Research in the Terrestrial Ecology lab focuses on the consequences of global change for biotic interactions.  How will biodiversity loss alter the structure, functioning, and persistence of ecological communities?  What factors drive invasions by non-native species?  What are the evolutionary consequences of altered biodiversity?  And, finally, can an understanding of these complex, ecological interactions be used to inform conservation and management of natural ecosystems?

We try to answer these questions by integrating field experiments with behavioral biology, natural products chemistry, phylogenetics, quantitative genetics, and synthetic statistical analyses.  Recent research themes include: (1) impacts of herbivores on plant community structure and (2) plant invasions, (3) effects of biodiversity on populations, communities, and ecosystems, (4) impacts of climate change on plant range expansions, and (5) trait-mediated ecology of plant-herbivore and plant-plant interactions.