plant ecology, seed dispersal, community assembly
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/4/0/124050074/published/p1540956-copy.jpg?1718654603)
I am broadly interested in plant communities, species coexistence, and how seed movement influences what grows across a landscape. My current research focuses on how differences in seed dispersal among species alters assembly processes and community structure in California annual grasslands.
In annual systems like these, plants must complete an entire life cycle from germination to seed production within only a few months. This condensed period of growth creates intense competition for resources, yet many grasslands are able to host a huge diversity of plant species simultaneously. For plants to coexist, they have to share resources -- to some extent. In coexistence theory, this is achieved by balancing non-overlapping niches (resource needs) and differences in fitness. Previous work in the Kraft Lab in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA has tied niche and fitness differences to measurable plant functional traits.
My work asks how do species-specific differences in seed dispersal influence coexistence outcomes and biodiversity in this system? My research investigates relationships between dispersal and community assembly, with the hope of applying this knowledge to make seed-based habitat restoration plans more effective. Better knowledge of seed movement is also critical to predicting how plants might be able to track favorable conditions as climate change becomes more extreme, so dispersal studies are also crucial to identifying targets for seed banking and conservation.
I conduct my research at UCLA and at Sedgwick Reserve in Santa Barbara County, CA. As a land grant instution, UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, Souther Channel Islands). Additionally, I acknowledge the Chumash peoples are the traditional caretakers of the land where my field research takes place at Sedgwick Reserve.
In annual systems like these, plants must complete an entire life cycle from germination to seed production within only a few months. This condensed period of growth creates intense competition for resources, yet many grasslands are able to host a huge diversity of plant species simultaneously. For plants to coexist, they have to share resources -- to some extent. In coexistence theory, this is achieved by balancing non-overlapping niches (resource needs) and differences in fitness. Previous work in the Kraft Lab in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA has tied niche and fitness differences to measurable plant functional traits.
My work asks how do species-specific differences in seed dispersal influence coexistence outcomes and biodiversity in this system? My research investigates relationships between dispersal and community assembly, with the hope of applying this knowledge to make seed-based habitat restoration plans more effective. Better knowledge of seed movement is also critical to predicting how plants might be able to track favorable conditions as climate change becomes more extreme, so dispersal studies are also crucial to identifying targets for seed banking and conservation.
I conduct my research at UCLA and at Sedgwick Reserve in Santa Barbara County, CA. As a land grant instution, UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, Souther Channel Islands). Additionally, I acknowledge the Chumash peoples are the traditional caretakers of the land where my field research takes place at Sedgwick Reserve.
|
Dispersal evolution and habitat specialization in California vernal pool species
I worked as a field technician for this project alongside postdoctoral researchers in Dr. Nancy Emery's research group at the University of Colorado-Boulder. This project assessed evolutionary feedback between seed dispersal and habitat specialization. In vernal pool environments, rainfall varies year over year and the pools fill to different depths. What is perfect habitat in one year can become not so great the next, and this variation favors species with the ability to disperse. If a species can diversify where its seeds go, it’s more likely to find something favorable for next year -- but if it keeps seeds clustered in one place, there’s no safety net if that area becomes unfavorable next year. This project looks for relationships between habitat specialization, differences in landscape patches and suitability, and dispersal strategies in three species of Lasthenia (goldfields) that prefer different submergence depths. Many early mornings in the fog at Jepson Prairie Preserve (UC Natural Reserve System) made this research happen! For thousands of years, the land where Jepson Prairie exists today has been the home of Patwin people, including the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation currently. The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. It has been cherished and protected as elders have instructed the young through generations. I am honored and grateful to have conducted research here and shared my enthusiasm for the land's natural beauty through the docent program. |
My early research experience focused on genetics and plant breeding, specifically in tomatoes.
Research I presented at the UC Davis Undergraduate Research Conference focused on genetic controls of leaf shape and complexity in heirloom tomatoes. Plants with simple, wide leaves (a characteristic called potato leaf morph) were expected to have higher fruit sugar content than plants with highly dissected leaflets, thought to be driven by a difference in overall photosynthetic capacity of these leaves. We used CRISPR-Cas9 to mutate the gene controlling potato leaf morph and analyzed the resulting leaf phenotypes and fruit sugar content. Depending on the type and size of the mutation, leaf phenotypes and sugar content varied widely. Ongoing research investigates how leaf shape contributes to sugar content, with the goal of identifying a simple trait to select in plant breeding that contributes to high fruit sugar content. Following my time at UC Davis, I worked in a tomato breeding research group at a vegetable seed company. I conducted independent research projects for both the fresh market and processing market tomato teams in addition to working with the ongoing seed, greenhouse, and field projects both on-site and in field trials across California's central valley. |