Research

Research in the lab is centered around understanding the processes which regulate plant diversity, with a particular interest in processes occurring belowground. We use a local native grassland community as our model system, though many studies are also conducted in mesocosms, growth rooms, though simulations, and other natural plant communities. Research questions are generally posed at a variety of levels, including evolutionary ecology, population biology, and community ecology. As a general rule, if we find something to be interesting, we try to figure it out, and thus lab members regularly participate in projects outside of their thesis work or my own particular areas of study.

Competition

Competition - Diversity. We know that competition can influence plant diversity, but we have yet to achieve much success in predicting exactly when. Part of the confusion stems from likely differential effects of root and shoot competition on diversity. Making things more difficult is the fact that limiting resources vary on a yearly basis within a given system, and thus if plants differ in the competitive abilities for different resources, they should be able to invade a system only when that resource is limiting. Much effort is dedicated to better understand whether anything written above is actually true.

Plant Traits. Although we know that some plants are better competitors than others, we have a quite poor understanding of which traits make for a good root or a good shoot competitor, nor what makes a good response vs effect competitor. We are conducting a variety of experiments, with native species as well as Arabidopsis, to better understand the link between traits and functions. We are also initiating an artificial selection experiment to explore the hertibility of competitive ability.

Plant-Animal Interactions

This aspect of our work is strengthened by collaboration among members of the Plant-Animal Interactions Working Group.

Pollination Biology. A new area for the lab is exploring plant-pollinator interactions in the fescue prairie. There is high bee diversity, and it appears that mycorrhizae strongly influence bee community structure and the delivery of pollination services. I would love to get a smart, motivate, PhD student to explore this area much more deeply.

Herbivory. Our understanding of the effects of insect herbivores on plant community structure is extremely limited. Particularly poorly know is how herbivory interacts with other ecological processes.

Climate Change. As part of an NSERC strategic grant, members of the lab are exploring the interactions between climate change and grazing on grassland ecosystem functioning. This is a joint project with 4 other PIs and is starting summer 2007. This project make significant us of the lab's minirhizotron (root persicope).

Other projects

Behavioural ecology: Why do plants put their roots where they are? How do foraging decisions depend upon the local competitive environment? Do plants respond to conspecifics similarly to heterospecifics?

Phylogenetic analysis of ecological process: Recent effort have been devoted towards understanding whether there are phylogenetic patterns in a variety of ecological process of interest. Initial studies are focused on exploring root plasticity, competition, and drought response.

Research Locations

I am of the school of thought that argues one should develop interesting research questions first, and then figure out a suitable location for the study, rather than trying to find questions that will fit within a location of particular interest. As a result, the lab has used a variety of study sites, ranging from native grassland to rooftop and growth room studies. In general I am open to research in most any location, however, there do exist special funding opportunities for research in Alberta. The more frequently used study locations of the lab include:

Kinsella Ranch. The majority of projects in the lab have been located at the University Ranch in Kinsella Alberta. The Kinsella ranch contains a number of tracts of undisturbed rough fescue prairie (up to 1500ha), an endangered ecosystem in Alberta. Much like most grassland areas in North America, the vast majority of fescue prairie has been converted to crops or pasture, thus Kinsella provides a truly unique resource for understanding the ecology of a native grassland. A series of fields on the North side of the ranch containing native prairie (about 25ha) have been the focus of intensive research into questions of plant community ecology, though other studies are conduced elsewhere on the ranch. Grazing is managed on the ranch, and can be modified according to the needs of a given study. Potential herbivores include bison, cattle, elk, and deer ... though we all know that insects are really the major herbivores in these systems!

Other Alberta grasslands. The majority of the SE section of Alberta is grassland (the northern edge of the Great Plains), ranging from mixed grass to slightly wetter Fescue grasslands. Opportunities exist for both large scale comparative studies as well as more detailed experiments in a variety of grassland times.

Kluane.I am currently exploring the possibility of starting a variety of research projects in Kluane, Yukon. Of particularly interest are the accessible arctic alpine communities. To date only one lab member has used this location for field work (Matt Mitchell, co-supervised with David Hik), though I am open to other ideas. What happens belowground is suspiciously understudied.

University of Alberta Biotron. Quite simply, UA has truly outstanding controlled plant growth facilities. The lab maintains a large walk-in growth room, and more space is available on an as-needed basis (there are at least 25 such rooms in Biological Sciences alone). Additionally, rooftop space exists for common garden/mesocosm studies that may be better suited for natural light/temperature conditions than those of a growth room. Most students in the lab include at least one mesocosm/potted plant experiment in their thesis.