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Plant Population Ecology
Knight Lab |
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We study the population ecology plants with a focus on rare and invasive species, and address questions related to the causes and
consequences of their abundances and distributions. Why are some species rare, while their closely related congeners are widespread? How
does dispersal ability and density dependence determine the population abundance and spread of invasive plants? In particular, we focus on
the role of interspecific interactions between plants and pollinators, herbivores, seed predators and competitors on the long term rates of
plant population growth. We also study how these interactions, particularly plant-pollinator networks, have changed through time as a
result of changes in our landscape use and climate. Our study sites include the Tyson Research Center near St. Louis, Missouri and
surrounding natural areas in Missouri and Illinois, Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, several military bases on the
Hawaiian Islands (Oahu and Hawaii), and villages near Bangalore, India.
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