Dr. Mary M. Gardiner received her Ph.D. in 2008 and is a Professor in the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University. Gardiner's Urban Insect Ecology Lab focuses on the ecology and conservation value of urban green spaces including parks, residential sites and vacant land. Much of this research occurs in legacy cities, which are characterized by long-term economic disinvestment and shrinking populations. Current research studies are examining the potential of park reforestation to provide tree-derived ecosystem services, the ability of front yard gardens in lower income neighborhoods to improve bee health and human well being, and the value of municipal greening rebate programs for insect conservation in cities. Mary is also a State Specialist in Extension who involves volunteers in research as community scientists and is active in the Ohio Master Gardener Volunteer Program and Entomology 4H. She teaches graduate courses in presentation skills and grant writing.
In 2015, she released a book focused on natural enemies and their role in biological control in home gardens titled: Good Garden Bugs: Everything You Need to Know about Beneficial Predatory Insects.
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*Scott, S.B., F.S. Sivakoff, M. Meuti, and M.M. Gardiner. 2023. Metal contamination challenges pollinator conservation in legacy cities. Journal of Insect Conservation 27: 361-375. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-023-00474-y
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~Perry, K.I., C.B. Riley, F. Fan, J. Radl, D.A. Herms and M.M. Gardiner. 2022. The value of hybrid and nonnative ash for the conservation of ash specialists is limited following late stages of emerald ash borer invasion. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 24: 355-370
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*Pham, M.A., S.B. Scott, L.R. Fyie, and M.M. Gardiner. 2022. The potential of sustainable landscaping programs to encourage conservation in United States residential landscapes. Urban Ecosystems 24: 1481-1490. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01241-8
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*Scott, S.B., F.S. Sivakoff, and M.M. Gardiner. 2022. Environmentally relevant concentrations of heavy metals diminishes bumble bee colony growth. Urban Ecosystems 25: 989-997. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01206-x
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*Riley, C.B., M. Raupp, K. Fite, and M.M. Gardiner. 2022. Woody plant biodiversity explains pest management interventions in residential landscapes. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 67: 127439. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127439
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Gardiner, M.M. and H.E. Roy. The role of community science in Entomology. 2022. Annual Review of Entomology 67: 437-456. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-072121-075258
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*Turo, K.J. and M.M. Gardiner. 2021. Effects of urban greenspace configuration and native vegetation on bee and wasp reproduction. Conservation Biology 35: 1755-1765. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13753
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Gardiner, M.M., K.I. Perry, C.B. Riley, K.J. Turo, Y. Delgado de la flor, F.S. Sivakoff. 2021. Community scientist data suggests that urbanization and forest habitat loss threaten aphidophagous native lady beetles. Ecology and Evolution 11: 27610-2774. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7229
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*Fyie, L.R., M.M. Gardiner, and M. Meuti. 2021. Artificial light at night prolongs seasonal exposure to biting mosquitoes. Journal of Insect Physiology 129: 104194
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Gardiner, M.M., Delgado de la flor, Y.A., Parker, D.M., and J.D. Harwood. 2021. Rich and abundant spider communities result from enhanced dietary niche breadth and reduced overlap in urban greenspaces. Ecological Applications 31: e02282. DOI: 10.1002/eap.2282
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~Perry, K.I., N.C. Hoekstra, S.W. Culman and M.M. Gardiner. 2020a. Vacant lot soil degradation and mowing frequency shape communities of belowground invertebrates and urban spontaneous vegetation. Urban Ecosystems. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-020-01069-0
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*Turo, K.J., M.R. Spring, F.S. Sivakoff, Y.A. Delgado de la flor, and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Bee community structure and foraging in urban vacant land: Implications for managing pollinator friendly cities. Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13773
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*Parker, D.M., K.J. Turo, Y.A. Delgado de la flor, and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Landscape context influences the community assembly of native lady beetles occupying urban vacant land. Urban Ecosystems. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-020-01000-7
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*Turo K.J. and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. The balancing act of urban conservation. Nature Communications 11: 3773. DOI: 10.1038/ s41467-020-17539-0
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~Perry, K., N. Hoekstra, Y.A. Delgado de la flor, and M.M. Gardiner. 2020b. Disentangling landscape and local drivers of ground-dwelling beetle community assembly in an urban ecosystem. Ecological Applications: E02191. DOI: 10.1002/eap.2191
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~Sivakoff, F.S., *S.P. Prajzner, and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Urban heavy metal contamination limits bumble bee colony growth. Journal of Applied Ecology 57: 1561-1569. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13651
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*Delgado de la flor, Y.A., K. Perry, K.J. Turo, D.M. Parker. T. Thompson, and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Local and landscape-scale environmental filters drive the functional diversity and taxonomic composition of spiders across urban greenspaces. Journal of Applied Ecology 57: 1570-1580
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*Riley, C.B. and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Examining the relationship and distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities. PLoS ONE 15: e0230398
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*Dieterich Mabin M.E., C. Welty and M.M. Gardiner. 2020. Predator richness predicts pest suppression within organic and conventional summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L. Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 287: 106689
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*Yang, L., K.J. Turo, E. Alfaro Inocente, J. Tian, N. Hoekstra, P.M. Piermarini and M.M. Gardiner. 2019. Can urban greening increase vector abundance in cities? The impact of mowing, local vegetation and landscape composition on adult mosquito populations. Urban Ecosystems 22: 827-839
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Grez, A.A., Zaviezo T. Gardiner, M.M. and Alaniz A. 2019. Urbanization filters coccinellids composition and functional trait distribution in greenspaces across greater Santiago, Chile. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 38: 337-345
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*Kautz A.R., and M.M. Gardiner. 2019. Agricultural intensification may create an attractive sink for Dolichopodidae, a ubiquitous but understudied predatory fly family. Journal of Insect Conservation 23: 453-465
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*Turo K.J. and M.M. Gardiner. 2019. From potential to practical: Needs to achieve pollinator conservation in urban public greenspace. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 17: 167-175
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*Riley, C.B., K.I. Perry, K. Ard, and M.M. Gardiner. 2018. Asset or liability? Ecological and sociological tradeoffs of urban spontaneous vegetation in shrinking cities. Sustainability 10: 2039
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*Richardson, R.T., M.M. Gardiner and R.M. Johnson. 2018. A reference cytochrome c oxidase subunit I database curated for hierarchical classification of arthropod metabarcoding data. PeerJ 6: e5126
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~Sivakoff, F.S., S.P. Prajzner, and M.M. Gardiner. 2018 Unique bee community assembly within vacant lots and urban farms results from variation in surrounding urbanization intensity. Sustainability 10: 1926
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Gardiner, M.M., C.B. Riley, R. Bommarco, E. Öckinger 2018. Rights-of-way: a potential conservation resource. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 18: 149-158
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*Kleinke, B., S.P. Prajzner, C.A. Gordon, N.C. Hoekstra, A.R. Kautz, A.M. Vossbrinck, and M.M. Gardiner. 2018. Identifying barriers to citizen scientist retention when measuring pollination services. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice 3: 1-10
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*Riley, C.B., D.A. Herms and M.M. Gardiner. 2018. Exotic trees contribute to urban forest diversity and ecosystem services in inner-city Cleveland, OH. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 29: 367-376
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*Delgado, Y.A., Burkman, C.E. Eldridge T.K. and M.M. Gardiner. 2017. Patch and landscape-scale variables influence the taxonomic and functional composition of beetles in urban greenspaces. Ecosphere 8: e02007
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~Sivakoff, F.S. and M.M. Gardiner. 2017. Soil lead contamination decreases bee flower visit duration at sunflowers. Urban Ecosystems 20: 1221-1228
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Gardiner, M.M. and J.D. Harwood. 2017. Editorial overview: Current investigations of environmental drivers and community interactions that influence biological control. Current Opinions in Insect Science 20: vii-xi
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Gardiner, M.M. and J.D. Harwood. 2017. Influence of heavy metal contamination on urban natural enemies and biological control. Current Opinions in Insect Science 20: 45-53