DonateSarah Cusser, Ph.D.
Sarah works to better understand, conserve, and restore insect communities and the essential ecosystem services they provide in natural, agricultural, and urban habitats.
As one of the terrestrial invertebrate conservation ecologists at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Sarah Cusser, Ph.D., works to better understand, conserve, and restore insect communities and the essential ecosystem services they provide in natural, agricultural, and urban habitats. In the past, Sarah has investigated pollination and decomposition services provided by insects in Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and worked on habitat restoration projects in California, Vermont, and Ohio. Sarah earned her doctorate in evolution, ecology, and behavior from University of Texas at Austin, her master’s in evolution, ecology, and organismal behavior from the Ohio State University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Pomona College.
Research interests: landscape ecology, restoration ecology, conservation, ecosystem services, pollination ecology
Publications
2025
Peer Reviewed Publications
Etter, K., D. Knapp, and S. Cusser. 2025. Non-native plants support non-native pollinators leaving the rare Salt Marsh Bird’s Beak (Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum) in the lurch. Journal of Pollination Ecology.
Landis, T., K. Etter, S. Cusser, and H. Sardiñas. 2025. Seed collection of two early growing native milkweeds in California. Native Plants Journal.
Tsang, P.N., A.A. De Santis, … S. Cusser … Y. Zou, L.C. Ponisio, and T.C. Bonebrake. 2025. Land use change consistently reduces α- but not β- and γ-diversity of bees. Global Change Biology 31: e70006.
Technical Reports
Cusser, S., Lima Borges I, Schneider, D. Integrated Pollinator and Demography Monitoring for California Jewelflower (Caulanthus californicus) 2025, Preliminary Report, BLM
Cusser, S., Targeted Restoration in Early-Season Monarch Breeding Landscapes Program: Early Season Milkweed Surveys within the Los Padres National Forest, California, 2025, Yearly Report, USFW
Knapp, Dand Cusser, S. Annual Progress Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Elucidating threats and recovery actions for Vandenberg monkeyflower (Diplacus vandenbergensis), 2025, USFW
2024
Peer Reviewed Publications
Knapp, D., S. Calloway, and S. Cusser. 2024. Using historic data to understand the shrinking pollinators of the endangered salt marsh bird’s beak (Chloropyron maritimum subsp. maritimum). Western North American Naturalist 83: 498–507.
Technical Reports
Cusser, S., Etter, E. and Knapp, D. Tracking changes in the pollinators of Gaviota Tarplant (Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa) before, during, and after wind turbine construction at the Strauss Wind Site, 2024, Final Report, Bay.Wa
Cusser, S., Etter, E. Hernandez, M, Hazelhurst, J., Schneider, H. and Knapp, D. Restoring Pollination Networks for the California Jewelflower, 2024 Final Report, BLM
Cusser, S., Targeted Restoration in Early-Season Monarch Breeding Landscapes Program: Early Season Milkweed Surveys within the Los Padres National Forest, California, 2024 Yearly Report, USFW
2023
Peer Reviewed Publications
Giménez-García, A., A. Allen-Perkins, I. Bartomeus, … S. Cusser … and A. Magrach. 2023. Pollination supply models from local to global scale. Web Ecology 23: 99–129.
Cusser, S., S. Jha, E. Lonsdorf, and T. Ricketts. 2023. Public and private economic benefits of adopting conservation tillage for cotton pollination. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 342: 108251.
Technical Reports
Cusser, S., Targeted Restoration in Early-Season Monarch Breeding Landscapes Program: Early Season Milkweed Surveys within the Los Padres National Forest, California, 2023 Yearly Report, USFW
Cusser, S., Etter, E. and Knapp, D. Floral Pollinators of Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa 2023, Preliminary Findings Report, Bay.Wa
Cusser, S., Etter, E. and Knapp, D. Restoring Pollination Networks for the California Jewelflower, 2023, Preliminary Findings Report, BLM
Cusser, S., Etter, E. and Knapp, D Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum, Salt Marsh Birds’ Beak, 2023, Preliminary Findings Report, CDFW
2022
Peer Reviewed Publications
Allen-Perkins, A., A. Magrach, M. Dainese, L.A. Garibaldi, D. Kleijn, R. Rader, … S. Cusser … and A. Montero-Castaño. 2022. CropPol: A dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination. 103: e3614.
Lybbert, A., S. Cusser, K. Hung, and K. Goodell. 2022. 10-year trends reveal declining quality of planted pollinator habitat on reclaimed mines irrespective of seed mix diversity. Ecological Applications 32: e02467.
Technical Reports
Cusser, S, Etter, E. and Knapp, D. Floral Pollinators of Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa 2022, Preliminary Findings Report, Bay.Wa
Cusser, S, Etter, E. and Knapp, D. Restoring Pollination Networks for the California Jewelflower, 2022, Preliminary Findings Report, BLM
Cusser, S., Etter, E. and Knapp, D Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum, Salt Marsh Birds’ Beak, 2022, Preliminary Findings Report, CDFW
2021
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., and S. Jha. 2021. No tradeoff in fiber quality with increased cotton yield due to outcross pollination. Sustainability 13: 6079.
Bahlai, C.A., E.R. White, J.D. Perrone, S. Cusser, and K.S. Whitney. 2021. The Broken Window: An algorithm for quantifying and characterizing misleading trajectories in ecological processes. Ecological Informatics: 101336.
Senapathi, D., J. Fründ, M. Albrecht, M. Garratt, … S. Cusser … and A. Klein. 2021. Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288: 20210212.
Cusser, S., N.M. Haddad, and S. Jha. 2021. Unexpected functional complementarity from non-bee pollinators enhances cotton yield for dramatic economic gain. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 314: 107415.
Cusser, S., J. Helms, C. Bahlai, and N.M. Haddad. 2021. How long do population level field experiments need to be? A meta-analysis across the 40-year old LTER network. Ecology Letters 24: 1103–1111.
2020
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., J. Pechal, and N.M. Haddad. 2020. Carrion increases pollination service across an urban gradient. Urban Ecosystems 24: 243–250.
Cusser, S., C. Bahlai, S.M. Swinton, G.P. Robertson, and N.M. Haddad. 2020. Long-term research avoids spurious and misleading trends in sustainability attributes of no-till. Global Change Biology.
2019
Peer Reviewed Publications
Dainese, M., E.A. Martin, M.A. Aizen, M. Albrecht, I. Bartomeus, R. Bommarco, … S. Cusser … and J. Ghazoul. 2019. A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production. Science Advances 5: eaax0121.
Cusser, S., C. Grando, M.I. Zucchi, M.M. López-Uribe, N.S. Pope, K. Ballare, … and S. Jha. 2019. Small but critical: Semi-natural habitat fragments promote bee abundance in cotton agroecosystems across both Brazil and the United States. Landscape Ecology 34: 1825–1836.
Ballare, K.M., N.S. Pope, A.R. Castilla, S. Cusser, R.P. Metz, and S. Jha. 2019. Utilizing field collected insects for next generation sequencing: Effects of sampling, storage, and DNA extraction methods. Ecology and Evolution.
Cusser, S., J.L. Neff, and S. Jha. 2019. Landscape context differentially drives diet breadth for two key pollinator species. Oecologia 191: 873–886.
2018
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., J.L. Neff, and S. Jha. 2018. Land-use history drives contemporary pollinator community similarity. Landscape Ecology.
2016
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., J.L. Neff, and S. Jha. 2016. Natural land cover drives pollinator abundance and richness, leading to reductions in pollen limitation in cotton agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 226: 33–42.
2015
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., J.L. Neff, and S. Jha. 2015. Land use change and pollinator extinction debt in exurban landscapes. Insect Conservation and Diversity 8: 562–572.
2014
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., and K. Goodell. 2014. Using a centrality index to determine the contribution of restored and volunteer plants in the restoration of plant-pollinator mutualisms on a reclaimed strip mine. Ecological Restoration 32: 179–188.
2013
Peer Reviewed Publications
Cusser, S., and K. Goodell. 2013. Diversity and distribution of floral resources influence the restoration of plant–pollinator networks on a reclaimed strip mine. Restoration Ecology 21: 713–721.
Insights
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Putting Pollinators First Through Art: A New Way to Design Gardens
What if a garden wasn’t designed for people at all? What if it were designed for bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and the many other pollinators that keep ecosystems alive? This question sits at the heart of Pollinator Pathmaker, an internationally celebrated artwork by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is excited to help bring…
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What the Torrey Pines Are Trying to Teach Us
For 22 years, scientists at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden have been asking what genetic diversity might mean for a rare tree. Then, in 2026, a wildfire changed the stakes. One of the Rarest Trees on Earth Every day, visitors pass two Torrey pines (Pinus torreyana) near the Garden’s entrance without realizing how special they are.…
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Updates from Cuyama: Pie, Plants, and a Brush with Fire
Over the past year, we’ve shared the excitement of bringing native, water-wise plants to working landscapes across the Cuyama Valley. Planting days are often the most visible part of restoration, but they’re only the beginning. Once the plants are in the ground, the real work begins: caring for them, learning from them, and watching how…
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First Goldspotted Oak Borer Blitz at San Marcos Foothills Preserve
On May 12, 2026, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden partnered with Channel Islands Restoration and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) to host its first Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Blitz and training event at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. Six volunteers joined Garden staff, along with representatives from local environmental organizations and the Fire Safe Council, to…
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Getting Started: Small First Steps Towards Transformation in Cuyama
Every restoration project has a beginning that looks far quieter than people expect. Before the plants bloom and the critters return, there is planning and lots of it. There are conversations, calendars, and maps spread across tables, and moments of uncertainty balanced by shared excitement. For us, the early days of the Garden’s landscape transformation…
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Tiny Bugs, Big Mission: Biocontrol Research in the Garden
If you’ve seen people sweeping bushes with nets or tapping tree branches around the garden lately, you’ve caught a glimpse of a fascinating project in action. Greg Simmons from USDA APHIS and Mari West from UC Riverside have been busy collecting tiny insects called planthoppers, and it’s all part of an important effort to stop…
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Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators Get a Boost from CDFA Funds
UPDATE: As of January 29, funds are still available! Read on to learn more and apply before March 1, 2024, to receive up to $200,000 to make your land pollinator-friendly! Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is teaming up with the Cachuma Resource Conservation District, the Community Environmental Council, and the Ventura County Resource Conservation District to…
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Can an Early-blooming Plant Help the Western Monarch?
The western population of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is at an increasing risk of local extinction, having declined 99% in population size over the last 20 years. Whether their decline is the result of increased pesticide exposure, climate change, or the loss of important habitat is still not clear. Unique to our part of…
