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email:  vlsork@ucla.edu
phone:  310-825-7755
fax:  310-206-0484
office:  LSB 5209
lab:  LSB 5109
homepage:  http://www.eeb.ucla.edu/Faculty/Sork/Sorklab

research interests:  Plant evolutionary ecology, Population/conservation genetics, pollen and seed dispersal

Research Interests

My research examines contemporary and historical gene flow in plant populations from both an evolutionary and conservation perspective. This focus stems from an interestin the interaction between gene flow and natural selection on the genetic structure of tree populations from an evolutionary and conservation perspective. 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. A second area of interest is landscape genetics and phylogeography. We have a statewide study of historical gene flow in several oak species. Another major project 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. We apply many of our findings to conservation topics, including landscape fragmentation and design of reserve networks.

Selected Publications

Grivet, D., V.L. Sork, R.D. Westfall and F.W. Davis. 2008. Conserving the evolutionary potential of California valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee): a multivariate genetic approach to conservation planning Molecular Ecology 17: 139-156 .

Werth, S. and V.L. Sork. 2008. Local genetic structure in the North American epiphytic lichen, Ramalina menziesii Tayl (Ramalinaceae) Amer. J. Botany 95: 568-576 .

Sork, V.L., F.W. Davis and D. Grivet. 2008. Incorporating genetic information into conservation planning for California valley oak Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on Oak Wookdlands: California's Oaks: Today's Challenges, Tomorrow's Opportunitites, Merelender, A., McCreary, D., Purcell, K.L. (tech. eds.) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research StationGen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-217. Albany, CA 497-509 .

Austerlitz, F., C. Dutech, P.E. Smouse, F. Davis, and V.L. Sork. 2007. Estimating anisotropic pollen dispersal: a case study in Quercus lobata Heredity 99: 193-204 .

Wang, B.C., V.L. Sork, M.T. Leong, and T.B. Smith. 2007. Hunting of mammals reduces seed removal and dispersal of the Afrotropical tree, Antrocaryon klaineanum (Anacardiaceae) Biotropica 39: 340-347 .

Fernandez-M, J.F.and V.L. Sork. 2007. Genetic variation in fragmented forest stands of the Andean oak Quercus humboldtii Bonpl. (Fagaceae) Biotropica 39: 72-78 .

Sork, V.L. and P.E. Smouse. 2006. Genetic anaylsis of landscape connectivity in tree populations Landscape Ecology 21: 821-836 .

Grivet, D., M-F. Deguilloux, R.J. Petit, and V.L. Sork. 2006. Contrasting inter-continental patterns of historical colonization in white oaks Molecular Ecology 15: 4085-4093 .

Grivet, D, PE Smouse, and VL Sork. 2005. A novel approach to an old problem: tracking dispersed seeds Molecular Ecology 14: 3585-3595 .

Sork, V.L, J. Nason, D.R. Campbell, and J. Fernandez. 2003. Landscape approaches to historical and contemporary gene flow in plants Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14: 219-224 .