My
research aims to understand the ecological genetics of plant resistance
and tolerance. The major questions we address include: What is the genetic
architecture of plant resistance and tolerance?, How do herbivores,
pathogens, and abiotic factors influence in the evolution of resistance
and tolerance?, How does genetic variation structure herbivore communities
on host plants?, and What are the plant genetic influences on tritrophic
interactions? Our experiments have shown that plant genetic variation
has a major influence in structuring herbivore communities and in affecting
species interactions. We perform experiments on field plants, clones,
and half-sib families of willows, but recently we have focused on using
hybrids between two willow species (Salix sericea and S.
eriocephala) to investigate the genetics of resistance and tolerance.
The Research pages describe some of the specific projects we have conducted
and PDF reprints of our work can be downloaded from the Publications
page.
