Mason Heberling

Mason Heberling is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Associate Curator of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He holds an adjunct appointment at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation (Carnegie Mellon University). His research integrates herbarium specimens, field experiments, and observational data to study plant ecophysiological strategies under global change, particularly climate change and invasive species in temperate forests.

• University of Pittsburgh (Adjunct Associate Professor, Biological Sciences)
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Associate Curator of Botany)
• Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation (Adjunct)

Research Interests: Heberling investigates the functional ecology of understory plants in temperate forests, focusing on phenological mismatch due to climate change, physiological ecology of invasive species, and the role of natural history collections in the Anthropocene. His work examines how herbarium specimens can reveal shifts in plant traits, flowering times, and microbial communities, while addressing the impacts of invasive shrubs on forest light dynamics and carbon budgets. Projects span global change biology, invasion mechanisms, and science communication initiatives.

Scientific Contributions: Recent publications highlight herbarium digitization, invasion biology communication, and ecological mismatches in forest systems. His team's work on phenological shifts and invasive plant impacts has been featured in outlets like the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, and NPR. Heberling's research is supported by NSF grants and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

• 2020 George Mercer Award (Ecological Society of America)

Labs & Collaborations: The Heberling Lab at Carnegie Museum of Natural History works with the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project and partners with institutions like the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. The lab emphasizes public engagement through exhibitions, community science integration, and educational outreach, including the Uprooted: Plants out of Place exhibition and the Collected on This Day blog.