CO-PIs OF THE MAIN EXPERIMENT
Ragan M. Callaway
Professor at University of Montana, Missoula
CoPI of WP1
The primary focus of the research in Ray’s lab is on interactions among plants. These include direct interactions, such as competition for resources, allelopathy, and facilitation; and indirect interactions mediated by herbivores, soil microbes, and other plants. Most of his current work is on interactions between exotic invaders and native species.
S. Luke Flory
Professor at University of Florida, Gainesville
CoPI of WP1
Luke’s research focuses on the mechanisms and impacts of non-native species invasions with the goal of understanding mechanisms and impacts of invasions, and the long-term consequences of interactions between invasive species and other global change drivers such as climate change, emerging pathogens, and urbanization. His explores basic and applied questions in natural and managed ecosystems such as the highlands of Galápagos, coffee agroecosystems in Costa Rica, eastern deciduous forests in the US, and pine forests and managed systems in Florida.
Nicole M. van Dam
Scientific Director at IGZ Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Großbeeren / University of Jena, Jena
CoPI of WP2
Nicole’s aim is to unravel the chemical and molecular mechanisms governing multitrophic interactions associated with plants. She specifically focuses on interactions between plant roots and belowground herbivores. She uses metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches as well as manipulative experiments to study these interactions in the greenhouse as well as in the field.
Ylva Lekberg
Research Group Leader / Adjunct Assistant Professor at MPG Ranch, Florence / University of Montana, Missoula
CoPI of WP3
Ylva’s research focuses on interactions between plants and soil biota and how these interactions may influence plant invasive success as well as restoration trajectories of degraded grasslands. She is also interested in cost-benefit relationships in mycorrhizal associations and uses molecular and isotope approaches to characterize microbial communities and their associated function.
Walter Durka
Research group head at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle
CoPI of WP4
Walter’s main focus is molecular ecology - the application of molecular DNA-based methods to study aspects of the ecology of plants and animals. He analyzes patterns of genetic and genomic variation at levels of individuals, clones, populations, regions, species up to communities to reveal historical to recent processes connected to gene flow, genetic drift, and selection on various spatial and time scales.
Christopher D. Barratt
Postdoctoral Researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden
CoPI of WP4
Chris is a conservation biologist interested in elaborating spatial patterns of biodiversity and unraveling the ecological and evolutionary processes that contribute to them. Ultimately his work seeks to understand how we can better conserve biodiversity using a combination of diverse types of data (molecular, environmental, traits) and minimise future biodiversity loss due to global change. His areas of expertise are in population genomics and spatial data analysis.
Renske E. Onstein
Senior Researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden
CoPI of WP4
Renske focuses on the interchange between (macro-) ecology and evolution, to understand the global distribution of plant taxonomic and functional diversity. She tests the (historical) influence of functional traits, climate, vegetation types, and biotic interactions on diversification rates, and how this varies among regions and biomes.