research themes
Effects of geographic isolation on plant demography
Species are not equivalent in their abilities to colonise and maintain populations on islands or habitat islands because of differences in life form, dispersal ability, physiological tolerance to environmental stressors, demographic performance and evolutionary history. We are investigating the effects of habitat size, heterogeneity and isolation on patterns of intra- and interspecific diversity in oceanic islands and different types of ecological island on the mainland, and we test for environmental and evolutionary drivers of long-term demographic performance in isolated populations.
Publication highlights:
Csergő, A.M., Healy, K., O'Connell, D.P., Baudraz, M.E.A., Kelly, D.J., Ó Marcaigh, F., Smith, A.L., Villellas, J., White, C., Yang, Q. and Buckley, Y.M. (2024) Spatial phenotypic variability is higher between island populations than between mainland populations worldwide. Ecography e06787. link
Ordonez JS, Deák B, Valkó O, Szász V, Verbényiné NK, Elhouda ZN & Csergő AM (2023) A long-term demographic study of Salvia nemorosa L. to determine the effects of landscape structure on the mechanisms of population persistence. Palaearctic Grasslands 57, 26-27. link
Herceg-Szórádi Z, Demeter L, & Csergő AM (2023). Small area and low connectivity constrain the diversity of plant life strategies in temporary ponds. Diversity and Distributions, 29, 629– 640. link
Limits to species' geographic distribution
We are investigating ecological and biological factors that give rise to species' geographic range limit. We investigate traits and demographic mechanisms that enable plants to persist in populations situated in marginal ecological conditions.
Publication highlight:
Lee-Yaw, J. A., Kharouba, H. M., Bontrager, M., Mahony, C., Csergő, A. M., Noreen, A. M.E., Li, Q., Schuster, R. and Angert, A. L. (2016), A synthesis of transplant experiments and ecological niche models suggests that range limits are often niche limits. Ecology Letters 19: 710–722 link
Effects of climate change on plant demography
We use experimental macroecology to investigate effects of drought and local adaptation on the long-term persistence of plant populations globally. Our experiments are using resources of PLANTPOPNET, led by Prof. Yvonne Buckley at Trinity College Dublin, a global plant demography network that studies the long-term population dynamics on a model plant, Plantago lanceolata.
Publication highlights:
Villellas, J., Ehrlén, J., Crone, E.E., Csergő, A.M., Garcia, M.B., Laine, A.-L., et al (2021) Phenotypic plasticity masks range-wide genetic differentiation for vegetative but not reproductive traits in a short-lived plant. Ecology Letters, 24, 2378– 2393. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13858