Research in the lab addresses a diversity of fundamental questions in plant ecology. We take a broad approach to research, with interest in plant behavioural ecology, competition, plant-pollinator interactions, insect and mammalian herbivory, evolutionary and functional ecology, climate change, and mychorrhizae.

Molecular physiology and genomics of forest trees. Current focus is on understanding mechanisms that trees use to regulate allocation of carbon and nitrogen resources amongst different plant parts, and partitioning of these resources into various biochemical pathways. Research is also being carried out on phenology-linked molecular and physiological processes that affect productivity in forest trees. An integrated approach that employs genomic, molecular, biochemical, and physiological tools is being used to address these questions.

Systematics, ecology and evolution of mutualistic and pathogenic relationships involving fungi and other organisms. Current research involves: 1. mycorrhizas of boreal timber species, arctic, alpine and subalpine plant communities, heath plants, temperate and tropical orchids; 2. keratinophilic fungi (primarily Onygenales and related anamorphs) associated with vertebrate animals and their habitations; 3. fossil fungi associated with plant remains from the Eocene; 4. monographic studies of Dikaryomycota of northwestern North America.

Plant Biotechnology and Genomics. We use Arabidopsis, flax, and hemp to study the processes of vascular development, especially the development of phloem fibres. We also study abiotic stresses including salinity, drought, and heavy metals in Arabidopsis and wheat. We use techniques of genetics, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, including high-throughput technologies such as DNA microarrays.

Dr. Gamon studies the "breathing of the planet" - the exchanges of carbon and water vapour between the biosphere and the atmosphere that affect ecosystem productivity and help regulate our atmosphere and climate. Of particular interest are the effects of disturbance (fires, succession, weather events and climate change) on these basic processes. Additional research questions involve the detection of plant physiology, ecosystem function, species composition, and biodiversity using non-contact sampling methods. Much of this work is done with optical monitoring (remote sensing and automated field methods), and entails the development of new monitoring methods and related informatics tools. He conducts fieldwork in a range of ecosystems from the Arctic to the Tropics.

Plant molecular biology and stress physiology, regulation of gene expression in plants, genetics of pathogen and insect resistance in plants.

Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of Capparaceae, Cleomaceae, Brassicaceae, and Brassicales; molecular systematics; evolution of floral form; developmental evolutionary biology; evolution of fruit morphology, specifically Brassicaceae; field and herbarium studies of tropical plants, specifically Capparaceae; field studies of Old World Capparaceae.

Plant-herbivore-climate interactions in northern alpine ecosystems. Current projects are focused on population dynamics and foraging ecology of collared pikas, hoary marmots, Arctic ground squirrels and Dall sheep; responses of alpine vegetation to herbivory and climate change; and treeline landscape dynamics in the southwest Yukon.

My current research is focused on the evolution, systematics and diversity of bryophytes. This research is laboratory and field-based with projects spanning Arctic Canada, the western Cordillera, and Madagascar. Current goals include: 1) the evolutionary relationship of basal bryophytes lineages with respect to land plants; 2) the genetic evidence for bryophyte refugia in Beringia; 3) the evolution of reproductive strategies in mosses; and 4) systematic studies of the Dicranaceae.

Research focuses on large mammals with emphasis on foraging and nutritional ecology of ungulates, plant-herbivore interactions and landscape modifications on wildlife populations. Current interest lies in linking small-scale processes to large-scale patterns in animal distribution and population dynamics.

Vascular pattern formation and vascular differentiation in plants using a strategy that combines molecular genetics and genomics with cell biology. This approach includes: (1) the generation and use, in different genetic backgrounds, of fluorescently tagged markers of vascular cell states, cell polarity and subcellular components; (2) the identification of genes by mutant vascular phenotype, and their subsequent isolation and analysis at the molecular level; (3) the identification of genes with preferential or exclusive expression in the vascular tissues by whole-genome oligonucleotide microarray, and the isolation and characterisation of insertional mutants in these genes.

Plant Physiology and Functional Genomics. My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms plants use to tolerate abiotic stresses in the soil environment, such as metal toxicity and nutrient deficiency. We currently have three overlapping research directions: (1) adaptation of plants to acidic soils, focusing on the primary growth-limiting factors aluminum toxicity and phosphate deficiency; (2) regulation of trace element, particularly cadmium, accumulation and transport in plants; and (3) functional characterization of P_1B-type heavy-metal ATPase transporters in Brachypodium distachyon. We use techniques of cell and molecular biology, comparative genomics, bioinformatics, and whole-plant physiology to study how model systems (Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, yeast) and agronomically important crops (wheat, canola, rice) respond to abiotic stress at the molecular, cellular, and whole-plant levels.

- Alpine, Arctic, and Boreal Ecology - Freshwater Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function - Cumulative Impacts of Global Change on Aquatic Ecosystems - Stress and Ecosystem Recovery - Land-Water Linkages

Professor Wong is jointly appointed in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Medicine. He is also Associate Director of the Beijing Genomics Institute and a Guest Professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The unifying theme behind his research is the relentless improvement in our ability to acquire molecular biology data at lower costs. His two biggest programs are in plant sequencing and in viral metagenomics. In the first instance, he is leading an international consortium to collect gene sequence information for 1000 plant species. In the second instance, he is partnered with medical doctors at the University of Alberta to develop novel methods to identify pathogens in clinical samples. In all cases, enormous quantities of data are collected for these projects, and hence computational analysis plays a central role. Development of algorithms that deal with the practicalities of these data sets is another component of his research. Prospective graduate students and postdoctoral fellows MUST be fluent in mathematics and computational analysis, as well as in biology.

As Curator of the University of Alberta Microfungus Collection and Herbarium, my research in fungal systematics is concerned with fungi that cause disease, elicit allergy or hypersensitivity reactions, produce toxins or metabolites of medicinal importance, and occupy vertebrate-associated habitats.

Current research is investigating the role of elevated carbon dioxide and ultra-violet B levels on the growth and development of boreal forest conifer species. The influence of those treatments on photosynthesis and frost hardiness is given particular emphasis.

Paleobotany, anatomy and morphology of vascular plants and fungi. Phylogenetic trands in gymnosperms, evolution and systematics, especially conifers in the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae. Cretaceous and Tertiary plants: ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms. Reproductive biology and whole plant biology of fossil aquatic vascular plants.