Controls over plant invasions and range expansions

Species' distributions are changing rapidly, both due to the introduction of species to new geographic regions outside of their native range, and as native species respond to climatic and other environmental changes. Our research seeks to understand the ecological and evolutionary drivers of these changes and thereby to contribute knowledge relevant for their management. We also use invasions and range expansions as an opportunity to better understand the ecological and evolutionary factors that structure communities, and constrain species' niches and geographical distributions.


Much of our ongoing work in this area combines comparative and experimental studies of plant invasions and range expansions, especially those occurring along elevational gradients in mountains, to understand the processes limiting population spread. While many native species have been observed to shift their distributions along elevation gradients, high mountain ecosystems have so far been relatively sheltered from invasions by non-native species. Within the external page Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), we seek to understand global patterns in invasions and range expansions in mountains, thereby gaining insight into the mechanisms driving spread dynamics more generally and helping to protect high mountain environments.