Plant Ecology

Two of the most pressing challenges facing ecologists are forecasting the spread of non-native species and predicting the response of native species to global climate change. To tackle these challenges, research in our group aims to decipher the ecological and evolutionary forces that shape plant species’ distributions and community structure. In particular, we combine field experiments with ecological modelling to study how altered biotic interactions influence species’ range dynamics under changing climate. We also study global patterns and processes in plant invasions along elevation gradients to better understand the dynamics and impacts of biological invasions.

• Drivers of local extinction risk in alpine plants under warming climate
  Nomoto, Hanna A.; Alexander, Jake M.
  Ecology Letters 10.1111/ele.13727  MAR 2021
• Moving up and over: redistribution of plants in alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic ecosystems under global change
  Rew, Lisa J.; McDougall, Keith L.; Alexander, Jake M.; Daehler, Curtis C.; Essl, Franz; et al.
  Arctic Antarctic And Alpine Research   DOI: 10.1080/15230430.2020.1845919   JAN 1 2020
• The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in nonnative plant invasion along mountain roads
  Clavel, Jan; Lembrechts, Jonas; Alexander, Jake; Haider, Sylvia; Lenoir, Jonathan; et al.
  New Phytologist   DOI: 10.1111/nph.16954  OCT 2020
• Phenological plasticity is a poor predictor of subalpine plant population performance following experimental climate change
  Block, Sebastian; Alexander, Jake M.; Levine, Jonathan M.
  Oikos,  DOI: 10.1111/oik.06667, FEB 2020
• Scaling the linkage between environmental niches and functional traits for improved spatial predictions of biological communities
  Guisan, A; Mod, HK; Scherrer, D; Munkemuller, T; Pottier, J; Alexander, JM; D'Amen, M
  GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, 28 (10):1384-1392; 10.1111/geb.12967 OCT 2019
• Above- and belowground linkages shape responses of mountain vegetation to climate change
  Hagedorn, F; Gavazov, K; Alexander, JM
  SCIENCE, 365 (6458):1119-+; SI 10.1126/science.aax4737 SEP 13 2019
• Earlier phenology of a nonnative *plant* increases impacts on native competitors
  Alexander, JM; Levine, JM
  PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 116 (13):6199-6204; 10.1073/pnas.1820569116 MAR 26 2019 
• Running off the road: roadside non-native plants invading mountain vegetation
  McDougall, KL; Lembrechts, J; Rew, LJ; Haider, S; Cavieres, LA; Kueffer, C; Milbau, A; Naylor, BJ; Nunez, MA; Pauchard, A; Seipel, T; Speziale, KL; Wright, GT; Alexander, JM
  BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS 20(12): 3461-3473, DOI: 10.1007/s10530-018-1787-z, DEC 2018
• …

• Plant population and community responses to climate change
• Ecology and evolution of plant invasions
• Adaptation/rapid evolution along environmental gradients

• Merging experimental ecology and ecological modelling
• Research at ecology-evolutionary interface
• Co-chair of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), www.mountaininvasions.org