Research
I am a fungal and evolutionary ecologist interested in the development and maintenance of symbiotic interactions, specifically the immediate and long-term outcomes of symbiotic relationships (e.g. establishment of symbiosis and nature of symbiotic interaction). Research indicates that host genotype, environment, and the composition of fungal symbiont communities can affect the outcome of symbioses leading to variation in how these microbial communities impact host performance and wider ecosystem processes. Understanding these interactions is central to discerning ecological and evolutionary patterns within host-symbiont communities, as well as understanding how these interactions will be affected by perturbations, such as climate change or plant invasion.
Currently, I am working on setting up my home laboratory and will update my research once I get going in my new lab space.
Previous research
Previously, I received a B.S. in Botany from Oregon State University in 2014, before coming to Dr. Betsy Arnold’s lab for a M.S. in fall 2014.
I completed my PhD (Spring 2020) at the University of Arizona where I worked with Dr. Arnold on plant-fungal symbioses. In my doctoral work, I studied how abiotic and biotic factors related to climate change shape communities of fungal symbionts associated with Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) across isolated montane forests in central and southern Arizona. For this work, I focused on ectomycorrhizal and foliar endophytic fungi to link above- and below-ground processes aiming to capture the ecology of tree symbionts in a whole-plant context. I was particularly interested in examining how community disassembly and local variation across these communities may affect the outcomes of these plant-fungal associations.
Beginning in summer 2020, I started a post-doc at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. In this position, my research focused on two main topics: 1) the fungal and bacterial ecology of South Texas mesquite savannas and 2) the fungal associates of the invasive grasses Megathyrsus maximus (guinea grass) and Cenchrus ciliaris (buffelgrass). Savannas are biphasic systems composed of a C4 grasslands matrix with noncontinuous patches of woody species. Members of Fabaceae are the dominant members of savannas across Africa, Australia, South America, and South Texas, although other species of woody plants can compose the woody element of savannas (e.g. pine savannas in Florida and oak savannas in central Texas). Through both nitrogen fixation by bacteria associated with roots, accessing phosphorus deep in the soil horizon, and providing an influx of organic matter, woody patches are an important source of nutrients in an otherwise oligotrophic soil environment. The codominance of grasslands and woodlands across the same space has been an intense subject of research to understand what factors impact the stability or instability of these systems, especially in the face of climate change, human manipulation, and an increase in the spread of invasive non-native species. Little research though has considered the impact of microbial communities which play a role plant community composition, stability, and succession. My research considered
broad microbial ecology and variation in the soil environment across savannas,
plant-soil feedback processes specifically looking at how invasion by M. maximus alters historical patterns,
decomposition rates in woody patches versus the grassland matrix, and
how aboveground communities of endophytic fungi associated with native and non-native species varies with host plant phylogenetic distance and metabolomes.
Additionally, as part of my time at the University of Texas I helped restart the fungal collection as part of the Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center. As part of this I have done outreach and talks at the Central Texas Mycological Society and the Texas Master Naturalists to encourage the submission of samples to the collection.
See my CV for more information on my previous work and research.