Margaret M. Mayfield, Ph.D., is a plant and insect community ecologist dedicated to understanding the intricate relationships between plants and insects within the context of whole communities. She has worked across the Americas and Australia, in rainforests, monsoonal savannah, Mediterranean woodlands, and agricultural fields. Her research focuses on how plants and beneficial insects, particularly pollinators, mediate changes in the structure, function, and diversity of plant communities under human-induced environmental pressures.
Mayfield started her career with an undergraduate degree in biology from Reed College in Oregon. Her interest in pollinators and pollination developed during this time, due to a series of internships on pollination at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, the Archbold Biological Station in Florida, and the Starr Ranch Audubon Sanctuary in Southern California.
Building on her undergraduate studies of pollination, Mayfield was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1999 to investigate the interactions between farmers, Indigenous communities, and beneficial insects across 17 countries worldwide. This experience solidified her commitment to studying pollinators and their critical role in ecological systems.
Mayfield went on to complete her Ph.D. at Stanford University, working with Drs. Paul Ehrlich and Gretchen Daily, studying the countryside biogeography of plants in Costa Rica. This work led her to explore what plant functional traits can tell us about the ecology of threatened communities. Her work on plant pollination and dispersal traits, in particular, advanced the understanding of how changes to plant communities resulting from human land management activities impact insect communities and the ecological processes on which plants and insects depend.
Throughout her career, Mayfield has studied the impacts of micro- to landscape-scale environmental factors on plant and insect diversity, with particularly important contributions to our understanding of how environmental changes affect the underlying ecological processes that structure diversity. In recent years, she has also championed the study of noncompetitive interactions and their roles in species coexistence.
Mayfield has also been a leader in advancing ecological theory and developing quantitative tools to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms driving changes in community diversity. Her work has highlighted the importance of considering insect-mediated processes when studying plant community dynamics and ecosystem function.
Mayfield's commitment to insect ecology extends beyond her research to fostering the next generation of insect ecologists. She has trained over 70 young plant and insect ecologists over the past 20 years, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in biosecurity, environmental consulting, and education in Australia, the United States, and Europe. Recognizing the lack of specialized entomology training in Australia, she actively supports her students in pursuing advanced training in the U.S., while also promoting the need for more entomological educational programs in Australian universities.
Through her research, dedicated mentorship, and engagement with Indigenous communities, Mayfield has made significant contributions to our understanding of plant-insect interactions and the crucial role of insects in maintaining ecosystem health and biodiversity.