Zachary Bunch
EDUCATION
Current – Ph.D. Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University
In progress: Ph.D. Ecology
Advisor: Christina Grozinger
M.S. Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Completed: M.S. Biology, GPA: 4.00
Defended: 4/16/2024
Advisor: Kimberly Komatsu
Committee: Jim Coleman, Sally Koerner
B.S. Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Completed: B.S. Biology, Graduated Spring 2022, GPA: 3.61
Llyod International Honors College – International Honors Program
A.A. & A.S. - Guilford Technical Community College
Completed: A.A., Graduated Spring 2020, GPA: 3.62
Completed A.S., Graduated Fall 2019, GPA: 3.76
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Zachary L. T. Bunch is a community ecologist focused on insect community dynamics, applied pollinator conservation, and plant community dynamics. He completed an M.S. in Biology at UNC Greensboro in May 2024, where his thesis tested how patch-burn grazing versus annual burn-grazing shape aboveground invertebrate biodiversity. Zachary is now a Ph.D. Student in the Grozinger lab at Penn State working to leverage AI-enabled monitoring systems, dubbed InsectEye and BeeEye, to capture high-resolution insect activity to solve ecological questions
PUBLICATIONS
Bloodworth KJ, Trimas Frost MD, Young AL, Allred GA, Araya D, Bunch Z. L. T., Ford JM, Glass EA, Gora SL, Green CE, Johnson AL, Mann WT, Mota S, Numan M, et al. 2025. Heatwaves leave a legacy on a dominant understory grass in longleaf pine savanna. Ecosphere 16(12):e70481. DOI.
Frost, M. D. T., G. E. Trimas, K. A. Johnston, Z. L. T. Bunch, A. D. Jolin, and S. E. Koerner. 2025. Native plant species exhibit consistent drought advantage over introduced species until additional global change drivers are included: A grassland meta-analysis. Journal of Ecology 113:2698–2711. DOI.
Bunch, Z. L.T., M. L. Avolio, S. E. Koerner, K. R. Wilcox, L. H. Zeglin, and K. J. Komatsu. 2025. Patch-Burn Grazing is Similar to Annual Burning in Effects on Belowground Invertebrates in Tallgrass Prairie. Rangeland Ecology & Management 101:140–146. DOI.
Frost, M. D. T., K. J. Komatsu, L. M. Porensky, K. O. Reinhart, K. R. Wilcox, Z. L. T. Bunch, A. D. Jolin, K. A. Johnston, G. E. Trimas, and S. E. Koerner, 2024, Plant, insect, and soil microbial communities vary across brome invasion gradients in northern mixed-grass prairies. Oikos, Volume 2024, Issue 6, e10515. DOI.
AWARDS
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution (Simon Foundation), 2025
University Graduate Fellowship, 2025
Biology Graduate Student Support Grant (UNC Greensboro), 2023
Excellence in Research Award (UNC Greensboro), 2022
Honorable Mention, 2022 (UNC Greensboro)
Biology Undergraduate Research Award (UNC Greensboro), 2022
Biology Undergraduate Research Award (UNC Greensboro), 2021
Undergraduate Research and Creativity Award (UNC Greensboro), 2021
Chancellor’s Scholarship Award (UNC Greensboro), 2019