J. & J. Wen. 2003. Evolution of Hedera (the ivy genus, Araliaceae): insights from chloroplast DNA data. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164: 593-602.
Ackerfield, J. & W.F. Jennings. 2008. The genus Abronia (Nyctaginaceae) in Colorado, with notes on Abronia bolackii in New Mexico. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2(1): 419-423.
Journal Papers In Press
Ackerfield, J., A. Susanna, V. Funk, D. Kelch, D.S. Park, A.H. Thornhill, & T. Arabaci. 2020. A Prickly Puzzle: Generic delimitations in the Carduus-Cirsium group (Compositae: Cardueae: Carduinae). To be published in: Taxon.
Journal Papers in Review
Ackerfield, J., D.J. Keil, W.C. Hodgson, S.D. Fehlberg, & V.A. Funk. 2020. Thistle be a mess: Untangling the taxonomy of Cirsium (Cardueae: Compositae) in North America. To be published in: Journal of Systematics and Evolution
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
Botanical Society of America J.S. Karling Graduate Student Research Award 2019
Best graduate student research proposal for the BSA research award
Botanical Society of America Graduate Student Research Award 2019
Phylogeography of hanging garden thistles ($1500)
Colorado State University, Stavros Family Fund 2019
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($2500)
Society of Systematic Biologists, Mini-Arts Grant 2019
Preparation of a monograph of Cirsium for North America ($2000)
Utah Native Plant Society Research Grant 2019
Untangling the taxonomy of rare Utah thistles using phylogenomics ($1000)
Colorado Mountain Club Foundation research grant 2018
Speciation on sky islands: the evolution and systematics of the Cirsium eatonii
complex in North America ($1000)
Colorado Native Plant Society, Steinkamp Fund 2018
Rare thistles of Colorado ($1000)
Colorado State University, Harrington Fund 2018
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($1800)
Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship 2018
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($4000)
American Society of Plant Taxonomists Graduate Student Research Award 2017
Phylogenomic research on Cirsium in North America ($1000)
Colorado Native Plant Society, Marr Grant 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in Colorado ($1000)
Colorado State University, Harrington Fund 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in North America ($1800)
Colorado State University, Stavros Family Fund 2016
Systematics and evolution of Cirsium in North America ($1000)
Society of Herbarium Curators Student Research Award 2016
Increasing collections of thistles from the Rocky Mountains ($500)
National Science Foundation, Biological Research Collection Program 2011
Digitizing the Colorado State University Herbarium (Award number 1055334; $500,000)
Botanical Society of the British Isles Bequest Fund 1999
Systematics and evolution of Hedera (English ivy; $1000)
Linnaean Society of London, A. G. Side Fund 1999
Systematics and evolution of Hedera (English ivy; $2000)
Research Experience
Evolution and Biogeography of Cirsium in North America, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C. 2018 to 2020
Advisor: Dr. Vicki Funk
- Performed Next-generation sequencing using the Hyb-Seq approach. This technique involved using capture probes targeting a conserved ortholog set of loci identified from expressed sequence tags of the Compositae.
- DNA extraction and library preparation for next-generation sequencing.
Teaching Experience
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 2003 to 2020
Instructor, Department of Biology
- Taught Plant Identification (BZ223), an undergraduate course averaging 150 students per year, covering the following topics: taxonomy, systematics, and recognition of the major flowering plant families of western North America
- Developed a lab manual, plant collection project, iNaturalist observation assignment, quizzes, exams, and homework
- Coordinated grading and labs with a team of 2 teaching assistants
- Secured funding through CSU technology fees to improve laboratory facilities for students
- Incorporated engaging activities such as interactive quizzes, games, and botanical costume contests to connect with students
Awards Received
Colorado State University faculty and staff excellence in undergraduate teaching and/or mentoring award (2009, 2018)
Mentoring
I mentored two to five interns in the Colorado State University Herbarium each
Semester. Each intern completed a project related to natural history collections.
This totaled approximately 75 students. 1999 to 2019
I mentored several students completing floristic projects at Colorado State University:
Floristic Study of Baca Ranch, Honor’s Thesis Project 2008
Student: Elin Franzen
Floristic Study of Soapstone and Red Mountain Open Spaces, Master’s Project 2011 to 2013
Student: Jenna McAleer
Floristic Study of Gunnison County, Master’s Project 2016 to 2018
Student: Madelaine Maher
Floristic Study of the Rabbit Ears Range, Undergraduate Research Project 2018 to 2019
Student: Austin Rosen
Selected Speaking Presentations and Invited Lectures
Keynote Address
“The Flora of the Future,” Colorado Native Plant Society annual meeting, 2013
Speaking Presentations
“Rare Plants of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society Fort Collins Chapter, 2005
“Online Resources for Botanical Research,” Colorado Native Plant Society Fort Collins Chapter, 2010
“Update on the Flora of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2014
“Botany is Not Dead but This Plant Is: The Importance of Natural History Collections,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2016
“Alpine Plants of Colorado,” American Rock Garden Society Annual Meeting, 2016
“Native and Non-native Thistles in Colorado,” Colorado Weed Management Association, 2016
“Herbarium Link, a method of barcoding and digitizing herbarium collections,” Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, 2017
“The Importance of Science and Science Communication,” Denver Science March, 2017
“When Citizen Science and Natural History Collections Collide,” Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 2018
“A Prickly Puzzle: The Evolution and Systematics of the Carduus-Cirsium Group,” Botany Conference, 2018
“Prickly Puzzles: The Study of the Flora of Colorado and Cirsium in the Rocky Mountains,” University of Wyoming Center for Biodiversity Lecture Series, 2018
“A Prickly Puzzle: Disentangling Relationships Among North American Cirsium,” Smithsonian Institution Department of Botany Seminar Series, 2019
“A Prickly Puzzle: The Evolution and Systematics of the Carduus-Cirsium Group,” University of Northern Colorado Biology Department Seminar Series, 2019
“Speciation on Sky Islands: Unraveling the taxonomy of the Cirsium eatonii complex in North America,” Botany Conference, 2019
“Importance of Natural History Collections in a Changing World,” Invited lecture, Systematic Zoology, Colorado State University, 2019, 2020
“Incorporating Natural History Collections Into Systematic Research,” Invited lecture, Evolutionary Biology, Colorado College, 2020
Webinar Presentations
“Denver EcoFlora Project,” Denver Botanic Gardens docents and interns, 2020
“Fantastic Wildflowers and Where to Find them,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2020
“Identification Tools in Your Identification Toolbox,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2020
Poster Presentations
“Trichome Morphology in Hedera,” International Botanical Congress, 1999
“The Flora of Colorado,” Botany Conference, 2016
“Ecological Niche Modeling of an Adaptive Radiation in California,” Botany Conference, 2017
Award received: best graduate student poster presentation, ecology section
Workshops Presented
“How to identify plants using a dichotomous key,” Colorado Native Plant Masters, 2015
“Brassicaceae of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2015
“Astragalus of Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2016
“Botany in Half a Day,” Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, 2017, 2018, 2019
“Identifying Chenopodiaceae in Colorado,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2017
“Asters, Brasses, and Grasses,” Boulder County Nature Association, 2018
“Asteraceae Family in Colorado, an identification how-to,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2018
“Grasses and Grass-like Families,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2019
“Defining a Species,” Colorado Native Plant Society, 2020
Professional Training
Futureproofing Natural History Collections: Creating Sustainable Financial Models for Research Resources Webinar
American Alliance of Museums, online, 2020
Description: Explored projects that have created steady income streams, as well as short-term projects that nurture long-term relationships and cultivate fans for museums and their research collections.
Phylogenomic Bioinformatics Workshop
University of Memphis, Tennessee, 2019
Description: Learned how to process phylogenomic data, including use of the programs Trimmomatic, Hyb-Piper, and PHYLUCE.
Strategic Planning for Herbaria Webinar Series
iDigBio, online, 2018
Description: Produced a strategic plan addressing the vision, mission, stakeholders, strategies, goals, objectives, evaluation, and sustainability of the CSU Herbarium.
Ecological Niche Modeling Workshop
Pam Soltis, Denver, Colorado, 2017
Description: Learned the techniques for generating ecological niche maps for plant species and how to evaluate them.
Next-generation Sequencing Workshop
Botany Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, 2017
Description: Learned techniques for visualizing and analyzing next-generation sequencing data.
Professional Service
Peer-Reviewed Articles for:
- Flora of North America
- American Journal of Botany
- Botanical Research Institute of Texas
- Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Community Service
Boy Scouts of America
Field trip leader; 2016, 2017
Colorado College Botany Course
Field trip leader; 2018
Colorado Native Plant Masters
Instructor and field trip leader; 2015, 2016
Colorado Native Plant Society
Field trip leader; 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Crested Butte Wildflower Festival
Field trip leader; 2016, 2017, 2019
Girls & Science event at the Denver Museum of Science
Provided hands-on activities for children to inspire them to pursue careers in the STEM fields; 2017
Rocky Mountain National Park
Plant identification training for field crews; 2016, 2017
City Nature Challenge, Denver
Assisted in coordinating the City Nature Challenge and provided identifications on iNaturalist; 2020
Professional Affiliations
- American Society of Plant Taxonomists
- Botanical Society of North America
- Colorado Native Plant Society
- Graduate Women in Science
- Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
- Society of Herbarium Curators
