Research Themes

Select a theme for more details.

Variation in dispersal

Variation in Seed Dispersal

We use interdisciplinary approaches to examine variation in seed dispersal and consequences for plant peformance, populations, and communities. (Illustration from Beckman et al 2020).

Antirhea tricantha fruits

Plant Performance within the Seedscape

Using field, lab, and greenhouse experiments, we examine how variation in plant performance is explained by the abiotic and biotic environment, functional traits, and shared evolutionary history among plants.

Ancon from PNM canopy crane

Seed Dispersal and the Seedscape

To examine the relative influence of dispersal, natural enemies, and limiting resources on plant communities, we develop and evaluate spatial models with empirical studies.

Spider monkeys on BCI

Seed Dispersal Ecology Under Global Change

We use interdisciplinary approaches to investigate how dispersal disruption will alter plant populations, communities, and ecosystems.

Spreading speed

Seed Dispersal and Evolution

We integrate dispersal ecology with demography to gain insight into plant populations. (Image credit: M. Pintar and Schreiber & Beckman 2020)

Fruit

Fruit Chemistry and Evolution

We use comparative metabolomics, observational field studies, and phylogenetically-controlled experimentation to examine why plants produce different chemical compounds. (Image credit: Elsa Jos)

Thank you to the following organizations for their support: Dayton Natural History Fund of the Bell Museum of Natural History; Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota; Ecological Society of America; GAPSA; Graduate School, University of Minnesota; Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Smithsonian ForestGEO; and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
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