Identifying mechanisms that determine who lives and dies is the first step in developing successful restoration techniques for rare species and endangered habitats. We studied interactions that affect establishment of native plant forbs of conservation concern at the seedling stage to support the theoretical basis for restoration activities in Pacific...
Fungi in the genus Tolypocladium are diverse in their host associations, but the predominant ecologies include parasites of the ectomycorrhizal genus Elaphomyces and pathogens of insects. The aim of this dissertation research is to examine the evolution of these fungi and their host associations. To accomplish this several lines of...
Mutualistic associations between corals and symbiotic microalgae of the genus Symbiodium power tropical reef ecosystems, hotspots of marine biodiversity that buffer coastlines, support tourism- and fisheries-based economies, and offer untapped potential for discovery of novel pharmaceutical compounds. However, reef ecosystems are declining at an alarming rate, in large part due...
Species are one of the foundational units upon which entire fields of scientific inquiry are built. Discovering and documenting the planet’s biodiversity remains one of the grand challenges of science. A proper conceptualization of species provides a critical framework for diverse fields such as biophysics, biochemistry, agriculture and pharmacology, and...