Research Activities
Our lab uses molecular approaches to answer questions about:
Post-Docs
Grad Students
- Todd Doherty
- Keith Gaddis
- Pam Thompson
Lab Technicians
Lab Visitors
UCLA only:
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My research program examines evolutionary and ecological processes
in plant populations from both an evolutionary and conservation
perspective. I am interested in how the interaction between gene
flow and natural selection to shape populations and I use a molecular
ecology approach to address questions within this framework. Over
the years, I have been interested in plant mating systems, seed
dispersal, and demography of plants in tropical and temperate
ecosystems. The scale of my research has ranged from the local
site to landscape.
One big thrust of my research program is the study of pollen
and seed movement at a landscape scale. Using molecular markers
and novel statistical approaches, we have shown that contemporary
gene movement results in a much more restricted local neighborhood
than previously thought, which accounts for the great extent of
local adaptation in plant populations and also calls into question
the risk of genetic drift. For the past five years, through two
awards from the National Science Foundation to first study pollen
movement and now to assess seed movement in California valley
oak (Quercus lobata), a species threatened by human disturbance
and population decline. We have been involved in the development
of new statistical approach to the study of contemporary gene
movement that can be applied to many temperate, tropical, pristine
and disturbed study systems. Students and collaborators are applying
this approach to conservation questions about the impact of landscape
change on seed dispersal, including landscape fragmentation
We have other projects that look at species-wide patterns of
genetic variation to study evolutionary and conservation questions
that uses historical information. One project involves the phylogeography
of valley oak as a way of understanding historical gene flow through
pollen and seeds. We are using this information in a new approach
that we call evolutionary conservation so that we can include
information on evolutionary processes in conservation planning
and design of reserve networks, especially in light of global
climate change. A separate project in our lab involves the phylogeography
of the epiphytic lace lichen, Ramalina menziesii, which
uses oaks as host trees where they overlap but has a broader distribution
from Baja California to Alaska. This comparative phylogeography
will eventually involve three taxa: the lichen fungus and algae
and oaks.
Future work will explore include adaptive genetic variation in
the analysis of geographic genetics in valley oak. Such information
will indicate how natural selection has shaped current populations
and will provide a basis for incorporating adaptive variation
into conservation planning for this threatened, endemic oak species.
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