James Crall

James Crall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on organism-environment interactions, particularly pollinator ecology in agroecosystems. He develops experimental automation tools like the BumbleBox and BEEtag system for tracking insect behavior. Current interests include social resilience in bumblebees, pesticide impacts, and CO2 effects on pollinator nutrition.

Education:

• PhD Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University (2017)
• BA Biology, Sociology & Anthropology, Swarthmore College (2007)

Research combines behavioral ecology with applied agronomy, addressing how environmental stressors (pesticides, temperature, CO2) affect pollination services. Notable projects include modeling honeybee colonies (ApisRAM) and quantifying plant-insect interactions using sound sensors. His work emphasizes systems approaches to Anthropocene ecological challenges.

Labs/Teams: Crall Lab (https://www.crall-lab.com/) focuses on integrating robotics, ecology, and behavioral science. Recent advances include automated platforms for large-scale organism phenotyping (MAPLE robot) and open-source tools for behavioral tracking.