We are excited to announce the publication of our new book, The Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Disease, by Gregory S. Gilbert and Ingrid M. Parker. Published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198797883 OUP Amazon Google Books eBooks.com Google Play Understanding the symbiosis between plants and pathogenic microbes is at the core of effective… Continue Reading The Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Disease
The phylogenetic signal of transmissibility (competence) and attack severity among hosts of generalist pests is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the phylogenetic effects on hosts differentially affected by an emergent generalist beetle–pathogen complex in California and South Africa. Host types (non-competent, competent and killed-competent) are based on nested types of outcomes of interactions… Continue Reading Phylogenetic signal in generalist, invasive pathogen host range
The phylogenetic distance between species often predicts differences in ecologically important traits. The phylogenetic diversity and structure of biological communities can inform our understanding of the processes that shape those communities, and there is a well‐developed framework for comparing phylogenetic structures of communities. However, particularly in studies of phylogenetic distances from one focal species to… Continue Reading Phylogenetic quantiles for focal species studies
The UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) contributed data on tree fecundity – seed production – to a continent-wide assessment of how climate affects tree growth and reproduction, and the implications that has for forests into the future. Written by a large team comprising the MASTIF network led by Jim Clark at Duke University, this… Continue Reading Tree fecundity and climate change
Plants often grow more when then are together with a diversity of species than when they are growing in single-species stands. Using both observational studies and experimental manipulations in a subtropical forest in China, we found that while the productivity of both seedlings and adult trees was enhanced with greater species diversity, plant growth got… Continue Reading Phylogenetic diversity, productivity, and pathogens
Juniper Harrower’s dissertation work uncovered the reasons why Joshua trees may be squeezed out of the National Park that bears their name. Joshua trees are normally limited to a narrow elevation belt in the park where temperatures and moisture are just right, and models suggest that warming temperatures may eliminate suitable places for them to… Continue Reading Joshua Tree mutualisms in a changing climate
In a recently published article in Applications in Plant Sciences, our team of professors, teachers, and students established methods for using a sound wave technology called sonic tomography to measure decay inside living trees. These procedures were tested through measurements on more than 1,800 living trees of 173 tropical rainforest tree species in the Republic… Continue Reading Using sound to see inside trees
Young, H.S., Parker, I.M., Gilbert, G.S., Guerra, A.S. and Nunn, C.L. 2016. Introduced Species, Disease Ecology, and Biodiversity–Disease Relationships. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.09.008 Species introductions are a dominant component of biodiversity change but are not explicitly included in most discussions of biodiversity–disease relationships. This is a major oversight given the multitude of effects… Continue Reading Biodiversity-Disease Relationships
New pest-disease complex threatens California forests Shannon Lynch, Akif Eskalen, and Gregory S. Gilbert Cal-IPC News 24(2):10-13 (Summer 2016) Together with the avocado industry, land managers of native forest communities in southern California face the imminent threat of a new emergent pest-disease complex: Fusarium dieback – Shot Hole Borers (FD-SHB). Our work points to a… Continue Reading Emergent Fusarium dieback!
The evolutionary ecology of plant disease: a phylogenetic approach Gregory S. Gilbert and Ingrid M. Parker Annual Review of Phytopathology 2016. 54: 549-578. Abstract An explicit phylogenetic perspective provides useful tools for phytopathology and plant disease ecology because the traits of both plants and microbes are shaped by their evolutionary histories. We present brief… Continue Reading Phylogenetic Disease Ecology
Graduate students, teachers, and faculty of the UCSC GK-12 SCWIBLES program in inquiry-based learning published a feature article in The American Biology Teacher (PDF) outlining how different kinds of models are integral to biology research and teaching in classrooms adopting the Next Generation Science Standards. Abstract: Models are simplified representations of more complex systems that… Continue Reading Models in NGSS
Doctoral candidate Heather Briggs just published a chapter of her dissertation in the Annals of Botany, available for download at doi:10.1093/aob/mcv175. The article what highlighted as a featured article in the journal! Here is the blurb from Annals: Most work on the impacts of heterospecific pollen deposition on plant fecundity has utilized hand-pollination… Continue Reading Heterospecific pollen
A major focus of the Gilbert lab is the UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (UCSC FERP). The FERP is a 16-ha mapped forest plot in the mixed-evergreen forest on the “upper” campus of UCSC, just at 25 min walk (through the forest) from the classrooms of science hill. It is a living laboratory and classroom,… Continue Reading UCSC FERP and ForestGEO®
The Gilbert and Parker labs are proud to announce the publication of Parker et al. 2015. Phylogenetic structure and host abundance drive disease pressure in communities. Nature 520:542-544. doi:10.1038/nature14372 ABSTRACT. Pathogens play an important part in shaping the structure and dynamics of natural communities, because species are not affected by them equally1, 2. A shared… Continue Reading Nature 2015
Graduate student Juniper Harrow brings her talents as artist, scientist, and educator together in her work on conservation of Joshua Trees. See the story from UCSC and from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Here is a video by Ana Endara, STRI videographer, highlighting our NSF Dimensions in Biodiversity Fungal Dimensions project (NSF DEB-1136626) on Barro Colorado Island. This is a collaboration with Steve Hubbell, Brant Faircloth, and Travis Glenn, to understand why so many species are rare in tropical forests. This technology lets us look inside living trees to… Continue Reading Looking inside trees