Plant Population and Evolutionary Biology

Adaptation and phenotypic plasticity are both crucial for the long-term survival of plants in changing world. Our actual research is focused on the functional consequences of the highly structured alpine landscape for demographic, reproductive and evolutionary processes in plants. With increasing altitude, plant life is challenged by low temperature, more snow, a shorter vegetation period, and harsher conditions due to a rising number of extreme weather events. 

We aim to explain the pattern of within and among species diversity in relation to altitude, biogeographic factors and human land use, We ask how far the the glacial history of the Alpine flora has affected genetic diversity and ecologically relevant differentiation and adaptation of species. We try to quantify the importance of genetic processes and phenotypic plasticity for local adaptation in functionally important plant traits. 

We combine observational studies, molecular analysis, field-, greenhouse and common garden experiments as well as demographic modelling to answer questions and test hypotheses.

• DNA-content and chromosome number in populations of Poa alpina in the Alps reflect land use history
  Spinnler, F; Stocklin, J
  FLORA, 246 102-108; 10.1016/j.flora.2018.08.002 SEP 2018
• Plant responses to simulated warming and drought: a comparative study of functional plasticity between congeneric mid and high elevation species
  Hamann, Elena; Kesselring, Halil; Stocklin, Jurg
  JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY, 11 (3):364-374; https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtx023 JUN 2018
• Colonization dynamics of a clonal pioneer plant on a glacier foreland inferred from spatially explicit and size-structured matrix models 
  Scherrer, Daniel; Stoll, Peter; Stocklin, Jurg 
  FOLIA GEOBOTANICA, 52 (3-4): 353-366 DEC 2017 Article (Details)
• High intraspecific phenotypic variation, but little evidence for local adaptation in Geum reptans populations in the Central Swiss Alps 
  Hamann, Elena; Scheepens, J. F.; Kesselring, Halil; et al. 
  ALPINE BOTANY, 127 (2): 121-132 OCT 2017 Article (Details)
• High-elevation plants have reduced plasticity in flowering time in response to warming compared to low-elevation congeners 
  Schmid, Sophie F.; Stocklin, Jurg; Hamann, Elena; et al. 
  BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY, 21: 1-12 JUN 2017 Article (Details)
• Plasticity of flower longevity in alpine plants is increased in populations from high elevation compared to low elevation populations
  Trunschke, Judith; Stocklin, Jurg 
  ALPINE BOTANY, 127 (1): 41-51 APR 2017 
  Article (Details)
• Host specificity of two pollinating seed-consuming fly species is not related to soil moisture of host plant in the high Himalayas 
  Song, Bo; Stocklin, Jurg; Gao, Yong-Qian; et al. 
  ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 7 (2): 780-789 JAN 2017 Article (Details)

• Genetic diversity, phenotypic plasticity and adaptation in Alpine plants
• Effects of land use and global change on biodiversity in grassland
• The demographic and functional consequences of clonal growth
• Reproductive biology of plants

• Demographic modelling
• Molecular pattern of adaptation
• Phylogeography
• Plant-animal interactions
• Functional community ecology