Brief Biography

Dr. Caroline Kanaskie is a forest entomologist with a PhD in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of New Hampshire. Caroline discovered her passion for teaching as a TA for dendrology while in graduate school and is excited to continue to share and build knowledge with students at UMFK. Her graduate research focused on the northward range expansion of the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann), using remote sensing, forest inventory, systematic literature review, and forest insect trapping, rearing, and identification. Sense of place is important to Caroline, and she helps students learn the natural history of northern Maine in all her classes. She has been particularly impacted by the hardwoods and hemlocks of Pennsylvania, the pitch pine woodlands of New York and New England, and the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and Maine. She helps students engage in meaningful learning by facilitating connections between coursework and lived experiences.

Recent Courses Taught

  • FOR109: Dendrology
  • FOR330: Forest Protection II

Research and Specialties

Forest entomology
Community ecology
Natural history
Pedagogy

Educational Background

  • PhD Earth and Environmental Science (2025)
    University of New Hampshire
  • MSc Natural Resources (2019)
    University of New Hampshire
  • BSc Environmental Science (2017)
    Dickinson College

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Kanaskie C. R., Routhier M. R., Fraser B. T., Congalton R. G., Ayres M. P., Garnas J. R. (2024). Early detection of southern pine beetle attack by UAV-collected multispectral imagery. Remote Sensing. 16(14), 2608. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16142608

  • Kanaskie, C. R., Dodds, K. J., Stephen, F. M., & Garnas, J. R. (2024). Southern pine beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and its associated insect community: similarities and key differences between northeastern and southeastern pine forests. Environmental Entomology, 53(1), 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad112

  • Kanaskie, C. R., Schmeelk, T. C., Cancelliere, J. A., & Garnas, J. R. (2023). New records of southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in New York, New Hampshire, and Maine, USA indicate northward range expansion. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 77(2), 248–251. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-77.2.248