Research

How good is space-for-time substitution

Consistency in spatial and temporal flowering time sensitivity to temperature of wind-pollinated trees: insights from field observation and herbarium data

Ecological forecasting

Changing phenology

Student-led

Manuscript in Preparation
Yi Liu is a 2022 cohort Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan.

Mar 31, 2025

Yi Liu, Yiluan Song, Kai Zhu

From high-resolution remote sensing to pollen phenology

Predicting reproductive phenology of wind-pollinated trees via PlanetScope time series

Allergen phenology

First-author

Featured

Science of Remote Sensing 2025

Mar 11, 2025

Yiluan Song, Daniel S.W. Katz, Zhe Zhu, Claudie Beaulieu, Kai Zhu

Human influence on ecological synchrony

Ecological synchrony in human-modified landscapes under a changing climate

Changing phenology

First-author

Manuscript under review

Nov 11, 2024

Yiluan Song, Mallory Barnes, Dawn M. Browning, K. Ann Bybee-Finley, Kyla M. Dahlin, Travis McDevitt-Galles, Stephan B. Munch, Guillermo E. Ponce-Campos, Casey Youngflesh, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Kai Zhu

Changing fungal spore phenology

Fungal spore seasons advanced across the US over two decades of climate change

Allergen phenology

Student-led

Manuscript under review
Ruoyu Wu was a Master’s student at the University of Michigan.

Oct 24, 2024

Ruoyu Wu, Yiluan Song, Jennifer Head, Daniel S. W. Katz, Kabir G. Peay, Kerby Shedden, Kai Zhu

Species distribution modeling with machine learning

Changing biodiversity

First-author

Manuscript in Preparation

Oct 16, 2024

Yiluan Song, Kai Zhu, as a team in a worldwide collaborative study

Rapid shifts in grassland communities driven by climate change

Changing biodiversity

First-author

Featured

Nature Ecology & Evolution 2024

Oct 16, 2024

Kai Zhu^†, Yiluan Song^†, Josephine C. Lesage, Justin C. Luong, James W. Bartolome, Nona R. Chiariello, Joan Dudney, Christopher B. Field, Lauren M. Hallett, Michele Hammond, Susan P. Harrison, Grey F. Hayes, Richard J. Hobbs, Karen D. Holl, Peter Hopkinson, Loralee Larios, Michael E. Loik, Laura R. Prugh, (^† equal contribution)

Forest tree phenology in a global change experiment

Warming makes forest trees grow earlier in the spring, but often not taller

Changing phenology

First-author

Manuscript in preparation, invited oral presentation at AGU 2024

Aug 31, 2024

Yiluan Song, Yang Chen, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Peter B. Reich, Artur Stefanski, Raimundo Bermudez Villanueva, Kai Zhu

Effects of upwelling on Hg cycling

Upwelling enhances mercury particle scavenging in the California Current System

Aquatic systems

Environmental Science & Technology 2024

Aug 22, 2024

Xinyun Cui, Hannah M. Adams, Michael R. Stukel, Yiluan Song, Amina T. Schartup, Carl H. Lamborg

Hierarchical models for functional traits

Be intentional with model complexity when scaling functional traits

Data revolution

First-author

Invited presentation at ESA 2024 by Dr. Kai Zhu

Aug 6, 2024

Yiluan Song, María Natalia Umaña, Kai Zhu

Public perceptions of pollen seasons under climate change

Biological changes, political ideology, and scientific communication shape human perceptions of pollen seasons

Allergen phenology

First-author

Manuscript under review
Master’s student Chuangbo Tong, undergraduate student Luke Hamilton, and undergraduate student Cait Schilt at the University of California, Santa Cruz contributed to the exploratory data analysis of this project.

Aug 2, 2024

Yiluan Song, Adam Millard-Ball, Nathan Fox, Derek Van Berkel, Arun Agrawal, Kai Zhu

Comparing statistical and process-based models

for forecasting plant phenology

Ecological forecasting

Data revolution

Student-led

Mauscript in Preparation
Ziyu Zhou was a 2021 cohort undergraduate student at the University of Michigan.

Mar 29, 2024

Yiluan Song, Ziyu Zhou, Kai Zhu

NEON phenology forecasting community challenge

Predicting spring phenology in deciduous broadleaf forests

Ecological forecasting

Featured

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 2024 (Paper led by Dr. Kathryn I. Wheeler)

Feb 15, 2024

Yiluan Song, Uttam Bhat, Stephan B. Munch, Kai Zhu, as a team in the forecasting challenge

Monitoring plant-pollinator networks with AI

Floral Vision: Monitoring plant-pollinator networks by integrating citizen science, computer vision, and museum specimens

Changing biodiversity

Nov 10, 2023

James Boyko, Nathan Fox, Yutong Wang, Yiluan Song, Yu Zhou, (random order)

Perspectives on New Data III

Harnessing herbaria to advance plant phenology research under global change

Data revolution

Changing phenology

New Phytologist 2023 (a Commentary)

Jun 27, 2023

Kai Zhu, Yiluan Song

From citizen science to pollen phenology II

Volunteer-contributed observations of flowering often correlate with airborne pollen concentrations

Allergen phenology

International Journal of Biometeorology 2023

Jun 17, 2023

Theresa M. Crimmins, Elizabeth Vogt, Claudia L. Brown, Dan Dalan, Arie Manangan, Guy Robinson, Yiluan Song, Kai Zhu, Daniel S.W. Katz

Prediction-based approach for quantifying phenological mismatch

across landscapes under climate change

Changing phenology

Ecological forecasting

First-author

Awarded

Landscape Ecology 2023 (Honorable Mention for Landscape Ecology’s Best Article Award in 2023)

Jan 27, 2023

Yiluan Song, Stephan B. Munch, Kai Zhu

From citizen science to pollen phenology I

Observations from the USA National Phenology Network can be leveraged to model airborne pollen

Allergen phenology

Aerobiologia 2022

Dec 23, 2022

Daniel S.W. Katz, Elizabeth Vogt, Arie Manangan, Claudia L. Brown, Dan Dalan, Kai Zhu, Yiluan Song, Theresa M. Crimmins

Forecasting phenology for public health

PhenoForecast: Ecological forecasting of leafing and flowering phenology during climate change to inform public health

Ecological forecasting

First-author

Awarded

AGU 2021 presentation
EFI 2022 presentation (EFI Futures Outstanding Presentation Award)

Dec 17, 2021

Yiluan Song, Stephan B. Munch, Kai Zhu

Climate-phenology mismatch in human-dominated landscapes

Changing phenology

First-author

Awarded

AGU Advances 2021 (Editor’s Highlight)
Christopher J. Zajic was an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Dec 6, 2021

Yiluan Song, Christopher J. Zajic, Taehee Hwang, Christopher R. Hakkenberg, Kai Zhu

Perspectives on New Data II

Expanding NEON biodiversity surveys with new instrumentation and machine learning approaches

Data revolution

Changing biodiversity

Ecosphere 2021

Nov 9, 2021

Justin Kitzes, Rachael Blake, Sara Bombaci, Melissa Chapman, Sandra M. Duran, Tao Huang, Maxwell B. Joseph, Samuel Lapp, Sergio Marconi, William K. Oestreich, Tessa A. Rhinehart, Anna K. Schweiger, Yiluan Song, Thilina Surasinghe, Di Yang, Kelsey Yule

Macrophytes shift phytoplankton community in mesocosms III

Tropical macrophytes promote phytoplankton community shifts in lake mesocosms: relevance for lake restoration in warm climates

Aquatic systems

Changing biodiversity

Hydrobiologia 2021

Aug 31, 2021

Darren Z.H. Sim, Maxine A.D. Mowe, Yiluan Song, Joy Lu, Hugh T.W. Tan, Simon M. Mitrovic, Daniel L. Roelke, Darren C.J. Yeo

Gaussian Process Empirical Dynamic Modeling

Novel data-driven method to model the nonlinear dynamics of leafing phenology

Ecological forecasting

First-author

Awarded

AGU 2020 presentation, ESA 2021 presentation (E.C. Pielow Award)

Aug 4, 2021

Yiluan Song, Stephan B. Munch, Kai Zhu

Latitudinal pattern in how montane communities track warming

Changing biodiversity

Featured

Ecology Letters 2021

May 17, 2021

Benjamin G. Freeman, Yiluan Song, Kenneth J. Feeley, Kai Zhu

Macrophytes shift phytoplankton community in mesocosms I

An ex-situ mesocosm study of emergent macrophyte effects on phytoplankton communities

Aquatic systems

First-author

Fundamental and Applied Limnology 2019

Apr 25, 2019

Yiluan Song, Maxine A.D. Mowe, Simon M. Mitrovic, Hugh T.W. Tan, Darren C.J. Yeo

Perspectives on New Data I

Forest age improves understanding of the global carbon sink

Data revolution

Changing biodiversity

PNAS 2019 (a Commentary)

Feb 19, 2019

Kai Zhu, Yiluan Song, Clara Qin

Macrophytes shift phytoplankton community in mesocosms II

Comparative study of six emergent macrophyte species for controlling cyanobacterial blooms in a tropical reservoir

Aquatic systems

Changing biodiversity

Ecological Engineering 2019

Jan 17, 2019

Maxine A.D. Mowe, Yiluan Song, Darren Z.H. Sim, Joy Lu, Simon M. Mitrovic, Hugh T.W. Tan, Darren C.J. Yeo

Effects of macrophytes on lake‐water quality across latitudes

A meta-analysis

Aquatic systems

First-author

Awarded

Oikos 2018 (Editor’s Choice)

Dec 4, 2018

Yiluan Song, Jia Huan Liew, Darren Z. H. Sim, Maxine A. D. Mowe, Simon M. Mitrovic, Hugh T. W. Tan, Darren C. J. Yeo

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