In preparation

Lexi Gauger and David Gonthier. Effectiveness of on-farm conservation methods for pollinator support and pollination services: a review. In preparation.

Lexi Gauger, Kathleen Fiske Pulliam, Yuuki Cherian, and David Gonthier. Floral resource diversification improves bumble bee colony health in cucurbit agroecosystems. In preparation.

In press

Kathleen Fiske, Robert Brockman, Chelsea Avery, Lexi Gauger, Mark Williams, Ricardo Bessin, and David Gonthier. Balancing row cover pest and pollination management in organic cucurbit production. 2025. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 41:e1. doi.org/10.1017/S1742170525100203

Lexi Gauger, Kathleen Fiske Pulliam, Yuuki Cherian, Mateo Garcia, Benjamin Morrison, and David Gonthier. Bumble bee colony health is diminished in a mesotunnel enclosure planted with a cucurbit monoculture crop. 2025. Journal of Pollination Ecology, https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2025)859 

Ryan Kuesel, Chelsea Avery, Sarah Jones, Alexis Gauger, Delia Scott, and David Gonthier. Exclusion barriers reduce Drosophila suzukii infestation and improve fall-bearing red raspberry yields. 2023. Journal of Economic Entomology, 116(5): 1727-1736. doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad151  

Gonzalez, J., Gonthier, D., Pethybridge, S., Bessin, R., Nair, A., Zhang, W., Cheng, N., Fiske, K., Gauger, A., Damann, K., Murphy, S., Badilla, S., Mphande, K., and Gleason, M. 2023. Mesotunnels for organic management of cucurbit pests and diseases: tips for growers. NCPA 038, North Central IPM Center. 8 pp.

Kenton Sena, Lexi Gauger, Trinity Johnson, Felicity Shirkey, William Caldbeck, Jansen Hammock, Ashley Kim, Bella Mazza, Isabelle Pethtel, and Wendy Leuenberger. Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) presence is associated with reduced diversity and richness of flowering spring flora in central Kentucky. 2021. Natural Areas Journal, 41(4): 249-257. doi.org/10.3375/20-41 

International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Bozeman, MT, June 2026

Poster presentation: Bumble bee colony health and pollen diet composition depend on floral diversity in cucurbit field enclosures 

Ohio Valley Entomological Association Conference, Burlington, KY, October 2025

Contributed talk: Novel mesocosm system reveals relationships between floral diversification, bee colony health, and pollination services 

Ecological Society of America Conference, Baltimore, MD, August 2025

Contributed talk: Novel mesocosm system reveals relationships between floral diversification, bee colony health, and pollination services

Entomological Society of America Conference, Phoenix, AZ, November 2024

Invited talk: Using a novel mesocosm system to reveal effects of floral diversification on bumble bee colony-level health

University of Kentucky Entomology Department Seminar, October 2023

Proposal seminar: Does floral diversification impact bee colony health and services?

Tomas Sanchez-Villalobos poster presentation, December 2024

Tomas, an undergraduate student whom I mentored, created a poster titled "Comparing analysis methods and pollen foraging in bumble bees" based on his independent research project, and presented it at our lab meeting.

People's Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture, Louisville, KY, September 2024

Poster presentation: Floral resource diversity improves bee colony health without affecting crop yield 

University of Kentucky Entomology Department Retreat, August 2024

Poster presentation: Floral resource diversity improves bee colony health without affecting crop yield

Marbleseed Organic Conference, La Crosse, WI, February 2023

Poster presentation: Foraging environment and floral diversity affects reproductive success in commercial B. impatiens colonies

University of Kentucky Entomology Department Retreat, August 2022

Poster presentation: Foraging environment and floral diversity affects reproductive success in commercial B. impatiens colonies 

USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship, April 2026

"Bumble bee nutrition, colony health, and pollination outcomes in cucurbit agroecosystems ," $244,000 (in review)

Tracy Farmer Scholars Program, March 2026

University of Kentucky student fellowship, "Advancing understanding of bumble bee colony health in diversified agroecosystems," $6,000 (in review)

Southern SARE Graduate Student Grant, May 2025

"Applying Flowering Cover Crop Furrows for Pollinator Health and Weed Suppression in Cucurbit Agroecosystems," $22,000 

USDA-NIFA Predoctoral Fellowship, November 2024

"Floral resource diversification affects pollinator health and crop yield in cucurbit agroecosystems," $180,000 

The Food Connection Student Opportunity Grant,  May 2024

"Affirming mutual goals of pollinator health and pollination services in sustainable agroecosystems," $7,500 (fully funded)

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, March 2023

"Resource diversity creates trade-offs between B. impatiens colony health and pollination ecosystems services," Honorable mention

University of Kentucky Singletary Graduate Fellowship, May 2022

$20,000 + tuition and benefits (fully funded)

Academic peer review for Journal of Environmental Entomology, February 2026

Faculty search committee student representative, Extension Field Crops Entomologist position, University of Kentucky, 2026