The Cavender-Bares Lab

Research Interests

• Physiological ecology of plants

• Application of phylogenetic methods to ecology

• Evolution of plant function, environmental gradients and local adaptation

• Phylogeography and conservation

I am broadly interested in how functional traits of plants link evolutionary history to current ecological processes. In particular I seek to understand how the evolutionary and biogeographic history of organisms influences community assembly, species composition and, hence, ecosystem function. Currently, my lab is combining phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches with studies of plant physiological function to understand forces underlying shifts in stress tolerance among closely related species or among populations of the same species. I am also leading an NCEAS working group with colleagues from across the LTER network and beyond on "Linking phylogenetic history, plant traits, and environmental gradients at local and continental scales."

Lab Photo - 2010

Gina Quiram, Alyson Center, Xiaojing Wei, Paul Gugger, Jessica Savage & Jeannine Cavender-Bares