Phenotyping in Functional Ecology: Parsing out trait variation and covariation to understand the ecology and evolution of plants
October 6, 2022
Dr. Julie Messier
In this talk, I will give an overview of how as a plant functional ecologist, I study trait variation and co-variation at different biological to answer a range of ecological and evolutionary questions. I will first introduce the relatively new field of functional ecology and situate it relative to other fields of biology. Then to illustrate the breadth of topics addressed in the field, I will give examples from my research program of studies conducted at community, population and individual scales.
Bio
I study the causes and consequences of trait variation and integration across biological scales, from within individuals to among communities.
Broadly, my research aims to uncover the processes governing the diversity of plant form and function. I am interested in questions at the intersection of plant physiology, scaling, ecology and evolution. As an empiricist, I use observational and experimental studies both in the field and in the lab to uncover general principles governing patterns of phenotypic diversity.
