Gregory S. Gilbert, Professor of Environmental Studies

I love trees (and other plants, too) and especially how they interact with nasty fungi (pathogens) and friendly fungi (endophytes, mycorrhizae, and other mutualists). I feel most at home working in the tropical rain forests of Panamá, with a close second in the central coast forests of California. My professional goals are to understand as much about what shapes and maintains diversity in natural ecosystems as I can, and to bring as many people along for the fun ride as possible.

My current main research focus is on exploring how useful phylogenetic (evolutionary) ecology can be in understanding what shapes and maintains biological diversity, and how we can use phylogenetic information in predictive ways to help address important environmental problems. In many cases, phylogenetically close species (close relatives) are similar in their ecologically important traits, because they have inherited those traits from recent common ancestors. We have found that closely related plant species are likely to share the same pathogens and pests, and that we can use that information to predict how much disease a particular plant species is likely to suffer, depending on how closely it is related to neighboring plants. I am interested in testing how broadly these understandings from basic evolutionary ecology can be applied to invasion biology, shifts in species ranges driven by climate change, restoration ecology, design of agroecosystems, and phytosanitary risk assessment.

I am also passionate about experiential and inquiry-based learning, which is what brought me to where I am now as a researcher and educator. As Director of the UCSC NSF GK-12 SCWIBLES Program (which trains PhD students and high-school teachers in inquiry-based learning), as a professional development consultant for school districts implementing the Next Generation Science Standards, as Director of the UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (which hosts dozens of forest ecology research interns each year), and in my own teaching, I strive to engage students in learning by doing.

Education
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá (Postdoctoral Fellow 1991-95)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Plant Pathology, Soil Science minor (MSc 1988, Ph.D. 1991)
Tropical Ecosystems Course, Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica (1989)
B.S. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1985 (Envir. & Forest Biology) (1985)
SeaMester Program in Coastal Ecology, Long Island University (1984)

Professional Positions
Robert Headley Presidential Chair for Integral Ecology and Environmental Justice (2021-present)
Professor of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz (2008 - present)
Department Chair, Department of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz (2016-2020)
Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá (1997 - present)
Sabbatical Visiting Scholar, CSIC Estación Biológica de Doñana, Sevilla, Spain (Aug 2015-Jul 2016)
Pepper-Giberson Endowed Chair (rotating) (2018-2013)
Assistant/Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz (2000-2008)
Assistant Professor and Forest Pathologist, UC Berkeley (1996-2000)

Service
Director, UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (2006-)
Faculty Director, UCSC Campus Natural Reserve (2008-)
Steering Committee, New Gen Learning (2019-)
Director, SCWIBLES (Santa-Cruz Watsonville Inquiry-Based Learning in Environmental Sciences) (2010-2015)
Co-director, Center for Tropical Research in Ecology, Agriculture, and Development (CenTREAD) (2002-)
Editorial Board, Ecology and Ecological Monographs (2004-2016)
Board of Directors, Vice-Chair for Research, Organization for Tropical Studies (2004-2010)
Assembly of Delegates, Organization for Tropical Studies (2010-)
Graduate Committee, Chair (UC Santa Cruz, Environmental Studies) (2003-05, 2006-2015)

Honors and Awards
Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award (2013)
UCSC Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity (2012)
Elected Fellow, California Academy of Sciences (2010)

Select Grants

Increased degree attainment in FANH Sciences: Creating a regional pipeline (J.E. Banks, J.P. Dundore-Arias, E.G. Mosqueda (CSUMB); S.M. Philpott, I.M. Parker, G.S. Gilbert (UCSC). USDA-HSI 2021-77040-34870 (2021-2025)
Phylogenetic Disease Ecology of Plants. I.M. Parker and G.S. Gilbert. NSF DEB-1655896 (2017-2022)
Fungal Dimensions in Biodiversity: Testing the potential of pathogenic fungi to control the diversity, distribution, and abundance of tree species in a Neotropical forest community. Stephen Hubbell, Brant Faircloth, Gregory Gilbert, Travis Glenn. NSF DEB-1136626 (2012-2017)
GK-12: SCWIBLES - Santa Cruz-Watsonville Inquiry Based Learning in Environmental Sciences. G.S. Gilbert, I.M. Parker, and D. Ash NSF DGE-094723 (2010-2015)
USDA-APHIS-PPQ cooperative agreement. Development of a phylogenetic tool for exotic pest risk analysis. (2011-2014)
Rare-species advantage: consequences of phylogenetic and numerical rarity of hosts for disease pressure and pathogen communities. G.S. Gilbert and I.M. Parker, NSF DEB-0842059. (2009-2013)

Select Recent Publications (complete list here)

Qiu, T. and many. 2021. Is there tree senescence? The fecundity evidence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118:e2106130118..
Harrower, J.T. and G.S. Gilbert. 2021. Parasitism to mutualism continuum for Joshua trees inoculated with different communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from a desert elevation gradient. PLoS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256068.
Sousa, D., J.B. Fisher, F. Romero Galvan, R.P. Pavlick, S. Cordell, T.W. Giambelluca, C.P. Giardina, G.S. Gilbert, F. Iman-Narahari, C.M. Litgton, J.A. Lutz, M.P. North D.A. Orwig, R. Ostertag, L. Sack, R.P. Phillips. 2021. Tree Canopies Reflect Mycorrhizal Composition. Geophysical Research Letters 48(10), e2021GL092764..
Zhong, Y., C. Chu, J. Myers, G. Gilbert, J. Lutz, J. Stillhard, K. Zhu,... & J. Zimmerman. 2021. Arbuscular mycorrhizal trees influence the latitudinal beta-diversity gradient of tree communities in forests worldwide. Nature Communications 12: 1-12.
Clark, J.S. + 62 others. 2021. Continent-wide tree fecundity driven by indirect climate effects. Nature Communications. 12(1):1242 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20836-3.
Davies, S.J. + many. 2021. ForestGEO: Understanding forest diversity and dynamics through a global observatory network. Biological Conservation 253:108907 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108907.
Lynch, S. C., A. Eskalen, and G. S. Gilbert. 2020. Host evolutionary relationships explain tree mortality caused by a generalist pest-pathogen complex. Evolutionary Applications https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13182.
Jiang, F., J.A. Lutz, Q. Guo, Z. Hao, X. Wang, G.S. Gilbert, Z. Mao, D.A. Orwig, G.G. Parker, W. Sang, Y. Liu, S. Tian, M.W. Cadotte, and G. Jin. 2020. Mycorrhizal type influences plant density dependence and species richness across 15 temperate forests. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3259.
Crandall, S., N. Saarman, and G.S. Gilbert. 2020. Fungal spore diversity, community structure, and traits across vegetation mosaic. Fungal Ecology 45: doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2020.100920.
Liu, X., Chen, L., Liu, M., García–Guzmán, G., Gilbert, G. S., & Zhou, S. 2020. Dilution effect of plant diversity on infectious diseases: latitudinal trend and biological context dependence. Oikos DOI: 10.1111/oik.07027.
Shen, Y., G. S. Gilbert, W. Li, M. Fang, H. Lu, and S. Yu. 2019. Linking aboveground traits to root traits and local environment: Implications of the plant economics spectrum. Frontiers in Plant Science 10: doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01412
Liang, M., X. Liu, I. M. Parker, D. Johnson, Y. Zheng, S. Luo, G. S. Gilbert, and S. Yu. 2019. Soil microbes drive phylogenetic diversity-productivity relationships in a subtropical forest. Science Advances 5:eaax5088
Parker, I.M. and G.S. Gilbert. 2018. Density-dependent disease, life history tradeoffs, and the effect of leaf pathogens on a suite of co-occurring close relatives. Journal of Ecology DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13024
Gilbert, G.S. and I.M. Parker. 2016. The evolutionary ecology of plant disease: a phylogenetic perspective. Annual Review of Phytopathology 54:549-578 doi: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-102313-045959.
Parker et al. 2015. Phylogenetic structure and host abundance drive disease pressure in communities. Nature 520: 542-544.
Gilbert, Briggs, and Magarey. 2015.The impact of plant enemies shows a phylogenetic signal. PLoS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0123758
Schweizer,D., G.S. Gilbert, & K.D. Holl. 2013. Phylogenetic ecology applied to enrichment planting of tropical native tree species. Forest Ecology & Management 297:57-66
Gilbert, G.S. and nine coauthors. 2010. Beyond the tropics: forest structure in a temperate forest mapped plot. Journal of Vegetation Science 21:388-405
Gilbert, G.S. and C.O. Webb. 2007. Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen-host range. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 104:4979-4983

Gregory S. Gilbert Lab

Gregory S. Gilbert, Professor of Environmental Studies

Scholarly interests

Abbreviated CV