People

 

Anne Beeman
MS student: Restoration ecology in Grand Teton National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 


Hailey Mount

PhD student: Applying trait-based models to achieve restoration targets in rangelands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mount, H., M. Smith, A. Knapp, R. Griffin-Nolan, S. Collins, *D. Atkins, *A. Stears, D.C. Laughlin. 2023. Drought-tolerant grassland species are generally more resistant to competition. Journal of Ecology 112:416-426. http://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14243

 

Dave Atkins
PhD student: The net effect of functional traits on population fitness of perennial grasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Dr. Saheed Jimoh – Postdoctoral Scholar

Belowground ecology in grasslands

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimoh, S. O., D. H. Atkins, H. E. Mount, and D. C. Laughlin. 2024. Traits associated with the conservation gradient are the strongest predictors of early-stage fine root decomposition rates. Journal of Ecology. In press. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14423

Former members in the lab:

Dr. Andrew Siefert – Postdoctoral Scholar
Siefert, A., and Laughlin, D.C. 2023. Estimating the net effect of functional traits on fitness across species and environments. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 14:1035-1048. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14079

 

Dr. Magda Garbowski – Postdoctoral Scholar
Garbowski, M., D. C. Laughlin, D. M. Blumenthal, H. R. Sofaer, D. T. Barnett, E. M. Beaury, D. M. Buonaiuto, J. D. Corbin, J. S. Dukes, R. Early, A. N. Nebhut, L. Petri, M. Vilà, and I. S. Pearse. 2024. Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121:e2403120121. https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2403120121

 

Sienna Wessel (MS)
MS student: Restoration of sagebrush steppe in Grand Teton NP

 

Dr. Alice Stears (PhD)
Stears, A.E, Heidel, B, Paniw, M, Salguero-Gómez, R, and Laughlin, D.C. 2024. Negative density dependence promotes persistence of a globally rare yet locally abundant plant species Oenothera coloradensis. Oikos, In press, e10673. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10673

Stears, A.E., Adler, P.B., Albeke, S.E., Atkins, D.H., Studyvin, J., & Laughlin, D.C. 2022. plantTracker: An R package to translate maps of plant occurrence into demographic data. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. In Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13950

Stears, A.E., Adler, P.B., Blumenthal, D.M., Kray, J.A., Mueller, K.E., Ocheltree, T.W., Wilcox, K. R., Laughlin, D.C. 2022. Water availability dictates how plant traits predict demographic rates. Ecology, In press, e3799. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3799

 

 

Dr. Trevor Carter (MS)

Carter, T.A, P.J. Fornwalt, K.A. Dwire, and D.C. Laughlin. 2022. Understory plant community responses to widespread spruce mortality in a subalpine forest. Journal of Vegetation Science, n/a, e13109. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13109

 

Dr. Loïc Chalmandrier – Postdoctoral Scholar

Chalmandrier, L., Stouffer, D.B., Purcell, A.S.T., Lee, W.G., Tanentzap, A.J., and Laughlin, D.C. 2022. Predictions of biodiversity are improved by integrating trait-based competition with abiotic filtering. Ecology Letters 25:1277-1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13980

 

Dr. Kiri Wallace

Wallace, K.J., D.C. Laughlin, B.D. Clarkson, L.A. Schipper. 2018. Forest canopy restoration has indirect effects on litter decomposition and no effect on denitrification. Ecosphere 9(12): e02534. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2534

Wallace, K.J., D.C. Laughlin, B.D. Clarkson. 2017. Exotic weeds and fluctuating microclimate can constrain native plant regeneration in urban forest restoration. Ecological Applications 27:1268-1279. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1520

 

Adam Purcell MSc

Purcell, A. S. T., W. G. Lee, A. J. Tanentzap, and D. C. Laughlin. 2019. Fine root traits are correlated with flooding duration while aboveground traits are related to grazing in an ephemeral wetland. Wetlands 39(2): 291-302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-018-1084-8

 

Angela Simpson MSc

Simpson, A.H., S.J. Richardson, D.C. Laughlin. 2016. Soil-climate interactions explain variation in foliar, stem, root, and reproductive traits across temperate forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25:964-978. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12457

 

Dr. Kris Kramer-Walter MSc

Kramer-Walter, K.R. & Laughlin, D.C. 2017. Root nutrient concentration and biomass allocation are more plastic than morphological traits in response to nutrient limitation. Plant and Soil 416: 539-550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3234-9

Kramer-Walter, K. R., P. J. Bellingham, T. Millar, R. Smissen, S. J. Richardson, D. C. Laughlin. 2016. Root traits are multidimensional: specific root length is independent from root tissue density and the plant economic spectrum. Journal of Ecology 104:1299-1310. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12562

 

Melissa Jager MSc

Jager, M.M., S.J. Richardson, P.J. Bellingham, M.J. Clearwater, and D.C. Laughlin. 2015. Soil fertility induces coordinated responses of multiple independent functional traits. Journal of Ecology 103(2):374-385. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12366

 

Dr. Robert Strahan

Strahan, R.T., D.C. Laughlin, J.D. Bakker, M.M. Moore. 2015. Long-term protection from heavy livestock grazing affects ponderosa pine understory composition and functional traits. Rangeland Ecology and Management 68:257-265. https://doi.org/10.101/j.rama.2015.03.008

Strahan, R., A. Sanchez Meador, D. Huffman, D.C. Laughlin. 2016. Shifts in community-level traits and functional diversity in a mixed conifer forest: a legacy of land-use change. Journal of Applied Ecology 53:1755-1765. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12737

 

Claudia Lyons BScHonours thesis: Leaf and wood decomposition rates

Zach Bastow Undergraduate research assistant

Justy Leppert Undergraduate research assistant

 

Celebratory high-five after collecting the highest elevation leaf and wood trait samples on Fremont Peak on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona (3648 m)