Much of the research in the lab is funded by ARC grants to Mark Westoby. In general, we are identifying leading dimensions of ecological variation among plant species and working towards understanding the basis for them. Research related to this strand is described further here.
Mark Westoby (convenor) and Ian Wright are also key participants in the ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function. Through the Network we aim to stimulate research across disciplines such as functional genomics, ecophysiology, functional ecology, global change biology and evolutionary history.
Lab members
Barbara Rice studies regeneration after fire and pollination biology in the spinifexes or hummock grasses (Triodia and Plectrachne). She also runs a public access phenology database for Australia, called Biowatch.
Ian Wright (ARC post-doc Research Fellow, 2005-8) quantifies the influence of environmental factors on plant traits and trait relationships.
Fiona Scarff studies plant traits related to flammability, and is interested in species that can alter vegetation by modifying the fire regime.
Daniel Falster's research interests include plant ecological strategies, evolutionary game-theory and computer programming for ecology and evolution.
Amy Zanne examines
tradeoffs in hydraulic safety and efficiency in plant
stems, focusing on physiological, ecological, and
anatomical traits.
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This page is in the process of being updated. More information will be added, err... soon!
(Last updated September 2005)