Alex Goke
Laboratory Manager: Fire and Water in the West: trait-based dynamics of western US forests

Mya Guptill
MS student: Fundamental climatic tolerances of Rocky Mountain grasses and forbs

Rachel Harris
MS student: Restoration and management of sagebrush steppe in Grand Teton NP

Sahalie Pittman
MS student: Bark thickness allometry under selection by fire regimes in western USA forests

Ryan Strother
MS student: Alpine vegetation dynamics in the Snowy Range, Medicine Bow Mountains

Former Lab Members: 

Hailey Mount
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
Atkins, D.H., R.C. Blackburn, D.C. Laughlin, M.M. Moore, A.E. Sanchez-Meador. 2025. Handheld lidar can accurately quantify aboveground biomass. Ecosphere 16: e70232. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70232

Anne Beeman
Beeman, A.M., Jones, L.J., Kramer, E. and Laughlin, D.C. 2026. Restoration trade-offs in the sagebrush steppe: early effects of seed mix design and planting method on shrub establishment and species composition. Restoration Ecology 34: e70361. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70361

Dr. Saheed Jimoh – Postdoctoral Scholar
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

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
Siefert, A., D. C. Laughlin, and F. M. Sabatini. 2024. You shall know a species by the company it keeps: Leveraging co-occurrence data to improve ecological prediction. Journal of Vegetation Science 35:e13314. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13314

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)
Wessel, S. A., Jones, L.J., Kramer, E.D., Shoemaker, L.G., & Laughlin, D.C. 2026.  Trajectories and drivers of compositional and functional variation in sagebrush steppe restoration. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 7: e70291. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70291

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

Carter, T. A., A. E. Stears*, P. J. Fornwalt, D. H. Atkins*, K. A. Dwire, J. R. Fleri*, K. R. Hayes, H. E. Mount*, E. M. Twaddell, S. A. Wessel*, B. Buma, and D. C. Laughlin. 2025. Fine-root traits coordinate with aboveground strategies yet poorly predict species’ response to spruce mortality. Plant and Soil 514:1301-1313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-025-07463-x

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

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