Kelsey Yule

Sr Data Science Specialist,

School of Life Sciences

Other ASU affiliations

Senior Global Futures Scientist, Global Futures Scientists and Scholars

[email protected]

Mail code: 4501

Campus: Mesatempe
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Long Bio

As part of the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (BioKIC), Dr. Kelsey Yule is the Senior Data Science Specialist for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Biorepository at ASU. Here, she works to maximize the impact of NEON sample-associated data and contributes to the development of the NEON Biorepository data portal, using open-source Symbiota software. She also conducts and facilitates research using this unique resource to study biological responses to global change on long-term and continental scales.

Before coming to ASU, Dr. Yule was a postdoctoral researcher in Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University. There, she worked with Dr. Gideon Bradburd on the development of open source methods for describing the abiotic and biotic drivers of population genomic variation. As a graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, Dr. Yule studied with Dr. Judie Bronstein. During this time, she researched the ecological mechanisms of host-associated genetic differentiation in a parasitic plant and developed mathematical models of the population dynamical and evolutionary consequences of mutualistic and antagonistic species interactions.

Education

PhD, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2018

BSc, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, 2011

CV

Curriculum Vitae

Video

Research Website URL

Research Website

Google Scholar URL

Google Scholar Profile

ORCID Profile ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1447-849X

Publications

[18] Dillard BA, JG Sanders, AP Husain, KM Yule, AH Moeller (2026) Isolation by distance promotes gut microbial strain divergence in wild mouse populations. Nature Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03073-7

[17] Claus, A, MA Johnston, KM Yule (2026) Evaluating Baselines for Long-Term Ecological Monitoring of Biodiversity Trends: Insights from the US National Ecological Observatory Network Carabid Data. Oikos. e11943. https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11943

[16] Atkins, J, K Aho; X Chen, A Elmore, R Fiorella, W Luo, D Lombardozzi, C Lunch, L Manak, L de Pablo, A Myers-Pigg, S Record, T Qiu, S Reed, B Ruddell, B Strange, C Torrens, KM Yule, A Richardson. (2025) Recommendations for developing, documenting, and distributing data products derived from NEON data. Ecosphere. 16(1): e70159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70159

[15] Jackson, D, KM Yule, A Biera, C Hawley, J Lacson, E Webb, K McGraw, KM Cooper. 2024. “Broadening Perspectives Activities” Improve both LGBTQ+ Student Experiences and non-LGBTQ+ Students’ Content Comprehension. CBE: Life Sciences Education. 23(4):ar9. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.24-02-0052

[14] Jobe, NB, NM Franz, MA Johnston, AB Malone, I Ruberto, J Townsend, JB Will, KM Yule, KP Paaijmans. 2024. The Mosquito Fauna of Arizona: Species Composition and Public Health Implications. Insects. 15(6): 432 https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15060432

[13] Thibault, KM, CM Laney, KM Yule, NM Franz, PM Mabee. 2023. The US National Ecological Observatory Network and the Global Biodiversity Framework: National Research Infrastructure with a Global Reach. Journal of Ecology and Environment. 47:21 https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.23.076

[12] Johnston MA, ES Waite, ER Wright, BH Reily, GJ De Leon, AI Esquivel, J Kerwin, M Salazar, E Sarmiento, T Thiatmaja, S Lee, KM Yule, NM Franz (2023) Insect collecting bias in Arizona with a preliminary checklist of the beetles from the Sand Tank Mountains. Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e101960. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e101960

[11] Lund, MC, BB Larsen, DM Rowsey, HW Otto, S Gryseels, S Kraberger, JM Custer, L Steger, KM Yule, RE Harris, M Worobey. (2023) Using archived and biocollection samples towards deciphering the DNA virus diversity associated with rodent species in the families Cricetidae and Heteromyidae. Virology. 585: 42-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2023.05.006

[10] Nagy*, RC, JK Balch*,.. KM Yule, et al. [*co-first authors]. (2021) Harnessing the NEON Data Revolution to Advance Open Environmental Science with a Diverse and Data-Capable Community. Ecosphere. 12(12): e03833. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3833

[9] Kitzes, J, R Blake, S Bombaci, M Chapman, S Durán, T Huang, M Joseph, S Lapp, S Marconi, W Oestreich, T Rhinehart, A Schweiger, Y Song, T Surasinghe, D Yang, KM Yule. (2021) Expanding NEON biodiversity surveys with new instrumentation and machine learning approaches. Ecosphere. 12(11): e03795. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3795

[8] Johnson CA, GP Smith, KM Yule, G Davidowitz, JL Bronstein, and R Ferrière. (2021) Coevolutionary transitions from antagonism to mutualism explained by the Co-Opted Antagonist Hypothesis. Nature Communications, 12: 2867. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23177-x

[7] Yule, KM, CA Johnson, JL Bronstein, and R Ferrière. (2020) Interactions among interactions: The dynamical consequences of antagonism between mutualists, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 501: 110334

[6] Ålund, M, N Emery, BJM Jarrett, KJ MacLeod, HF McCreery, N Mamoozadeh, JG Phillips, J Schossau, AW Thompson, AR Warwick, KM Yule, ER Zylstra, E Gering (2020) Academic ecosystems must evolve to support a sustainable postdoc workforce, Nature Ecology Evolution, 4: 777–781

[5] Yule, KM, and JL Bronstein (2018) Infrapopulation size and mate availability influence reproductive success of a parasitic plant, Journal of Ecology,106(5): 1972-1982

[4] Yule, KM, and JL Bronstein (2018) Reproductive ecology of a parasitic plant differs by host species: vector interactions and the maintenance of host races, Oecologia,186(2): 471-482

[3] Yule, KM, JAH Koop, NM Alexandre, LR Johnston, and NK Whiteman (2016) Population structure of a vector-borne plant parasite, Molecular Ecology,25(14): 3332-3343

[2] Yule, KM, TEX Miller, and JA Rudgers (2013) Costs, benefits, and loss of vertically transmitted symbionts affect host population dynamics, Oikos,122(10): 1393-1400

[1] Yule, KM, JM Wooley, and JA Rudgers (2011) Water availability alters the tri-trophic consequences of plant-fungal symbiosis, Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 5(1): 19-27

Preprints and Other Products

[2] Thomas, R. Q., Boettiger, C., Carey, C., Dietze, M., Fox, A., Kenney, M. A., ... & Yule, KM. (2021). Ecological forecasting initiative: NEON ecological forecasting challenge documentation V1. 0. Ecological Forecasting Initiative. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4780155.

[1] Yule, KM, EE Gilbert, AP Husain, MA Johnston, L Rocha Prado, L Steger, NM Franz. Designing Biorepositories to Monitor Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Change (Version 1). Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3880411

Expertise Areas

Database Management

Disease Modeling

Dynamical Systems Theory

Mathematical Biology

Modeling and Simulation

Population Biology

Theoretical Biology